*Limerick GAA news/discussion thread*

Fireball07

Lynch is class. He didn't set the WCC or the League alight, was decent but not outstanding but a lot of people hoped he would come to life in the Championship and he tore O'Donovan to shreds today and the point at the end, where he was surrounded by 3 players, including McInerney, was unbelievable.


Looking at those highlights, Hannon did get a few direct assists with some nice passes but needs to be involved more. Either try and get him to win puckouts or drop him deeper.

Hidalgo

paddy no 11 wrote: »

Tobin did not strike, but the two idiots in the studio couldn't say that.

First both shouldered each other. Then Tobin led with the bas of the hurley. Think it was Shefflin in the studio after that said if you use the shoulder in those situations your fine but if you lead with the hurley you're walking a fine line. Good point

Cheese Wagstaff

Hidalgo wrote: »

First both shouldered each other. Then Tobin led with the bas of the hurley. Think it was Shefflin in the studio after that said if you use the shoulder in those situations your fine but if you lead with the hurley you're walking a fine line. Good point

This is very true, however it was the fact that the reaction to it was so OTT was what led to the dismissal. I'm not saying that it's okay to do it, but those types of shoulders happen all the time, and O'Connor gave as good as he got also it seemed. It was disappointing to see those theatrics on what was a fantastic spectacle.

marco_polo

Cheese Wagstaff wrote: »

This is very true, however it was the fact that the reaction to it was so OTT was what led to the dismissal. I'm not saying that it's okay to do it, but those types of shoulders happen all the time, and O'Connor gave as good as he got also it seemed. It was disappointing to see those theatrics on what was a fantastic spectacle.

I think it should remain a red card offence, its easy to give a lad a good hard shoulder without going for the ribs. You could argue Podges red card for helmet grabbing was harsh on us if you look at it compared to past years, but players will learn very quickly not to do it anymore if refs remain consistent.

Also congrats on today better team won.

Colemania

Lynch given Sunday Game man of the match. Well deserved! And yes that Tobin red card was a joke. Simulation coming to the fore unfortunately... Too many people watching soccer!

LMK

Really proud to support this Limerick team, theirs is a fantastic spirit, because of some limitations they have to do everything the hard way, no dramatics involved, TJ deserves credit.
It's looking like a very dangerous inside forward line, Tom Condon and Gavin O'M excelled in their new roles, credit too to Fitzgibbon for a great winner.
Plus there were a few on the intermediates that looked good, particularly Diarmuid Byrnes.

windy shepard henderson

Colemania wrote: »

Lynch given Sunday Game man of the match. Well deserved! And yes that Tobin red card was a joke. Simulation coming to the fore unfortunately... Too many people watching soccer!

yes and the law makers in croke park are making the game out like soccer too , there was nothing in the incident with tobin and o'connor it was once seen as been part of the game hopefully we dont enter non contact mode

as for the game it self , while both teams have plenty still to work on it was very entertaining stuff cian lynch is a top class hurler gave not just donal o'donavan but our entire defense the run around but if there was a minus against ye today , there are still problems to be sorted out in the half back line a large number of our second half scores came from puck outs landing in around the limerick 45/ "D" area which nearly always caused a panic in the limerick back line , cuninghams 2nd goal would be another example

thinkstoomuch1

Fireball07 wrote: »

Were Clare & Limerick not missing the same amount of players today? And Downes couldn't even be used as a sub really, nowhere near full fitness. Collins & Galvin aren't coming back, so are Clare going to have a depleted squad for the whole year?

Tactically, the whole game was a bit of a mess tbh. Two teams attempting to play tactics and not fully able to do it. The fact that we've only been focusing on that running, overlap style for a few weeks means that I think we can improve it, but it does need a big improvement. Think we need to make a couple of changes up front.

But Davy's decision to start playing a sweeper again when it was 14 vs 14 killed Clare's momentum and was probably the winning of the match for Limerick. Mad call.


Tipp are a level above either of these teams based on this, but we've got a month to improve. Game is likely to be much more open against Tipp, who do play a 3rd midfielder but rarely a sweeper.

