Waterford vs Limerick Semi Final

BIG-SLICK-POKER

Ok Waterford and limerick have made changes Waterford to be fair only make onechange for Sunday's All-Ireland hurling semi-final.Midfielder Shane Walsh is the unlucky man to miss out, with Eoin Kelly joining Michael Walsh in the centre of the park as Jack Kennedy takes up the corner forward spot. Which in my own opinion is a bit harsh on walsh as Kennedy has not done much in championship , I feel for Eoin Mc grath who is being used as an impact sub but surely should be in from the start as he has caused probs now every game he has come on in and in my opionion gathers the breaking balls extremely well and this is where Waterford give away so many silly points and possesion..

Limerick have made three changes from the side that beat Clare for their All-Ireland semi-final clash with Waterford this Sunday.
Peter Lawlor comes in for Mark O'Riordan in defence, while Sean O'Connor and Donie Ryan replace Niall Moran and Kevin Tobin.Again this is alot of changes to a team that took apart Clare but must be trying to deal with Waterford Players with the switches I agree with the Switch of O Riordan to defence as Pater Lawlor has a vast amount of experience but i would easily say that Dan Shanahan will really run him around ,

Waterford have such a solid side throughout and even though some Question the Backs i still think they have not made many mistakes yet in the Championship and Ken mc grath Aidan Kearney and Tony Browne have been unreal in the half Back Line and have really excelled this team ...

With Limerick Only winning one championship since 2001 and then having a tough battle with tipperary which could have swung any way to be honest and then beat a clare side who are very poor . They had one challenge and this was Waterford and although they looked strong up to 55 mins of play Waterford changed gears when they needed to and i think they will have to much experience and power for Limerick , People have said limerick will be up for it and i laughed , What team would not be up for an all ireland Semi final , On form Waterford are clear Favourites, every challenge and every Hurdle has been made this year . The Bookies have made Waterford 1-4 favourites with Limerick now 10-3 , This is a clear differrence in price and bookies dont often get it wrong . The first half will bve tight and Limerick might easily lead it for a while but Waterford have to much in the tank...

If i was betting on this game i would say Waterford half time Full time .. Waterford to win this by +6 in my opionion ,

This is the hungriest most experienced and fittest team Waterford have ever had and we are one step away from facing Kilkenny now my heart will beat faster with every minute of the game and hopefully by the end my prediction will be right ...

Neill K

Dac51

I'm finding it near impossible to get stand tickets for this game. My club sources seem to be a closed shop this time around. Walsh Park only had terrace tickets for sale. Ticketmaster have nothing!

Does anyone know from experience if returned stand tickets will be sold by Ticketmaster in the next 36 hours? How hard is it to get a ticket in the vicinity of Croke Park on the day? Is it possible to source stand tickets after the Kerry/Monaghan game?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a sunshine supporter but for this game I cannot get my hands on stand tickets which seems a bit of a mystery to me as I know the game hasn't sold out.

Cheers,
Dac.

CantGetNoSleep

BIG-SLICK-POKER wrote:

Ok Waterford and limerick have made changes Waterford to be fair only make onechange for Sunday's All-Ireland hurling semi-final.Midfielder Shane Walsh is the unlucky man to miss out, with Eoin Kelly joining Michael Walsh in the centre of the park as Jack Kennedy takes up the corner forward spot. Which in my own opinion is a bit harsh on walsh as Kennedy has not done much in championship , I feel for Eoin Mc grath who is being used as an impact sub but surely should be in from the start as he has caused probs now every game he has come on in and in my opionion gathers the breaking balls extremely well and this is where Waterford give away so many silly points and possesion..

Limerick have made three changes from the side that beat Clare for their All-Ireland semi-final clash with Waterford this Sunday.
Peter Lawlor comes in for Mark O'Riordan in defence, while Sean O'Connor and Donie Ryan replace Niall Moran and Kevin Tobin.Again this is alot of changes to a team that took apart Clare but must be trying to deal with Waterford Players with the switches I agree with the Switch of O Riordan to defence as Pater Lawlor has a vast amount of experience but i would easily say that Dan Shanahan will really run him around ,

Waterford have such a solid side throughout and even though some Question the Backs i still think they have not made many mistakes yet in the Championship and Ken mc grath Aidan Kearney and Tony Browne have been unreal in the half Back Line and have really excelled this team ...

