Kilkenny v Tippereary All-Ireland Hurling Final 2009

Yesterdays absolute trouncing of Limerick by Tippereary has increased speculation that they are the team to inflict a first championship defeat on the might cats since 2005. I think myself that gutless Limerick made Tipp look an awful lot better then they really are in the semi-final and remain to be convinced by their All-Ireland aspirations, although there is no denying that the Munster champions have earned the right to be considered Kilkennys no 1 challengers. Lar Corbett is having his best year(possible POTY) and 18 year old Noel McGrath has been a revelation. Tipp certainly put it up to KK in the league final and perhaps caught them on the hop a bit with a more aggresive approach but the champions will be more than ready this time around.
Kilkenny seem to have been playing a bit within themselves this year and although Waterford and Galway in particular have seriously tested them I have a feeling that they are saving their very best for last and will cement their place in history by winning the Liam McCarthy Cup for the 4th year in a row in 3 weeks time.

Whilst Tipperary did look good yetserday the truth is their opponents Limerick were a beaten team very early on, if not before the match started. Few of them looked like they had the belief that they could beat Tipp.

I dont think a similar performance from Tipp would come even close to beating the Cats - they wont be afforded the same space nor will they have they luxury of the Cats making the number of mistakes that Limerick did yesterday.

That said Tipp have realistically been the only team this year that are capable of beating the Cats, the likes of Galway are a work in progress and no doubt they will get there eventually if they continue their good work. So if Tipperary can find some way of stopping King Henry or at least cuting off the supply of ball into him then they could do it but how you stop Shefflin (legally) is bound to give the Tipp management a few sleepness nights in the next few weeks.

Whilst i would love to see a Tipperary win i feel Kilkenny will win it with a few to spare.

I would love to be able to comment on the second semi but I can't as I was sleeping.

Anyway the final. Two class set of forwards, Galway and Dublin wouldn't have great forward lines and I never seen Molumphy and Mullane play as bad for Waterford in the other semi, so Kilkenny will definitely be entering new territory for the first time in this championship.

On the other hand, Kilkenny have Sheflin, Gorta, Larkin, Brennan, Power and Taggy, with the likes of Reids, Grace and Hogan on the bench. Now stopping Sheflin is one thing but how do you stop all of them? You probably can't. Many teams have put manners on Sheflin (and he has put manners on a few himself) but if he plays bad, then someone else will step up.

I think it will be high scoring, Kilkenny are not absolutely safe at the back and a few of the Tipp forwards should be able to make a name for themselves.

But are they going to outscore Kilkenny? No, nobody can. I expect a ruthless, savage display from Kilkenny, something similiar to Waterford last year. They haven't reached those heights since but in the final, I believe a repeat of that performance will happen.

I'd say Cody is delighted that they will face Tipp in the Final. No love lost between the two counties and the Cats will be anxious to show who's boss.

Pundits have been going on about KK winning games by 'only' (!) single scores. Truth is they have not extended themselves one bit in getting to the final. Kilkenny players are probably brassed off beating teams by 15+ points.

And now they have a chance of immortality in Kilkenny as hurlers - which is unbelievable in iteself - you think they are gonna come up short?? Not a hope in hell. We will see a top class performance from these guys in September - Tipp will give us a better final than the last two - but there will only be one winner.

[quote="Jayo Cluxton"]I'd say Cody is delighted that they will face Tipp in the Final. No love lost between the two counties and the Cats will be anxious to show who's boss.

Pundits have been going on about KK winning games by 'only' (!) single scores. Truth is they have not extended themselves one bit in getting to the final. Kilkenny players are probably brassed off beating teams by 15+ points.

And now they have a chance of immortality in Kilkenny as hurlers - which is unbelievable in iteself - you think they are gonna come up short?? Not a hope in hell. We will see a top class performance from these guys in September - Tipp will give us a better final than the last two - but there will only be one winner.[/quote]
Totally disagree the Cats will beat them by a bigger margin than the beat the bla heads last year. This is who they wanted and by Christ I totally expect them to destory tipp

I expect them to be fully motivated alright Jim but this Tipp team - in fairness to them - are a lot better than Waterford and Limerick. So I expect the Cats to win well but Tipp will not roll over.

Sorry I disagree they are so overblown and overhypered like nearly everything that comesd out of Tipp.
They have the potential but they are still a very very young team and as I have said in the past league finals don't compare, this team are going for greatness in catland not ireland but catland where it counts for them.
Cats by at least 20-30 points

JimWexford wrote:Cats by at least 20-30 points

No way Jim - no way. Agree re Catland but max 10 I reckon!

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

JimWexford wrote:Cats by at least 20-30 points

No way Jim - no way. Agree re Catland but max 10 I reckon!

if i'm honest I hope it is the biggest beatin a team ever gets in an all ireland final, but that could be down to my pure lourve of tipp.

Really do fell this to be a serious hiding though same as lasy year only bigger

Ok - luv for Tipp aside - this is a good Premier side which would harbour genuine Liam ambitions 10 years ago - but not with the best team ever in the picture. They will not be slaughtered or embarrassed I reckon. It could be a very dirty first 15 and there is every possibility of an early red I think but they are a step up from previous finalists and will not 'freeze' I reckon.