Id agree with that but I never really mean Collins in bulger defo be back and mcgrath and galvin could very well be

Those three mean huge improvement to clsre


Downes awesome player but wouldn't strenghten ye much today as systems ye play

Tipp play with sweeper at times and if they had sense would also as clear as day limerick can't break it down
Limerick should won this make statement intend but like last two years where won v tipp weren't convincing and that showed later games

Lynch was awesome and I knew he has big game temperament
Some tactical ploys by Ryan were poor I felt

Fireball07

My go at a player-by-player rating:


Hennessy- He did alright. We didn't win a huge amount of puckouts, but I thought they were alright tbh, he did as well as he could with what he had. I'd like to see our players make runs from deep towards the keeper so he can hit them accurately. Don't think he could do much about either goal, both super goals.

Walsh- I thought he was fine. Bit odd putting him on Conlon though, thought he'd be the man for Shane O'Donnell. But he did fine.

Richie- Struggled a bit with SOD, although one free given against him was very very soft. Grew into the game though and he is a warrior, SOD only actually got past him once. I was surprised he wasn't put in front of him though, with Walsh marking him.

Hickey- Dealt with Reidy no bother at all, but did look a bit rusty when Cunningham came on. I mean he left him for dead. Smart hurling though, and made a few good blocks. Hopefully he gets back to top fitness though, someone like McGrath may have caused serious problems.

O'Brien- His first Championship start, 3 years since his last appearance; I thought he was very good. Brilliant when he gets the ball in space, lovely score too, maybe tired towards the end. Did struggle to get the ball into his hand a few times, basic errors which halted his momentum, and probably should have been put to man-mark Cunningham after the first scare because he has the pace.

Gavin- Good, solid game. Worked very hard. Not much more to say really, wasn't exceptional but did his job well.

Condon- I thought he was excellent. We didn't actually employ a sweeper as per tactics, we just didn't follow the Clare man when they withdraw a forward. But Walsh moved up on one of the half-forwards and Condon was then left free. He probably should have been put on Conlon and we may have quietened their main ballwinner. Super score, some of his tackles were class and was always the first man to block Kelly. One time he went for a score when Dowling was unmarked 5 metres to his left, that was a bad decision. Apart from that, I'd say he was one of our best players, his yellow card was harsh imo.

Jim Bob- Superb as usual bar that one wayward shot/pass in the first half. But he was everywhere, I'd love to see stats for ground covered, he made a crucial intervention to deny a goal opportunity arising at one stage and any time he was at a ruck, he emerged with the ball. Always composed too, rock solid.

Paudie- For puckouts, he lined out at wing-forward and he did really well. Scored a nice point early on, worked really hard and did very well under the puckouts where he was the main option. Always seemed to be available. It's why I like him in a more advanced role and this was his best game since 2012 for Limerick imo. I think he could have shot a few more times, but I can hardly fault him for trying to find a smart pass.

Dodge- Very quiet really. Popped up a few times and made some nice interventions and did work hard but he didn't dominate or go on any significant runs with ball in hand. A pity Downes or Breen weren't fit, I think; might be best used as a sub.

Hannon- Also very quiet. Game went on over his head for the most part. We targeted Paudie from the puckouts, it was Lynch & Dowling we were trying to hit from open play and Hannon was only getting possession if he came deep. Conor Ryan followed him everywhere. When he had the ball, he did well but he didn't have it near enough and I do think he has to work harder to demand it because we all know his ability.

Browne- Actually played in midfield for pretty much the whole game as far as I could tell. Worked hard as usual and does sweep up a lot of ball but it wasn't his best day at the office at all. So many times he went down to pick it up and it just wouldn't come up first time which is unusual for him; in fact the speed at which he gets the ball to hand is probably one of his best skills usually. Hopefully he's sharper next time out.

Mulcahy- First half, just didn't get the ball. I wouldn't even praise McInerney that much, he didn't do much either, the ball just didn't go his way bar the odd time. Was fouled when a goal looked on and was beaten for a puckout but it looked like we were targeting DOD and feared McInerney a bit. In the 2nd half, when DOD switched to him, he saw a lot more ball and did excellently. Caused panic for back & goalie for the goal, managed to stay on his feet, and rifled the ball to the net. Took a nice point too. He is absolutely class, just get him the ball!