With Limerick Only winning one championship since 2001 and then having a tough battle with tipperary which could have swung any way to be honest and then beat a clare side who are very poor . They had one challenge and this was Waterford and although they looked strong up to 55 mins of play Waterford changed gears when they needed to and i think they will have to much experience and power for Limerick , People have said limerick will be up for it and i laughed , What team would not be up for an all ireland Semi final , On form Waterford are clear Favourites, every challenge and every Hurdle has been made this year . The Bookies have made Waterford 1-4 favourites with Limerick now 10-3 , This is a clear differrence in price and bookies dont often get it wrong . The first half will bve tight and Limerick might easily lead it for a while but Waterford have to much in the tank...

If i was betting on this game i would say Waterford half time Full time .. Waterford to win this by +6 in my opionion ,

This is the hungriest most experienced and fittest team Waterford have ever had and we are one step away from facing Kilkenny now my heart will beat faster with every minute of the game and hopefully by the end my prediction will be right ...

Neill K

You should know by now that Waterford's numbers mean nothing (along with the way some papers print the team line up)

Shane Walsh is primarily a corner forward, certainly not a midfielder, and whilst he did very well in the league, playing him means playing Mullane or Flynn out of their preferred corner forward positions where they are most effective

Kearney will start in the full back line as he has all season, despite wearing number 7

The team should be like this, with Kelly perhaps roatating with Molumphy and Kennedy maybe, although i'd expect him to stay in midfield given his performance against Cork there last week and the effect when he moved out there in the Munster final, and the forwards may move around a bit as always

Obviously Eoin McGrath is unlucky to miss out, but given his impact off the bench you can see the thinking behind it, I certainly couldn't see any of the rest of the subs having the same impact coming on if things werent going our way, I don't think our benches are as strong as Cork or Kilkenny

---

Clinton

---

---Murphy

---

D.Prendergast

---

Kearney

---

---Browne

---

K.McGrath

---

Phelan

---

---

Brick

---

Kelly

---

----Molumphy

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Big Dan

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Kennedy

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----Mullane

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S.Prendergast

---

Flynner

---

shanethemofo

if anyone has tickets they want to sell for this, PLEASE gimme a shout

(¯`·.Drago.·´¯)

Well Good luck yo all the lads tomorrow

Sully

Not playing their best so far, tho they seem to be catching up.. Fight harder lads!

Sully

Fair play to Limerick, much better team. Disapointed with Waterford, did poorly in defense. Attack wasnt the best. I guess Cork just drained them out, tis tough going on them.

Amazotheamazing

I'm from Limerick but have to feel really sorry for Waterford, I honestly thought you'd do it in the end.

fricatus

Amazotheamazing wrote:

I'm from Limerick but have to feel really sorry for Waterford, I honestly thought you'd do it in the end.

Well you can't leave in five goals and expect to win. Waterford just weren't good enough on the day, but I think we have a right to feel cheated, having got the hardest draw against Cork (twice). No reflection on Limerick though - they played very honest and hungry hurling.

Having said that though, I really didn't like Bennis's comments where he said "we got 5 goals and Dan the Man got none!". I know it was in the heat of victory, but it was a nasty thing to say about a great player. We can all have our off days Richie, ye might have yours against Kilkenny...

But a big cheer for the wonderful Déise lads who gave us so much during the summer. Even though ye didn't make it, ye were magnificent!

Sully

Limerick have no chance against Kilkenny. Waterford are an excellent team and while they didnt play their best, it was still a battle for Limerick today. Imagine playing against Kilkenny, a team ready and fit? A team thats brilliant at the game?

They dont stand a chance. Waterford deserved to meet KK, but not in the state they are in. As a result, the next best team got through but I dont think they can handle it.

Fajitas!

fricatus wrote:

But a big cheer for the wonderful Déise lads who gave us so much during the summer. Even though ye didn't make it, ye were magnificent!

