Six & The City - Fergal Cantwell looks at the remaining sides going for McCarthy Cup glory
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Six & The City - Fergal Cantwell looks at the remaining sides going for McCarthy Cup glory
bald eagle Tue Jul 23, 2013 10:52 am
SIX AND THE CITY
Six teams remain in this years All Ireland series, six teams have still hope of giving Liam McCarthy a roof over his head for the winter months. Dublin and Limerick are sitting in wait in the semi finals as Provincial champions. Kilkenny play Cork and Galway take on Clare in a bid to join them there. Three from Leinster, three from Munster, this years All Ireland series has thrown up the best that this sport can offer in years. Maybe this would be the way the open draw idea could work? Yes it happened because Dublin overturned the All Ireland champions and yes it happened because Limerick beat Tipperary and Cork in the same year to claim their first Munster title in seventeen years, but it happened. Will there be a fairy tale ending for the boys in blue or will Sean South be ringing around Croke Park after this years final? It remains to be seen but both are just two wins away from that glory.
Clare and Galway will be an interesting quarter final. There must be something in the water up there that prevents the neighbouring counties from finishing teams off. Galway for all their underage success must feel the weight of disappointment at senior level. They have produced some great displays over the years only to be found wanting at the final hurdle. There is no doubt that they have the hurlers, they have the ability but there seems to be a mental block when it comes to crossing the line. Tactically they seem to get it wrong, time after time. They have a superb hurler in Joe Canning and he can be a match winner at times. His most dangerous position is in front of goal, it doesn't make any sense to take him away from this position but Galway, when they get on top of a team, continually pull Joe back out the field. Galway score a goal, Joe goes back to mid field or his half back line, yes, he wins plenty of ball back there but he is hitting it back up to where he should be. A player that can have so much influence in front of goal, should never be past his own half forward line. This tactic just plays into the oppositions hands.
Clare have huffed and puffed for a few years now, they have a young team and Davy Fitz will feel that he has every chance of guiding his charges to the ultimate prize. They would have felt earlier in the year though that the Munster championship was theirs for the taking, they were being talked up as the team to watch, they had achieved in the under 21 grade, they knew how to win. Cork however, brought them back to earth with a bang and they struggled to finish off Wexford last weekend. Wexford did draw with Dublin, who in turn drew with Kilkenny and then beat them in the replay. So there are still many questions to be answered in this years All Ireland hurling championship. Clare must improve to have any chance against a wounded Galway side. Losing the Leinster final to Dublin in such a one sided affair will have hurt the Tribesmen but on their day, they can be lethal.
Cork haven't set the hurling world alight in the past few years, they have more tradition in the game than most but tradition and past exploits guarantee very little. The Munster final loss to Limerick will have been disappointing but the needless sending off in this game ended all competitiveness. Cork will relish this chance against Kilkenny. They will have to play smart though, avoid hitting long balls down on top of the best half back line in the game. They may have to revert to the old tactic of short puck outs and spreading the ball in low to the wings and the corners. Cork will have to have their homework done to upset the champions.
Kilkenny have been beaten by Dublin and have just got over the line against Tipperary and Waterford. But get over the line they did and the longer they stay in the race for this years All Ireland crown, the more dangerous they will become. Shefflin was obviously not match fit when he came into the game against Waterford, he is though progressing and if Kilkenny can get their talisman back into the fray from the start, he can dictate the game like no other. It's Kilkennys defence that are keeping them alive. Their hunger cannot be questioned though, they showed a teal intensity as they disposed of a galant Waterford side in extra time. Kilkenny want this as much as the rest and maybe even more. I would feel that Kilkenny and Galway will progress and although Limerick and Dublin have made great strides this year, I can see neither of them in the final. At this stage it looks like a repeat of last years final for me. This year has livened up the game of hurling but little will change at the end of the year. Six teams left, only one can claim Liam McCarthy, I expect a backdoor show down for this years decider.
---—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This blog is posted with the kind permission of Fergal Cantwell and was originally published 17/07/2013.
You can read more of Fergals blogs here - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and you can follow him on Twitter by following @fergalcantwell link - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Six teams remain in this years All Ireland series, six teams have still hope of giving Liam McCarthy a roof over his head for the winter months. Dublin and Limerick are sitting in wait in the semi finals as Provincial champions. Kilkenny play Cork and Galway take on Clare in a bid to join them there. Three from Leinster, three from Munster, this years All Ireland series has thrown up the best that this sport can offer in years. Maybe this would be the way the open draw idea could work? Yes it happened because Dublin overturned the All Ireland champions and yes it happened because Limerick beat Tipperary and Cork in the same year to claim their first Munster title in seventeen years, but it happened. Will there be a fairy tale ending for the boys in blue or will Sean South be ringing around Croke Park after this years final? It remains to be seen but both are just two wins away from that glory.