Dowling- A poor day for him, I think. A great catch early on aside, he wasn't involved much; missed 3 or 4 frees and missed a couple of shots from play you'd normally expect him to put over in his sleep. Bit sluggish maybe? Or maybe things just didn't go his way... he tried his best but he wasn't near his best. Great free-taking in the 2nd half though and that did win it for us in the end, so fair play... to bounce back from bad misses took balls.

Lynch- What can you say? Deserved man of the match, tore DOD to shreds and scored a great point later on. Showed off all his skills, little flicks, handpasses out the back door, aerial ability; he just tortured DOD tbh. Poor guy should have been switched much earlier. He pretty much played as a conventional corner-forward, coming deep at times. Would he have done even better if he had been allowed roam? I don't know but all I know is if you have someone that good, you have to feed them with a decent supply. He fought tooth and nail for everything today and is surely bound to be targeted in the future... Tipp's backs are tougher. Spoke very well in his MotM interview too.


Tobin- Still adamant that that was the softest of red cards. People saying he lead with the bas, but to be honest, the way he went in didn't look any different to how both players went in the first time and did the bas make contact?? If it did, then technically it was a red but jaysus... I'd say we'll appeal.

Morrissey- We didn't actually have a corner-back sub to bring on when Walsh got injured. Didn't get hugely involved, did really well with his first touch, then threw an overlong handpass with his next one.

Fitzgibbon- Replacing Jim Bob is a serious task, he did well though, floated around picking up loose ball. Lovely point to win the game.

Wayne- Looked good when he came on, brought his strength and physicality and it proved crucial to stop Clare winning clean possession.

Downes- Don't think he got a touch, his sub looked more like timewasting than anything. Hope to God he's fit the next day.

niallo27

Cheese Wagstaff wrote: »

Watching the Sunday Game now, Pat O'Connor should take a good long look at himself for blatant simulation. That was in no way a red card. Shocking stuff.

Also, Aaron Cunningham's goals. Sheer class, the second one particularly. Pace, power and skill. Beautiful to watch.

What about my man that went off in a stretcher and came out with a bandage around his head and then by some sort of miracle he didn't have a scratch on him after the game. It was embarrassing. As for the 2nd red most players drop from a dig to the ribs.

thinkstoomuch1

paddy no 11 wrote: »

nRight, happy to win but we made hard work of it.

Tactics were really poor in the first half. Puck outs were a joke went long everytime,played the ball into Clares extra man everytime, why not go short and keep them honest and feed ball direct into our excellent full forward line.

The sweeper worked for us in that we didn't concede any goals until down to 14 and cunninghams introduction.

Cant believe Downes wasn't brought on to win ball in the last 10

If Clare lined out at full strength today we would have lost, still need a huge improvement in delivery of ball into our forwards.

Fitness was there and hopefully we can build to peak later in year (as we thought was the plan)

The short passing gameplan didn't really get going or prove to be effective but this is the first time they tried it in a competitive environment so not really surprising.

Barry Hennessey - Didn't have a good view of incident in first half but looked an error could have been costly, where would Aaron Murphy have landed his puck outs in first half?

Walsh - I'm still not sure if he's up to it

Richie - came good, will only improve

Hickey - very good

SOB - Brilliant debut, but he's not a defender, marking Conlon from in front under a high ball is suicidal, Management should have this sorted out, not good enough from them

GOM - Excellent

Condon - not good, conceded crap frees, dropped ball cold, covered no ground as sweeper. One heroic point has guts but we need more

Jim bob - his usual self

POB - anonymous for large parts, good scores but cant take on a man, himself and JB go sideways too much need more direction

10 - Dodge - was combative at least

11 - largely anonymous

Browne - poor touch all day, never again at HF for me

13 - Brilliant, won us the game in the end when it mattered, leader on field

14 - Threatened early, was fouled and won frees, hit some great frees but needs to increase concentration on all frees

15 - Brilliant what a debut

Tobin - wtf
Morrissey - bag of nerves
Fitz - very good
Downes N/A

We have a serious problem in defence, 2 players going up for same ball regularly, defending from in front against the likes of conlon and leaving acres of space behind, not meeting the man with the ball and letting him run clean through.

