Leinster club championships 2017

[Plain of the Herbs]

Some may see this as being unduly harsh, but this is written in the context that Kilcormac-Killoughey have Leinster championship ambitions, and know they have unfinished business in Leinster.

To an extent, Kilcormac were lucky yesterday. They simply weren’t ‘up’ for this match. It showed in their body language, and it showed in their hurling. Afforded the opposition too much space, as in the case of the CGT goal. And Kilcormac-Killoughey were fortunate with their first goal, as the referee missed a clear free to CGT before the ball went in to the goalkeeper. CTG must regret not having Seán Maher in goal, and not Paddy Maloney.

The game’s key moment was the sending off. Thereafter, Castletown Geoghegan insisted on pucking out short, which didn’t suit them as it took them too long to work the ball into attacking positions; and the referee tried to even matters up by denying CTG several frees.

All that said, the two Grogans, Killian Leonard and Jordan Quinn were immense. Ger Healion did what Ger Healion does, guard the square and let nothing pass. Damien Kilmartin worked fierce hard too.

They need much more from their forwards. They probably could have done with introducing Peter Geraghty after the sending off, as you need pace in a two man full-forward line. James Gorman was harshly taken off too – the only forward to score more than once. It might have been a day for James Kilmartin to announce himself. Brian Leonard’s name was not listed among the subs, and there is a dearth of forward options among the 12 subs listed.

That Kilcormac’s biggest attacking threat comes from midfield is naturally a concern. Then again, while driving home, Jack Nolan was on the radio summing up Mount Leinster’s performance. He noted they tended to pack the defence, meaning a scoring threat from between the two 65s would be no harm at all.

We can reasonably assume Kilcormac’s attitude will be spot on for the visit of 2014’s All-Ireland runners up in a fortnight.

[sam88885a]

POTH i agree KK didnt seem to be up for yesterdays match .C Kiely scored a wonder point and gave a defence splitting pass to D Currams for the second goal but he was stuck to the ground as C Slevin was especially in the first half but the whole team was .
N O Brien was allowed do what he wanted in the first half .
I think S Leonard second yellow was coming and i was surprise that he came on for the second half but that highlighted that the management were not up for it either .
I agree the should have taken off P Healion when the went down to 14 as the needed someone that would be able cover the ground.
They expected to win.
i agree CTG didnt use the extra man well but KK were guilty of going long and giving away position to CTG extra man .KK had the wind and were playing into the scoring goal ,i think the should have mix it up more especially with C Slevin so accurate with his puckouts .
They were never in any danger of loosing really but their lack of intensity in the first 25 minutes was surprising .
Quarter finals are there to be won ,they are now back in their 4 semi final and with a home game they have a decent chance .

[sam88885a]

well done to KK today , great win ,huge workrate , use the ball very well .C Kiely sending off was the only negative .I think it was harsh ,it was a yellow but there no8 made a meal out of it .

[Lone Shark]

well done to KK today , great win ,huge workrate , use the ball very well .C Kiely sending off was the only negative .I think it was harsh ,it was a yellow but there no8 made a meal out of it .

I've no doubt Diarmuid Byrne stayed down until the card was shown, however how on earth could you give a yellow card for striking with the hurl? It's not as if there is stipulation in the rules for how much you hurt the other guy, it's just whether you hit him or not. Cillian is an incredibly talented hurler but that type of indiscipline is unforgivable, and he's going to pay a heavy price now. As indeed will Kilcormac-Killoughey - beating Cuala with him would be difficult, beating them without him will be bordering on impossible.

Incredible performance today however. Between the red card and the 53rd minute, KK outscored MLR by 1-14 to 0-2. That's incredible stuff, albeit assisted by the remarkable decision by Brendan Fennelly to play Kevin McDonald as his extra man around midfield, while leaving Currams and Gorman one on one against opponents that they were completely dominating.

[frankthetank]

Cillian Kiely’s red card record at adult hurling level is absolutley shocking and it smacks of a player who would rather settle a personal agenda on the field rather than being the bigger man for the sake of his teammates.

[sam88885a]

well done to KK today , great win ,huge workrate , use the ball very well .C Kiely sending off was the only negative .I think it was harsh ,it was a yellow but there no8 made a meal out of it .

I've no doubt Diarmuid Byrne stayed down until the card was shown, however how on earth could you give a yellow card for striking with the hurl? It's not as if there is stipulation in the rules for how much you hurt the other guy, it's just whether you hit him or not. Cillian is an incredibly talented hurler but that type of indiscipline is unforgivable, and he's going to pay a heavy price now. As indeed will Kilcormac-Killoughey - beating Cuala with him would be difficult, beating them without him will be bordering on impossible.

Incredible performance today however. Between the red card and the 53rd minute, KK outscored MLR by 1-14 to 0-2. That's incredible stuff, albeit assisted by the remarkable decision by Brendan Fennelly to play Kevin McDonald as his extra man around midfield, while leaving Currams and Gorman one on one against opponents that they were completely dominating.

Diarmuid Byrne had pulled a few stroke on C Slevin with the hurl off the ball first and then play dead when Kiely came in with a a challenge but i dont think u could decsribe his challenge as striking with the hurl .It was a free for rough play in my opinion but i didnt have a great view to be honest.The officals were unsure too.
The MLR guy that got sent off struck with the hurl .
KK are bigger than any one player and the will have a plan for Cuala in 2 weeks .

