County hurling q-finals
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kinnittyman
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County hurling q-finals
YES YES YES!!! Il elaborate later.
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kinnittyman
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If anybody offered me a one point win on the way to Rath yesterday i would have bitten their arm off but to win by ten was a dream come true. I actually cant remember the last time i was so comfortable at a Kinnitty match with 20 minutes to go. Realisticlally we could have 7 goals with John Clenndennan and Fergal Kealey missing some guilt edged opportunities and hopefully they will have developed tidier finishing techniques by the semi final as we wont get as many chances in thay game. Apart from one of the Lusmagh corner backs (a Bermingham im not sure which) who had a fantastic game the Lusmagh full back line was woeful and look liked it could have been exploited with any high ball. I must say our boys hurled very well and were definitley a class ahead of Lusmagh. Even though we were missing our first choice full back the back line hurled well as a unit and of the 60 hurlers that started the two matches and the subs that came on James Rigney stood head and shoulders above the rest. He was absolutely unbelievable and won more ball than i care to remember. Enda Grimes and Matthew Mcredmond both hurled well in midfield with McRedmond picking off a peach of a point in the first half. Mark Robinson is really growing into the centre forward roll and his vision and distribution are first class. Steven Molloy was his usual threatening self and Richie McRedmond had a good first half he tired in the second before being repalced. Hopefully our full forward line will finish a bit better the next day and with Odhrans pace inside he can cause serious damage. While we'll obviously be huge underdogs in the Semi as The other semi was of a much higher standard we're in with a chance of winning a palce in our first county final in 22 years. Dreams can come true!!!!
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kinnittyman
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But we also have to remember that K/K beat Coolderry in the championship. Personally, i feel that if Coolderry managed to beat Birr in the semi that their opponents in the final would have no fears. Holding Carroll and Murray is the key and it can be done. But if Birr get to the final i couldnt see anyone beating them. And i have to say that i think K/K are certainties to win the replay.
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Plain of the Herbs
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Lusmagh’s worst fears were realised on Sunday in Rath with the parish unable to follow up on their superb performance against ’Rynagh’s last time out. There’s always a possibility on a given day that a team hits eighteen or so wides but what we hadn’t expected was a defence which hadn’t even looked like conceding a goal this year being hit for four, one as calamitous as the next. These goals put Kinnitty in the driving seat and, ultimately, were what divided the sides on the scoreboard at the final whistle.
Kinnitty had studied Lusmagh well. They moved Paddy Whelan from his regular centre back slot to a man marking role on Lusmagh corner forward Paul Bermingham. James Rigney took up the centre half back slot while introducing Matthew McRedmond to midfield. They also targeted the most inexperienced of Lusmagh’s full back trio with the speedy Odhran Kealey.
The match was eight minutes late starting while we waited for the referee’s arrival. Kinnitty carried on with their puckaround while Lusmagh strangely carried on their warm-up routine with only the goalkeepers using a ball during this wait.
Kinnitty looked the sharper early on and the first goal came when a defender got blocked down when the handpass to a colleague was the better option and the Kinnitty forward buried the ball. Kinnitty built on this and led something like 1-5 to 0-2 when Brian Troy connected with a long range free to finish to the net.
Goals two and three followed in quick succession, Kinnitty capitalising on hesitancy in the full back line and they led at half time, 3-7 to 1-2 Indeed, Kinnitty also created two more goal chances which weren’t taken. Mind you, Austen Lynch also saw a rasper rebound from the crossbar mid way through the first half. If that had foud the net, who knows?. Lusmagh were under pressure in all sectors and the defence were constantly trying to clear while on the back foot as Kinnitty pored through. The Kinnitty half back line mopped up the skied clearances throughout.
Lusmagh moved Ciarán Bermingham to centre half forward in a bid to curb the influence of James Rigney. They missed Aidan Hanrahan and the ball winning capabilities and pace he brings to the half forward line where he may have capitalised on Kinnitty’s lack of height in the half back line.
Lusmagh got enough possession to draw a number of frees which were pointed but were unable to get the quick ball that would create many chances from play, hitting four wides in each wides. Bringing the full forward out to take these frees ruled out the chance to drop these in to create a goal chance With a deficit of eight points on the three-quarter mark, a free out from the edge of the ‘d’ looked the best chance to drop it in around the house but the free was fresh-aired! and in the ensuing scramble was finished to the Lusmagh net. That was game, set and match to Kinnitty who went on to win 4-12 to 0-11. The scoreline shows just how vital the goals were.