We need breen and or downes for puckouts, and to drive at the opposition we need to attach directly, this will also prevent us from coming too deep and generating pressure in our defence.

Downes or breen in the next day, bring wayne mac back in for condon as well.

Tomas Ryan is the real answer at half back, disappointed not to see him in 26 today

Agree with that and said all along Ryan should start and imo ahead Paudie o brien play sweeper

That's nine goals conceded last five games nearly double figures and there's huge huge weakness in defence still not resolved

Huge calls now as Ryan may well recall breen and Wayne mac which he shouldn't
Hennessy was okay but Murphy deserves a chance
Limerick stumbled to win and a win is a win but I saw no huge improvement from last year and talent is there but game plans and best team imo still need be improved

Mountainlad

Cheesy wag, Shane O Donnell set up the first goal, setup Kelly's point brilliantly, got a great ball and scored a great point, won a free brilliantly first half. His movement is different class and he's very fast, all this with a sweeper in front of him all game.

Three of them in the full forward line would be the best in the Country without doubt, far better than a two man full forward line. Limerick switched the man in front of him three times, Walsh, Condon and Hickey. They hadn't a clue how to deal with him in the end and Richie McCarthy was hanging off him too.

Fireball07

windy shepard henderson wrote: »

if there was a minus against ye today , there are still problems to be sorted out in the half back line a large number of our second half scores came from puck outs landing in around the limerick 45/ "D" area which nearly always caused a panic in the limerick back line , cuninghams 2nd goal would be another example

That is very very true. While I thought the half-back line did quite well tbh, that was a huge issue. I'm not sure why it continued to happen, the free man should have started from a deeper position. All Pa Kelly was doing was launching it straight down the centre as far as he could at some points. On defensive puckouts, I think I'd like to see Browne or Ryan drop deep tbh.

thinkstoomuch1 wrote: »

Id agree with that but I never really mean Collins in bulger defo be back and mcgrath and galvin could very well be

Those three mean huge improvement to clsre


Downes awesome player but wouldn't strenghten ye much today as systems ye play

Tipp play with sweeper at times and if they had sense would also as clear as day limerick can't break it down
Limerick should won this make statement intend but like last two years where won v tipp weren't convincing and that showed later games

Lynch was awesome and I knew he has big game temperament
Some tactical ploys by Ryan were poor I felt

Is Galvin not gone on a J1? He's not going to be back until August by all accounts. That's semi-final stages? If Clare get that far without him, fair play. Bugler is decent, but not as good as he was two years ago. Obviously McGrath is top class and would have made a huge difference today. He'll probably return but he's been rushed back previously and his hamstring is really bothering him. Lovely player to watch though.

Downes would at least offer another puckout option, and he's also willing to take on his man. Okay, some of the Limerick players ended up running into trouble today but Downes has the power and pace to really add something. The same is true of Breen... our half-forward line was really lacking power today. Hopefully we'll see Quaid back too, even though Hennessy did alright.

As for Tipp, I didn't see them play a sweeper at all last year and maybe O'Shea will bring it this year but I doubt it. We'll see, I suppose. It ended up being the return of the sweeper that won it for us today though, it allowed us to start a slower build-up out of defence when the game was in the melting point, where Cunningham had been running our tired backs ragged moments earlier.


Some of TJ's tactics were questionable- putting Richie on SOD, putting Walsh on Conlon, ignoring Mulcahy, for example. But I suppose you could say the switching of Paudie to attack as a puckout option, the continued targeting of O'Donovan and using the spare man to target Tony Kelly's runs were successes. Tipp brings a new battle and a completely different set of tasks.

niallo27 wrote: »

What about my man that went off in a stretcher and came out with a bandage around his head and then by some sort of miracle he didn't have a scratch on him after the game. It was embarrassing. As for the 2nd red most players drop from a dig to the ribs.

Dodge did go down very easily too; both red cards were embarrassing from the receiving player's point of view. Both were barely touched.

thinkstoomuch1

Fireball07 wrote: »

That is very very true. While I thought the half-back line did quite well tbh, that was a huge issue. I'm not sure why it continued to happen, the free man should have started from a deeper position. All Pa Kelly was doing was launching it straight down the centre as far as he could at some points. On defensive puckouts, I think I'd like to see Browne or Ryan drop deep tbh.