Tipp walloped Portumna in a challenge there earlier on, 6-24 to 1-22

loving the belief in Tipp we have going here!

I don't really want to comment on how good Kilkenny are, I hope Tipp can pull it off and I will be behind them all the way wherever I can find to watch it, whether it be a pub in York, Leeds, Sheffield or Manchester.

It'll be a good game anyway, Jim is talking rubbish.

It could be a tight game and even if it is I would still expect Kilkenny to win it. Kilkenny are not as good as last year but are still too good for Tipperary.

Its odds on that Cody wont start with Hickey next Sunday. No other county would even dream of contemplating leaving such a player on the bench. Tipp are decent enough but KK are in the throws of greatness. It should be the best final in a few years but the Cats will win.

Jim

Where in Drumcondra will I meet up with ya next Sunday to get that ticket off ya???

Lets hope Meath and Kerry haven't spoiled the pitch with their antics yesterday for the real deal next Sunday

Croker chief admits pitch problems
By Fintan O’Toole

Monday, August 31, 2009

CROKE
PARK stadium manager Peter McKenna last night admitted that there were
issues surrounding the pitch surface in Croke Park yesterday but
insisted that it will not be a problem for next Sunday’s hurling
decider between Kilkenny and Tipperary.

The adverse weather
conditions affected the play from an early stage in yesterday’s clash
between Kerry and Meath, with players on both teams struggling to
adapt.

"In the first-half certainly there was slipping that
you wouldn’t be entirely happy with, particularly with the penalty,"
remarked McKenna.

"Some of that you come to expect with a
squally, wet day. What you get with light rain like we had today, it
sits on top of the grass. If the grass is lush like it is there, you
will get a greasy interface. It’s something for us to look at, no doubt
about it.

"I talked to some of the players and any of the
Kerry guys that were wearing six stud boots had no issues. Fellas
wearing moulded boots or blade boots certainly did have issues. But
we’d like to think that the surface wouldn’t be boot-dependant, so
we’ve got some work to look at during the week."

McKenna ruled out the option of scarifying the pitch before next Sunday, but believes spiking the surface will be beneficial.

"I
was down on the surface there with our pitch people. One suggestion is
that the grass cover is too lush, that we could do with thinning it out
somewhat. That’s not something we’re going to do between now and the
finals obviously.

"Ideally we’d look at scarifying it if we
had more time, but I’m not inclined to do that, I think that could
change the characteristics of the pitch. During the week, we did a lot
of spiking on the surface. That breaks it up and gives it a little more
traction for the studded foot. We’ll do a little bit more of that this
week."

McKenna insisted they had no regrets from laying a new surface during the middle of the championship.

"No,
the positives we’ve had from the pitch and the work we’ve done have
been very, very strong. This is the first time we’ve had criticism."

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Monday, August 31, 2009

Waterford were a better side than this Tipp team.

Take it from there.

I think the weather caught out Mr McKenna and others at HQ. I mean rain in Ireland in August - who'd have thought it ........

Rumours aboud from the Marble county that Cha will NOT start on Sunday. Lyng and Rice to anchor the MF.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:I think the weather caught out Mr McKenna and others at HQ. I mean rain in Ireland in August - who'd have thought it ........

i see he is praying for a dry day on Sunday and none of the four teams were allowed to train on the pitch in the lead up to Sundays finals.

They must be deeply worried about the surface lets hope it isnt the big talking point on Monday morning.

mossbags wrote:Lyng and Rice to anchor the MF.

Rice to be the main man - the other guy the underLyng ......

mossbags wrote:Rumours aboud from the Marble county that Cha will NOT start on Sunday. Lyng and Rice to anchor the MF.

Theres a lot to be said for rumours
Kilkenny (SH v Tipperary): PJ Ryan; M
Kavanagh, JJ Delaney, J Tyrrell; T Walsh, B Hogan, J Tennyson; D Lyng,
M Rice; R Hogan, H Shefflin, E Larkin; E Brennan, R Power, A Fogarty.




Richie Power also comes in for Comerford whilst as expected Hickey will sit this one out. Be very surprised to see him get a run at all to be honest.

Tipp, unsurprisingly, stick with the team who trounced Limerick in the SF.
B Cummins; P Stapleton, P Maher, P Curran; D Fanning, C O'Mahony
(captain), B Maher; J Woodlock, S McGrath; P Kerwick, S Callinan, J
O'Brien; N McGrath, E Kelly, L Corbett.

The Cat's selection sets it up for Fast Eddie or Taggy to run amok.
Hardly 1 Tipp player to get on the KK team.
20+ if they want to.............
Fast Eddie to be MOTM and the much villified small Tommy to hurl up a storm.....

Agreed Boxtyboy. Tommy Walsh might very well be the best player on the pitch tomorrow but theres no way they'll be handing him over the champagne. And rightly so, he's a proper dirty little c**t. Superb hurler though.