Here here.

Was my first year ever getting into the hurling.

Gizzle

As a Waterford fan, I have to hand it to Limerick, they were hungry and physical, and never backed down, round of applause.

But I still see Kilkenny taking the final, they're rested and masters at the game.

Also, why was Mullane left on for so long? He was woeful, the same story against Cork last week.

Freddie59

Sully wrote:

Limerick have no chance against Kilkenny.

Not quite. Anything can happen in a one-opff game. Look at today. Best of luck to Limerick in the Final.

Sully

Well what happened today was Waterford were to tired. They had this idea they were going to win it to, like everyone else, but Limerick had time of to prepare and managed to win. The defence was the biggest let down for us, but we drained Limerick.

Now they are facing a very tough team, who are relax and masters of the game.

sk8board

fricatus wrote:

I really didn't like Bennis's comments where he said "we got 5 goals and Dan the Man got none!". I know it was in the heat of victory,

I thought that a bit odd too, but I reckon he was just caught in the moment; they would have had Shanahan tagged as a targetman for the whole week.

Cody will certainly have no trouble finding video analysis of Limerick at their best. He'd have 70minutes from today. Bennis won't have the same luxury, KK haven't really got out of 3rd gear this year. Roll on Sept 2nd.

JohnC.

Sully wrote:

Limerick have no chance against Kilkenny.

An awful lot of people said Limerick had no chance against Waterford and considered a Waterford - Kilkenny final a foregone conclusion. I suppose Kilkenny should beat Limerick, but anything can happen in a one-off game.

Sully

Waterford would have beaten Limerick if they played their top form, but they didnt. They played poor enough.

KK have had plenty of time to rest so will be fighting fit.

Daysha

Gizzle wrote:

Also, why was Mullane left on for so long? He was woeful, the same story against Cork last week.

Mullane's had a viral infection the past week or two, started before the Cork replay. Didnt really play much better that day either, so it makes sense.

road_high

Freddie59 wrote:

Not quite. Anything can happen in a one-opff game. Look at today. Best of luck to Limerick in the Final.

Ah Freddie, and there was me thinkin you'd all for your neighbours and all;)

shapez

Being from KK, in my opinion Limerick are going to be no push over. Yes, KK will have their rest periods this year and haven't moved from 3rd gear, but sometimes long rest periods can be a bad thing.

We are also talking about 2 different hurling styles here too. Limerick being the more physical team than KK. Which in the past has thrown KK off in a big game.

There has been so much hurling in Munster alone this year to equal a full All-Ireland championship!!!

I really do feel sorry for Waterford. From a netural point of view I would like to see someone new and fresh standing up to the plate and taking the Liam McCarthy.

Regarding the comment from the Limerick manager about "We got 5 and Dan got none..." I personally think was uncalled for. Ok, in the heat of winning etc. But never have I heard a comment like it. No manager I know ever went and said "We got X and DJ Carey got nothing!!"

road_high

shapez wrote:

Being from KK, in my opinion Limerick are going to be no push over. Yes, KK will have their rest periods this year and haven't moved from 3rd gear, but sometimes long rest periods can be a bad thing.

We are also talking about 2 different hurling styles here too. Limerick being the more physical team than KK. Which in the past has thrown KK off in a big game.

There has been so much hurling in Munster alone this year to equal a full All-Ireland championship!!!

I really do feel sorry for Waterford. From a netural point of view I would like to see someone new and fresh standing up to the plate and taking the Liam McCarthy.

Regarding the comment from the Limerick manager about "We got 5 and Dan got none..." I personally think was uncalled for. Ok, in the heat of winning etc. But never have I heard a comment like it. No manager I know ever went and said "We got X and DJ Carey got nothing!!"

Indeed. Nobody can knock a player like Shanahan. The likes of Limerick would do well to have him on their panel. Very sour in my view espec for a winner.

Gizzle

Ooof. I missed that comment, a definite low blow. Everyone has their off games, but to rub it in after winning the game, that reeks of pettyness and a lack of sportsmanship.