Is Galvin not gone on a J1? He's not going to be back until August by all accounts. That's semi-final stages? If Clare get that far without him, fair play. Bugler is decent, but not as good as he was two years ago. Obviously McGrath is top class and would have made a huge difference today. He'll probably return but he's been rushed back previously and his hamstring is really bothering him. Lovely player to watch though.

Downes would at least offer another puckout option, and he's also willing to take on his man. Okay, some of the Limerick players ended up running into trouble today but Downes has the power and pace to really add something. The same is true of Breen... our half-forward line was really lacking power today. Hopefully we'll see Quaid back too, even though Hennessy did alright.

As for Tipp, I didn't see them play a sweeper at all last year and maybe O'Shea will bring it this year but I doubt it. We'll see, I suppose. It ended up being the return of the sweeper that won it for us today though, it allowed us to start a slower build-up out of defence when the game was in the melting point, where Cunningham had been running our tired backs ragged moments earlier.


Some of TJ's tactics were questionable- putting Richie on SOD, putting Walsh on Conlon, ignoring Mulcahy, for example. But I suppose you could say the switching of Paudie to attack as a puckout option, the continued targeting of O'Donovan and using the spare man to target Tony Kelly's runs were successes. Tipp brings a new battle and a completely different set of tasks.






Dodge did go down very easily too; both red cards were embarrassing from the receiving player's point of view. Both were barely touched.

I wouldn't be surprised see galvin back sooner

Limerick I agree tactics were poor I just think this management as many even said made poor calls and it's just when not if limerick are beaten as they struggled win a game should won in a canter

Fireball07

thinkstoomuch1 wrote: »

I wouldn't be surprised see galvin back sooner

Limerick I agree tactics were poor I just think this management as many even said made poor calls and it's just when not if limerick are beaten as they struggled win a game should won in a canter

Is that inside knowledge?

It's expensive going to the US, and if you're getting paid to play hurling over there, it's a hard proposition to turn down. A few of my friends know Galvin fairly well, went to college/school with him but none have said anything about him coming home. Would be a huge boost for sure, I reckon he's their best player but I'd be shocked if he returned before then just from what I heard.




Limerick have a lot to improve upon, that's for sure, in many ways. I'm not overly worried though- we've only started playing that particular tactic in recent weeks and it probably needs fine-tuning. More running from deep, for example.

We also only started heavy physical training after the league, it seems that we aim to peak later in the year this year. Which is a risk for sure, if we lose to Tipp, we could be out early in the season but I suppose TJ and the boys have to believe they're good enough.


And we did what we had to do, we weren't great but we were better than Clare. To be honest, if it wasn't for a couple of pure moments of magic from Cunningham, it'd have been fairly comfortable. They were special moments though, two top class goals, the finish for the first one under pressure was fantastic.

citykat

Cheese Wagstaff wrote: »

This is very true, however it was the fact that the reaction to it was so OTT was what led to the dismissal. I'm not saying that it's okay to do it, but those types of shoulders happen all the time, and O'Connor gave as good as he got also it seemed. It was disappointing to see those theatrics on what was a fantastic spectacle.

O'Connor only took his cue from O'Grady whose diving was just as bad. O'Grady riled Donnellan with a couple of hand slaps and Donnellan foolishly reacted. Tobin was equally foolish in not limiting himself to shoulders. After the first sending off, the ref was only waiting for his opportunity to even the score. Could've cost LK the match.
As a neutral, delighted for TJ Ryan. Took a lot of flak for the league performance. Looks like he was planning for this game and had the cojones to stick to his guns. Today's display also indicates that he can vary the game plan when necessary. Finally, might seem cheesy, but he comes across as a genuine guy in interviews.

Cheese Wagstaff

niallo27 wrote: »

What about my man that went off in a stretcher and came out with a bandage around his head and then by some sort of miracle he didn't have a scratch on him after the game. It was embarrassing. As for the 2nd red most players drop from a dig to the ribs.