Clare and Galway will be an interesting quarter final. There must be something in the water up there that prevents the neighbouring counties from finishing teams off. Galway for all their underage success must feel the weight of disappointment at senior level. They have produced some great displays over the years only to be found wanting at the final hurdle. There is no doubt that they have the hurlers, they have the ability but there seems to be a mental block when it comes to crossing the line. Tactically they seem to get it wrong, time after time. They have a superb hurler in Joe Canning and he can be a match winner at times. His most dangerous position is in front of goal, it doesn't make any sense to take him away from this position but Galway, when they get on top of a team, continually pull Joe back out the field. Galway score a goal, Joe goes back to mid field or his half back line, yes, he wins plenty of ball back there but he is hitting it back up to where he should be. A player that can have so much influence in front of goal, should never be past his own half forward line. This tactic just plays into the oppositions hands.
Clare have huffed and puffed for a few years now, they have a young team and Davy Fitz will feel that he has every chance of guiding his charges to the ultimate prize. They would have felt earlier in the year though that the Munster championship was theirs for the taking, they were being talked up as the team to watch, they had achieved in the under 21 grade, they knew how to win. Cork however, brought them back to earth with a bang and they struggled to finish off Wexford last weekend. Wexford did draw with Dublin, who in turn drew with Kilkenny and then beat them in the replay. So there are still many questions to be answered in this years All Ireland hurling championship. Clare must improve to have any chance against a wounded Galway side. Losing the Leinster final to Dublin in such a one sided affair will have hurt the Tribesmen but on their day, they can be lethal.
Cork haven't set the hurling world alight in the past few years, they have more tradition in the game than most but tradition and past exploits guarantee very little. The Munster final loss to Limerick will have been disappointing but the needless sending off in this game ended all competitiveness. Cork will relish this chance against Kilkenny. They will have to play smart though, avoid hitting long balls down on top of the best half back line in the game. They may have to revert to the old tactic of short puck outs and spreading the ball in low to the wings and the corners. Cork will have to have their homework done to upset the champions.
Kilkenny have been beaten by Dublin and have just got over the line against Tipperary and Waterford. But get over the line they did and the longer they stay in the race for this years All Ireland crown, the more dangerous they will become. Shefflin was obviously not match fit when he came into the game against Waterford, he is though progressing and if Kilkenny can get their talisman back into the fray from the start, he can dictate the game like no other. It's Kilkennys defence that are keeping them alive. Their hunger cannot be questioned though, they showed a teal intensity as they disposed of a galant Waterford side in extra time. Kilkenny want this as much as the rest and maybe even more. I would feel that Kilkenny and Galway will progress and although Limerick and Dublin have made great strides this year, I can see neither of them in the final. At this stage it looks like a repeat of last years final for me. This year has livened up the game of hurling but little will change at the end of the year. Six teams left, only one can claim Liam McCarthy, I expect a backdoor show down for this years decider.
---—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This blog is posted with the kind permission of Fergal Cantwell and was originally published 17/07/2013.
You can read more of Fergals blogs here - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and you can follow him on Twitter by following @fergalcantwell link - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
bald eagle- GAA Hero
- Doire
Number of posts : 2746
Re: Six & The City - Fergal Cantwell looks at the remaining sides going for McCarthy Cup glory
bald eagle Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:47 pm
King Henry sent off, down 0-11 to 0-06 at half time, it has to be curtains for Kilkenny yet i somehow expect them to come back and win!
bald eagle- GAA Hero
- Doire
Number of posts : 2746
Re: Six & The City - Fergal Cantwell looks at the remaining sides going for McCarthy Cup glory
bald eagle Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:02 pm
Cats gone and we now have the bottom 2 from Div 1a & top 2 from Div 2b making up the semis! Would love to see Limerick win it this year, whoever does one thing for certain is that the GAA will have to pull out all the stops to prevent a pitch invasion!
bald eagle- GAA Hero
- Doire
Number of posts : 2746
Re: Six & The City - Fergal Cantwell looks at the remaining sides going for McCarthy Cup glory
Boxtyeater Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:19 pm
bald eagle wrote:King Henry sent off, down 0-11 to 0-06 at half time, it has to be curtains for Kilkenny yet i somehow expect them to come back and win!
Harmless enough, but.....(see Kilkenny thread)
Boxtyeater- GAA Elite
- Leitrim
Number of posts : 6922
Re: Six & The City - Fergal Cantwell looks at the remaining sides going for McCarthy Cup glory
The Puke Fri Aug 02, 2013 2:37 pm
Who is this Cantwell lad, he is fairly fond of his bland cliches and sweeping generalisations. Joe Canning and Shefflin aside he didn't even name check a player in his preview or talk about the styles of hurling adopted by the teams involved.
No substance at all at all in that
No substance at all at all in that
The Puke- GAA Hero
- Clare
Number of posts : 2142
Re: Six & The City - Fergal Cantwell looks at the remaining sides going for McCarthy Cup glory
bald eagle Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:45 pm
Look on the bright side Puke, at least hurling is being talked about eh? Have you read through the other blogs?
bald eagle- GAA Hero
- Doire
Number of posts : 2746
Re: Six & The City - Fergal Cantwell looks at the remaining sides going for McCarthy Cup glory
Boxtyeater Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:51 pm
Puke is surely at this soiree tonight. Clonlara recipients...Wha! Whouda thought it?bald eagle wrote:Look on the bright side Puke, at least hurling is being talked about eh? Have you read through the other blogs?
Boxtyeater- GAA Elite
- Leitrim
Number of posts : 6922
Re: Six & The City - Fergal Cantwell looks at the remaining sides going for McCarthy Cup glory
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