Cill Chainnigh

Eamonn Sweeney wrote:
Thank you Waterford, you the championship would have been as miserable as the weather


THERE was a fashion one time for the presentation of honours to sportsmen on the basis of perceived special merit rather than actual results. Dorando Pietri, who collapsed within sight of the finishing line in the 1908 London Olympic marathon and lost out to Bloomingdales employee John Hayes (whose parents hailed from Tipperary), received an enormous trophy for his efforts instead of a gold medal.


And in 1953 the Galway County Board presented a special set of medals to their hurling team following a narrow defeat by Cork in the All-Ireland final and a couple of post-match attacks on Christy Ring in The Gresham and Barry's Hotel, Ring having broken the jaw of the Tribesmen's captain Mickey Burke during the match.

Perhaps the GAA should take a lesson from history and mint a set of medals for the Waterford hurlers in recognition of the service they have done the Association these past couple of months. Because Waterford have done nothing less than single-handedly rescue the hurling championship.

On the other side of the draw from the Decies, Kilkenny have reached the final without playing a single Munster team. Their path to the decider has involved two virtual walkovers against woeful Wexford, another against Offaly and a scarcely more difficult encounter with a confused Galway outfit during which Brian Cody's men only got going in the closing minutes and still came out on top by 10 points.

We still don't know how good Kilkenny are after an All-Ireland semi-final which looked about as demanding as an early season Walsh Cup match. And, if their exertions of the past couple of weeks render Waterford liable to be caught on the hop today by Limerick, Kilkenny could end up winning the easiest All-Ireland of modern times. Once more the integrity of the championship is in Waterford's hands.

And not for the first time. Had Ken McGrath's cohorts not engineered that last gasp equaliser against Cork in the drawn game, the Munster champions would have been eliminated from the championship having lost just one match, by a team which had already lost twice. There's surely something wrong there. Waterford's fighting spirit saved the GAA's blushes.

They have also saved us from another Cork-Kilkenny final. Three of the last four deciders have been between the big two, the first time there's been a sequence of such monotony since Cork and Dublin met in the 1941, 1943 and 1944 deciders. There's never in the history of hurling been identical final pairings four years out of five. But there would have been only for Waterford.

Without the Decies the championship would have been as miserable as the weather. And their contribution hasn't merely been a negative one, though in saving us from tedium, inequity and oligarchy it is praiseworthy enough in itself. They have emerged as probably the most beloved team in Gaelic games since Ger Loughnane's boys from nowhere went all the way in 1995.

Individually there is something uniquely compelling about Dan Shanahan's run of goals, about John Mullane's single-minded focus, about Eoin Kelly's struggles with his form, about Ken McGrath's power, Tony Browne's drive, Paul Flynn's knack to come up with the telling contribution at the vital time, about the Brick and the Bull.

Every Waterford game is a thriller because they do not have the defensive solidity to ever be sure they've done enough. There is a hectic feel about their play, an off the cuff quality which makes them the hurling equivalent of tight-rope walkers doing tricks high above the ground without a net. Sometimes it's almost too nerve wracking to watch. Almost, because if you look away for a second you'll miss something.

It's interesting, too, to see how little mention there's been of Justin McCarthy this season. The accepted narrative when Waterford broke through in 2002 was of a managerial genius getting the best out of limited players. But somewhere along the line the story has changed. This year the players have taken ownership.

There's something refreshing about Waterford's seat of the pants approach. For the past few seasons we've heard so much about the attention to detail, the avoidance of mistakes, the careful calculation which a championship campaign entails. A Celtic Tiger-loving media coterie listened to Cork's corporate speak and found it good. The kind of clichés spouted at early morning breakfast briefings in hotel conference rooms found their way into the sporting lexicon. No higher praise could be offered to a player than the suggestion that he'd probably do very well in business. Because hurling, it seemed, was business by other means.

They have tattooes and dodgy dentistry and grew up on city housing estates

Waterford don't fit into that mould. They are, by and large, unmistakably working class. Their key figures are factory workers and tradesmen. They have tattooes and dodgy dentistry and grew up on city housing estates. And that strikes a chord with the lads all over the country whose working day begins with a jump out of the van at eight in the morning to load up on breakfast rolls, and the others who are getting off shift work at the same time.