Mountainlad wrote: »

Cheesy wag, Shane O Donnell set up the first goal, setup Kelly's point brilliantly, got a great ball and scored a great point, won a free brilliantly first half. His movement is different class and he's very fast, all this with a sweeper in front of him all game.

Three of them in the full forward line would be the best in the Country without doubt, far better than a two man full forward line. Limerick switched the man in front of him three times, Walsh, Condon and Hickey. They hadn't a clue how to deal with him in the end and Richie McCarthy was hanging off him too.

citykat wrote: »

O'Connor only took his cue from O'Grady whose diving was just as bad. O'Grady riled Donnellan with a couple of hand slaps and Donnellan foolishly reacted. Tobin was equally foolish in not limiting himself to shoulders. After the first sending off, the ref was only waiting for his opportunity to even the score. Could've cost LK the match.
As a neutral, delighted for TJ Ryan. Took a lot of flak for the league performance. Looks like he was planning for this game and had the cojones to stick to his guns. Today's display also indicates that he can vary the game plan when necessary. Finally, might seem cheesy, but he comes across as a genuine guy in interviews.

To be honest, it looked as if O'Donnell lost possession rather than him passing the ball to Cunningham, I'll have to take another look to be sure. It's all well and good to list off all his good play. I wasn't disputing that. What I am saying is that he is there to be the threat in front of goal. The guy you do not want to have bearing down on goal as the opposition. The gamechanger. He didn't once look like he would do that, whereas Cunningham did three times, scoring twice.

For the red cards, Donal O'Grady did get a slap just around the jaw area. There was a fist flying and a bit of hurley going with it aswell for good measure. That's my opinion of it (also noticed Kelly giving a good grab of a lad's faceguard at the bottom of the picture while that's going on). The second one saw the classic handbags action with lads shouldering each other over zealously, neither player doing worse than the other. Even that is possibly giving the incident too much credibility.

It's basically being espoused that two wrongs make a right, and that O'Connor had every right to dive because the other kid in the yard did it first. I don't buy that at all.

Also, if there was no injury or damage caused, why on earth did O'Grady continue to receive treatment for a further 5-10 minutes on the field after the halftime whistle was blown? To ensure that the con was authentic?

thinkstoomuch1

Fireball07 wrote: »

Is that inside knowledge?

It's expensive going to the US, and if you're getting paid to play hurling over there, it's a hard proposition to turn down. A few of my friends know Galvin fairly well, went to college/school with him but none have said anything about him coming home. Would be a huge boost for sure, I reckon he's their best player but I'd be shocked if he returned before then just from what I heard.




Limerick have a lot to improve upon, that's for sure, in many ways. I'm not overly worried though- we've only started playing that particular tactic in recent weeks and it probably needs fine-tuning. More running from deep, for example.

We also only started heavy physical training after the league, it seems that we aim to peak later in the year this year. Which is a risk for sure, if we lose to Tipp, we could be out early in the season but I suppose TJ and the boys have to believe they're good enough.


And we did what we had to do, we weren't great but we were better than Clare. To be honest, if it wasn't for a couple of pure moments of magic from Cunningham, it'd have been fairly comfortable. They were special moments though, two top class goals, the finish for the first one under pressure was fantastic.

Daly suggested as much in he's preview during the week

niallo27

Cheese Wagstaff wrote: »

To be honest, it looked as if O'Donnell lost possession rather than him passing the ball to Cunningham, I'll have to take another look to be sure. It's all well and good to list off all his good play. I wasn't disputing that. What I am saying is that he is there to be the threat in front of goal. The guy you do not want to have bearing down on goal as the opposition. The gamechanger. He didn't once look like he would do that, whereas Cunningham did three times, scoring twice.

For the red cards, Donal O'Grady did get a slap just around the jaw area. There was a fist flying and a bit of hurley going with it aswell for good measure. That's my opinion of it (also noticed Kelly giving a good grab of a lad's faceguard at the bottom of the picture while that's going on). The second one saw the classic handbags action with lads shouldering each other over zealously, neither player doing worse than the other. Even that is possibly giving the incident too much credibility.