Lusmagh never got into anything like what they are capable of and just didn’t do themselves justice, really. They will now look to next year and with the oldest member of the team aged 31 and with some good young hurlers about to be promoted from the junior team the future is still bright.
As for Kinnitty, they’d probably have preferred a clear winner in the match that followed, rather than the draw and the ensuing replay which will ‘bring on’ the winners. On the day they were clearly the better team. However, they’ve also now got the problem Lusmagh brought into this match – that of following up on a great win.
I don’t remember much about the ’Rynagh’s / Kilcormac match which followed (it’s a kind of a blur!) and the constant pricking around by the scoreboard operator didn’t help.
Kinnitty had studied Lusmagh well. They moved Paddy Whelan from his regular centre back slot to a man marking role on Lusmagh corner forward Paul Bermingham. James Rigney took up the centre half back slot while introducing Matthew McRedmond to midfield. They also targeted the most inexperienced of Lusmagh’s full back trio with the speedy Odhran Kealey.
The match was eight minutes late starting while we waited for the referee’s arrival. Kinnitty carried on with their puckaround while Lusmagh strangely carried on their warm-up routine with only the goalkeepers using a ball during this wait.
Kinnitty looked the sharper early on and the first goal came when a defender got blocked down when the handpass to a colleague was the better option and the Kinnitty forward buried the ball. Kinnitty built on this and led something like 1-5 to 0-2 when Brian Troy connected with a long range free to finish to the net.
Goals two and three followed in quick succession, Kinnitty capitalising on hesitancy in the full back line and they led at half time, 3-7 to 1-2 Indeed, Kinnitty also created two more goal chances which weren’t taken. Mind you, Austen Lynch also saw a rasper rebound from the crossbar mid way through the first half. If that had foud the net, who knows?. Lusmagh were under pressure in all sectors and the defence were constantly trying to clear while on the back foot as Kinnitty pored through. The Kinnitty half back line mopped up the skied clearances throughout.
Lusmagh moved Ciarán Bermingham to centre half forward in a bid to curb the influence of James Rigney. They missed Aidan Hanrahan and the ball winning capabilities and pace he brings to the half forward line where he may have capitalised on Kinnitty’s lack of height in the half back line.
Lusmagh got enough possession to draw a number of frees which were pointed but were unable to get the quick ball that would create many chances from play, hitting four wides in each wides. Bringing the full forward out to take these frees ruled out the chance to drop these in to create a goal chance With a deficit of eight points on the three-quarter mark, a free out from the edge of the ‘d’ looked the best chance to drop it in around the house but the free was fresh-aired! and in the ensuing scramble was finished to the Lusmagh net. That was game, set and match to Kinnitty who went on to win 4-12 to 0-11. The scoreline shows just how vital the goals were.
Lusmagh never got into anything like what they are capable of and just didn’t do themselves justice, really. They will now look to next year and with the oldest member of the team aged 31 and with some good young hurlers about to be promoted from the junior team the future is still bright.
As for Kinnitty, they’d probably have preferred a clear winner in the match that followed, rather than the draw and the ensuing replay which will ‘bring on’ the winners. On the day they were clearly the better team. However, they’ve also now got the problem Lusmagh brought into this match – that of following up on a great win.
I don’t remember much about the ’Rynagh’s / Kilcormac match which followed (it’s a kind of a blur!) and the constant pricking around by the scoreboard operator didn’t help.
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Plain of the Herbs
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I didn’t get much of a chance to consider this weekend’s action during the week. Here’s a summary.
One thing to consider is how Shamrocks’ and Tullamore’s involvement in the football final will affect their hurling preparations as both clubs have a number of dual players. I’m sure it has a significant affect, as some of those dual players wouldn’t necessarily be ‘natural’ hurlers who therefore would need to devote all their training time to the small ball game. The ‘hurling one week – football the next’ system must also affect the ability to organise meaningful challenge games. Both face the two best hurling teams in the county and at this stage of the year both need to be hurling all the time if either are to force an upset.