There are more of them out there than David McWilliams might have you believe. And the GAA belongs to them no less than to the computer programmer, the bank official, the teacher and the self-employed businessman.

The Decies don't know the marketing department clichés. They're old fashioned that way. They hurl hard, they take their belts, they get on with it. They have no interest in talking up their victories, in persuading the world they've found a new way to approach the game. That's their world and they're happy with it.

Today dawns with Waterford just two steps from heaven. Chances are they won't need any specially minted medals come September. But whatever happens, they've got one title under their belt already; Saviours Of The Hurling Championship.

Go Decies.

fricatus

Cill Chainnigh wrote:

Eamonn Sweeney wrote:
Thank you Waterford, you the championship would have been as miserable as the weather
(...)
Go Decies.

Not going to quote it all in full, just scroll up the page. Wonderful article though, and all the more poignant given that it seems to have been written prior to the defeat by Limerick.

Out of interest, who is Eamonn Sweeney, or more pertinently, who does he write for?

SuperO'B

mfitzy wrote:

Indeed. Nobody can knock a player like Shanahan. The likes of Limerick would do well to have him on their panel. Very sour in my view espec for a winner.

Ah come off it lads. Richie Bennis meant nothing by it. Everybody has being blowing Dan's trumpet for him and putting limerick down. not saying Dan isn't a great player or anything but he's the easy player to praise. Richie Bennis has done wonders for that team and its great to see a hurling county coming back to form. Its all banter in the end.
Limerick won because they were hungrier, had the heart on the day and were willing to throw hands, heads, bodies at the ball. Anything to stop a waterford man getting through and thats what wins matches.
I wouldn't write them off against the cats. If they come out on fire and ready to die on the pitch like they did against waterford I wouldn't put any team in the country against them.
KK haven't been tested. A poor galway team held them for 60 mins. That doesn't say much.
What a penalty by the way...

shapez

Of course he meant nothing by it. But there is definitely an etiquette to adhear to when talking to the media. For example if you listened to Justin McCarthy's interview after the game, such a massive difference between his and Bennis.

I've followed hurling all my life and I have never heard a manager "sneer" or "put down" an opposing team or player after a victory.

Dan Shanahan amongest others on the Waterford team will duely pick up their All Stars this year.

bullpost

http://www.obrien.ie/author.cfm?authorid=207
I read his book on Sligo Rovers a few years ago - very entertaining!

fricatus wrote:

Out of interest, who is Eamonn Sweeney, or more pertinently, who does he write for?

Amazotheamazing

I hate to see one throw away line (Bennis was asked what he thought of Shanahan not getting goals, it wasn't like he starting crowing) ruin what was a great game. Bennis, and indeed everyone, admitted it was tough on Waterford. I hope ye do win an AI soon, it's certainly deserved.

Sully

Didnt the limerick manager recently boast about winning, going on about it all "being planned" and that they knew ages ago they would beat Waterford and the match was all planned etc etc. I heard it third-party, so im not sure the full details but if it was said: I dont think Limerick deserve to win.

Amazotheamazing

Sully wrote:

Didnt the limerick manager recently boast about winning, going on about it all "being planned" and that they knew ages ago they would beat Waterford and the match was all planned etc etc. I heard it third-party, so im not sure the full details but if it was said: I dont think Limerick deserve to win.

Yes he did. what do you expect him to say to the reporter "Jeez, I'm as surprised as you guys, I thought we were going to get whipped off the pitch, sure we're useless, we went out last night to Coppers and got legless cause lets face it, we're here to make up the numbers"?

Every manager should think their team is going to win, otherwise he's just wasting his time and the players time.

Mossy Monk

Sully wrote:

Didnt the limerick manager recently boast about winning, going on about it all "being planned" and that they knew ages ago they would beat Waterford and the match was all planned etc etc. I heard it third-party, so im not sure the full details but if it was said: I dont think Limerick deserve to win.

What would you expect the manager to say?