Leinster Club Hurling Championship

[Plain of the Herbs]

He is from Wexford. And I'll leave it at that.

Today’s referee clearly missed the seminar that stated a push in the back is a free. It was rampant throughout the game.

[frankthetank]

Na Fianna 4/6
Kilcormac/Killoughey 6/4
Draw 8/1

Courtesy of PP

[Bord na Mona man]

Na Fianna 4/6
Kilcormac/Killoughey 6/4
Draw 8/1

Courtesy of PP

That's about right, K/K are up against it.
However having it in Croke Park is a big help. Dublin hurling is at its pinnacle on tight and muddy pitches like Parnell Park or Mullingar where they can unleash their crash test dummy, handpassing game.

[private joker]

You couldn't be more wrong. Na fianna have been waiting to get on a pitch like croke park. It will be a very interesting game. Kk so far have struggled in leinster.

[JimBwobb]

You couldn't be more wrong. Na fianna have been waiting to get on a pitch like croke park. It will be a very interesting game. Kk so far have struggled in leinster.

I think both teams will relish the surface of Croker and open spaces.

Charlie Mitchell for example seems to be nearly struggling with the slow heavy pitches this time of year, a player like him could catch fire next Saturday night.

As mad as it sounds, KK are due a all round performance.

[Faithful Future]

Na Fianna rightfully favourites as they look more impressive so far in Leinster. Both teams will prefer the better sod of HQ.

On today, the conditions were awful but the Double K's grounded out the win which was important.

Castletown geoghan will complain about the sideline point that wasn't given, but can count themselves extremely lucky not to have a red card in the first few minutes for the blatant swipe on Conor Mahon when he was straight through on goal. The referee certainly was on the 'lenient' side.

The depth of the KK squad really shone. Kiely, geraghty and Gorman each had positive impacts on the game.

Screeney was excellent on the frees and both he and Gorman took their goals well.
Mitchell seems to perform well in Croke Park always so hopefully he can put his dip in form behind him and help get them over the line.

The late throw in is a strange one, especially with people hoping to bring young children.

For KK to beat Na Fianna each defender will need to perform well. The Dublin teams forwards are fast and can all take a score . Each of their forwards scored from play today is testing conditions.
A big game will be needed from kiely at centre back - hopefully he's 100% for this one.
They will also need Conor Mahon to really take the game to Liam Rushe which he is more than capable of. Rushe drops deep is a good distributor but Mahon is a good match for him aerially.
I do feel that the KK full forward line can get some joy out of the na Fianna full back line.

Won't be easy, but finals never are.

(As a side note, was the pitch even narrower than Mullingar normally is for today's game.....?)

[Superhans75]

Great result for Kk if not exactly firing on all cylinders there 3 rd game in a row when
They have just done enough.
They do look quite weak in midfield but the ground and style of play can exsasabate
It a bit .
We just don't need injuries because the league is not too far away.
They have the ability to win it but the dubs might try to rile kk up .
They have done there homework

[ah lethimoutwithit]

Ref was shocking yesterday, foul on Conor Mahon was bad in that it was a clear goal scoring chance and I dont know what constitutes striking with the hurl?
Push in the back, holding and dragging. CG were more streetwise as to the refs style and played to how he was reffing and can't fault them for that. Faceguard hold was right in from of him him. How many pushes in the back went unpunished. CG should have gotten a couple more frees also.
On the other hand its shocking that the sideline cut from CG was waved wide, not good enough. However the time was well up for half time when they got the sideline before half time and that shouldnt have been taken.
CG played some decent stuff and worked the ball well to Niall O'Brien throughout the second half and were a well drilled outfit. Kamikaze defending in the last few minutes killed them and they will be very disappointed to lose out.

All KK can hope for is that some of the lighter lads can catch fire in Croker on the better surface. Mitchell was poor no matter how bad the surface was and we were saying at halftime that he would have to be replaced.
Mullingar needed big physical men and in fairness Kiely was good when he came in.
You can't rule KK out but I think Na Fianna will get over the line and maybe by 4 or 5.

[Lone Shark]

I think KK deserve immense credit for that win yesterday, and regardless of what happens on Saturday, that's the type of game that will build them up and bring them on a lot. CTG are a very decent side with a lot of guys that have a fair bit of Liam MacCarthy Cup hurling done, and definitely when you factor in the pitch and the attitude of the referee - which absolutely was the same for both teams, but which suited CTG a lot more than KK - then that was one where a lot of patience, concentration and self-belief was needed to hang in there.

There are red flags for Saturday all the same. No doubt Croke Park will suit Charlie Mitchell a lot more, but it's not that he's going to be left one-on-one with a defender in 30 yards of space either. He's still an intercounty forward, the Joe Mac POTY, and Na Fianna will still see him as a huge threat that needs to be marshalled. They'll have seen that he's struggling for form over the last few games, and 100% they'll make sure that they don't allow him to play his way into form here. I don't know what the solution to that is - maybe being ready to bring him out to a wing forward role earlier, rather than sticking with him on the edge of the square if the first two or three balls in don't go his way - but against a team like Na Fianna, KK need the Charlie Mitchell we saw in the Summer to re-emerge, and they have to find a way to do that.

A second red flag is the way CTG dominated the rucks and mauls for long stretches. It levelled off a bit by the end but for the first half in particular, players like Clarke and Murphy seemed to come out of nearly all the scraps with possession.

The other aspect is that for all the (justified) praise of the younger generation, they are still largely teenagers, and the game hinges around the mature leaders. In that regard, the absence of Cillian Kiely from the starting team remains huge, and he was clearly in real pain as he walked off the field on Sunday afternoon.

A regrettable yellow card aside - one that meant he couldn't drag down the CTG forward who ran though on goal at the end - his influence on the game was huge, and big pitch or small pitch, KK are a different side with him there. How fit he is to tog out makes a massive difference, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was set back by his 25 or so minutes on the field yesterday.

With him, I'd give K-K a great chance of a win on Saturday, at least 50/50 and probably a fraction better than that. Without him, I think Na Fianna might have too much.

[pigeon house biffo]

Word is Kiely is out

[private joker]

There will be no rucks Saturday night. It will all be about speed of hurling

[Doon Exile]

Word is Kiely is out

Unfortunately that’s correct. Huge loss…….

[The big hill]

Apparently Aonghus Clarke had a dirty stroke on Kiley

[Géill Slí]

I see Na Fianna have their celebrations planned from 10pm on Saturday night. Now there’s forward planning for you!

[Kevin]

Change of plans at 9PM can always be written in.