Birr have been in indifferent form while they have been getting the results. They really need a freshening up with new players such as that St. Rynagh’s got last week with the promotion of a number of players from their intermediate side. Birr’s intermediates are still involved in the championship so they are really selecting from a panel of seventeen. Maybe the introduction of Mark Mulrooney to midfield would freshen the thing up as it did in the intermediate semi-final. Tullamore’s form has not been good of late, letting Drumcullen back into the game with a string of goals and scraping a win over Ballyskenagh. It’s not the kind of form to threaten Birr and I would still expect Birr to win through.
Coolderry lined out last time against Ballyskenagh without a host of regulars, some due to injury – most notably Joe Brady. Now maybe he would have been risked if it had been an important match, I don’t know. They need a fully fit squad if they are to contest for honours over the next month. They have scoring potential that no other club has and have enough physical strength to support that potential. They are also mobile enough to counter Shamrock’s possession - passing style. Unlike their opposition they are playing hurling the whole time and I would expect to see them pull through and set up a semi-final meeting with Birr.
Good old St. Rynagh’s. Do nothing during the group stages and the spring to life when the safety net is removed. The last time they lost to Lusmagh they won three of the next four titles and again losing to their neighbours to the south has proved the shot in the arm they needed. Their best performers were those introduced since that defeat - Ryan, Flannery, Quirke and Mulhare. They really need to get more from the Horans though, and Diarmuid will have to be more precise with the freetaking duties. They played some sublime hurling when they moved the ball quickly during that period when they were on top, though the heavyweights did run out of steam late on.
Kilcormac haven’t improved any despite having a mainly young team. They have some decent hurlers but they have no real method about them. They scored most freely when hitting the high ball into Barry Gorman who troubled Fergus Short in the air to a fair degree. The hoodoo of never having beaten ’Rynagh’s in senior championship hurling still hangs around their necks and if ’Rynagh’s can produce a more consistent performance over the full hour – rather than the microwave version of twenty minutes they gave in the drawn encounter - I would give them the vote to pull through. Don’t be surprised if an extra twenty minutes is required to separate them either!
One thing to consider is how Shamrocks’ and Tullamore’s involvement in the football final will affect their hurling preparations as both clubs have a number of dual players. I’m sure it has a significant affect, as some of those dual players wouldn’t necessarily be ‘natural’ hurlers who therefore would need to devote all their training time to the small ball game. The ‘hurling one week – football the next’ system must also affect the ability to organise meaningful challenge games. Both face the two best hurling teams in the county and at this stage of the year both need to be hurling all the time if either are to force an upset.
Birr have been in indifferent form while they have been getting the results. They really need a freshening up with new players such as that St. Rynagh’s got last week with the promotion of a number of players from their intermediate side. Birr’s intermediates are still involved in the championship so they are really selecting from a panel of seventeen. Maybe the introduction of Mark Mulrooney to midfield would freshen the thing up as it did in the intermediate semi-final. Tullamore’s form has not been good of late, letting Drumcullen back into the game with a string of goals and scraping a win over Ballyskenagh. It’s not the kind of form to threaten Birr and I would still expect Birr to win through.
Coolderry lined out last time against Ballyskenagh without a host of regulars, some due to injury – most notably Joe Brady. Now maybe he would have been risked if it had been an important match, I don’t know. They need a fully fit squad if they are to contest for honours over the next month. They have scoring potential that no other club has and have enough physical strength to support that potential. They are also mobile enough to counter Shamrock’s possession - passing style. Unlike their opposition they are playing hurling the whole time and I would expect to see them pull through and set up a semi-final meeting with Birr.
Good old St. Rynagh’s. Do nothing during the group stages and the spring to life when the safety net is removed. The last time they lost to Lusmagh they won three of the next four titles and again losing to their neighbours to the south has proved the shot in the arm they needed. Their best performers were those introduced since that defeat - Ryan, Flannery, Quirke and Mulhare. They really need to get more from the Horans though, and Diarmuid will have to be more precise with the freetaking duties. They played some sublime hurling when they moved the ball quickly during that period when they were on top, though the heavyweights did run out of steam late on.
Kilcormac haven’t improved any despite having a mainly young team. They have some decent hurlers but they have no real method about them. They scored most freely when hitting the high ball into Barry Gorman who troubled Fergus Short in the air to a fair degree. The hoodoo of never having beaten ’Rynagh’s in senior championship hurling still hangs around their necks and if ’Rynagh’s can produce a more consistent performance over the full hour – rather than the microwave version of twenty minutes they gave in the drawn encounter - I would give them the vote to pull through. Don’t be surprised if an extra twenty minutes is required to separate them either!