[bracknaghboy]

C Kiely sending off was the only negative .I think it was harsh ,it was a yellow

It was a free for rough play in my opinion

i dont think u could decsribe his challenge as striking with the hurl

i didnt have a great view to be honest.

So which was it Sam? A yellow? Just a free? A strike? Rough play? Or did you actually see the incident? Were you definitely at the match today?

[private joker]

Cuala are a very well drilled team . I would go with a 10 point victory vs KK. That's based on cuala winning every game outside of Dublin at a canter.

[sam88885a]

i saw him run in but i didnt see a strike so it was rough play a yellow card and a free.
Even the MLR guys beside me said there was not a strike .
Cuala are a very well drilled team and are current All Ireland champions but I KK will take them in 2 weeks .

[Lone Shark]

i saw him run in but i didnt see a strike so it was rough play a yellow card and a free.
Even the MLR guys beside me said there was not a strike .
Cuala are a very well drilled team and are current All Ireland champions but I KK will take them in 2 weeks .

I'm struggling to get my head around your concept of justice here. If you saw him "run in" but didn't see him do any more, how is that a yellow card? There's no rule against running.

On the other hand, if you saw him dig the butt of the hurl into Byrne, as I (and all the rest of the press box, for what it's worth) did, then there can be no disputing what the appropriate sanction should be. Any previous incident is irrelevant to that as well.


With regard to the Cuala game, these lads have swatted aside St. Martin's and Dicksboro, and are All Ireland club champions. I would anticipate that a six-point handicap will be the type of line we might expect to see in the final, given that the slower ground should suit K-K (relatively) and it's only slower it's going to get.

[Plain of the Herbs]

That was my clear view from the terrace side too. I don't get any pleasure in stating that, but that is what happened, that is striking, and it was no surprise to see the referee show the red card.

On the other hand, if you saw him dig the butt of the hurl into Byrne, as I (and all the rest of the press box, for what it's worth) did, then there can be no disputing what the appropriate sanction should be. Any previous incident is irrelevant to that as well.

[kingscounty]

Jaysus what’s this pick on Sam day is it? Kiely was sent off and there’s nothing that can be done about it now, no need for all the smart ass remarks if a lad is getting it hard to make a point. Warm in the press box was it? KK were outstanding and a are and have represented the county with pride in a time when we are down in the dumps. Dan Currams was immense all day, ran at MLR who were terrified when he got on ball. Gorman had the best game I have ever seen him play, the injury to Healion saw Gorman move to full forward and he took some great scores. Leinster final up next and I wish them all the best.

[Lone Shark]

Jaysus what’s this pick on Sam day is it? Kiely was sent off and there’s nothing that can be done about it now, no need for all the smart ass remarks if a lad is getting it hard to make a point. Warm in the press box was it?

Under normal circumstances I'd just ignore this, but I'm in the middle of a sea of match reports from the weekend and I'm cranky from tiredness, so I'm going to pick it up. No doubt I'll regret it in the morning, but for now....

It's nothing to do with picking on Sam - it's picking on a remark that is the kind of lazy justification for a moment of ridiculous indiscipline that cannot be forgiven. On this occasion, Cillian's colleagues stepped up brilliantly and carried the day. Right from the moment Conor Mahon won the next puckout and set up the goal, they raised their game - but you can't always expect that'll happen. The more likely scenario is that your team works hard, but starts to feel the loss of the extra man in the closing stages and may or may not get pipped on the line. Neither will the opposition always be as helpful as to play an out-of-form corner forward as the extra man in the middle third of the field, running around like a lost sheep in there, while leaving two defenders marking two red-hot forwards, in acres of space and with no help. I've no doubt that'll be mentioned at the MLR AGM when they start talking about who'll manage the team next year.

Every player that hurls against Cillian Kiely for the next five years will try to needle him and get a reaction - and if he can't learn to keep his cool, he's going to cost Kilcormac-Killoughey (and possibly Offaly) some key games. And it'd be a shame, because as I've said above, the lad is a bloody good hurler - well worth his place on the county team, in a central role. However he won't be able to learn to keep his head until he starts by accepting responsibility for his actions - and a whole load of people telling him that he was hard done by and that he should have just got a yellow card won't help him in that regard.


And how is anything I've said there, or up above, a smart remark? There's no sarcasm, no condescension, but that doesn't mean we're going to turn it into an echo chamber where everybody can spout any old thing and get a chorus of agreement.


And yeah, the press box is grand. Though I don't know what that has to do with anything, I've never suggested to anyone on this board that their opinion is less valid because of where they locate themselves to watch a game, so I don't know why you should be suggesting that mine is any less valid because of where I sit either. And anyway, there's no opinion on a matter like this - only the bare fact that there was a strike, and the level of force behind it is inconsequential.

[NewEra]

Well done to KK. Sounded like their best performance in a few years. Hopefully more of the same vs Cuala.

Hard luck to Erin Rovers. Great wins to get to the final but unfortunately not to be. Dissapointing that between Bracknagh last year and this final this year that Offaly didn't get at least one piece of Leinster silverware. Anybody know who the last Offaly club is to win a Leinster title?

[biffinbanner]

ferbane 86?