It's basically being espoused that two wrongs make a right, and that O'Connor had every right to dive because the other kid in the yard did it first. I don't buy that at all.

Also, if there was no injury or damage caused, why on earth did O'Grady continue to receive treatment for a further 5-10 minutes on the field after the halftime whistle was blown? To ensure that the con was authentic?

5-10 minutes. Are you sure about that.

niallo27

Fireball07 wrote: »

Is that inside knowledge?

It's expensive going to the US, and if you're getting paid to play hurling over there, it's a hard proposition to turn down. A few of my friends know Galvin fairly well, went to college/school with him but none have said anything about him coming home. Would be a huge boost for sure, I reckon he's their best player but I'd be shocked if he returned before then just from what I heard.




Limerick have a lot to improve upon, that's for sure, in many ways. I'm not overly worried though- we've only started playing that particular tactic in recent weeks and it probably needs fine-tuning. More running from deep, for example.

We also only started heavy physical training after the league, it seems that we aim to peak later in the year this year. Which is a risk for sure, if we lose to Tipp, we could be out early in the season but I suppose TJ and the boys have to believe they're good enough.


And we did what we had to do, we weren't great but we were better than Clare. To be honest, if it wasn't for a couple of pure moments of magic from Cunningham, it'd have been fairly comfortable. They were special moments though, two top class goals, the finish for the first one under pressure was fantastic.

The sending off changed the game in fairness. Clare were only a point behind playing against a strong breeze. The plan was to keep it tight and it was working until that moment of stupidity which ruins the game plan. The Limerick goal was a mistake from the keeper. Limerick carried no goal threat. Clare threw that game away rather than Limerick win it.

thinkstoomuch1

niallo27 wrote: »

The sending off changed the game in fairness. Clare were only a point behind playing against a strong breeze. The plan was to keep it tight and it was working until that moment of stupidity which ruins the game plan. The Limerick goal was a mistake from the keeper. Limerick carried no goal threat. Clare threw that game away rather than Limerick win it.

Totally agree and clare scoring two nine to limerick one eight from play showed how clare were far more impressive from play
Limerick imo won't do much in championship and clare will beat them if they meet in croke park

niallo27

thinkstoomuch1 wrote: »

Totally agree and clare scoring two nine to limerick one eight from play showed how clare were far more impressive from play
Limerick imo won't do much in championship and clare will beat them if they meet in croke park

I wouldn't rule out Limerick they will always be tough to beat but I can't see an all Ireland in them unless they can find a goalscorer from somewhere.

Fireball07

niallo27 wrote: »

The sending off changed the game in fairness. Clare were only a point behind playing against a strong breeze. The plan was to keep it tight and it was working until that moment of stupidity which ruins the game plan. The Limerick goal was a mistake from the keeper. Limerick carried no goal threat. Clare threw that game away rather than Limerick win it.

As I said earlier, I was worried at half-time, pre red card. But I thought we were by far the better team in the first half and that was the reason I was worried, Clare were only a point behind having not played well.


The goal threat is a worry alright. I thought the chance Lynch had where Kelly saved it could have been taken on another 10 metres. The intent Cunningham showed in going for goal, our players should be told to do the same, Mulcahy definitely could. It's been a worry for ages.


If Limerick had lost, I would have felt Limerick had thrown it away (and very nearly did). I suppose everyone is going to look at things from their pov.

windy shepard henderson

Fireball07 wrote: »

As I said earlier, I was worried at half-time, pre red card. But I thought we were by far the better team in the first half and that was the reason I was worried, Clare were only a point behind having not played well.


The goal threat is a worry alright. I thought the chance Lynch had where Kelly saved it could have been taken on another 10 metres. The intent Cunningham showed in going for goal, our players should be told to do the same, Mulcahy definitely could. It's been a worry for ages.


If Limerick had lost, I would have felt Limerick had thrown it away (and very nearly did). I suppose everyone is going to look at things from their pov.

they are but as said earlier both teams played with a notion that there is more to come nither side were at there best

there was also a bit of maturity in limericks victory today , there was no one getting carried away in interviews after the game , no pitch invasion's supporters having a sit in on the terrace , it was very much a case of just go home and worry about the next day , i remember last year in thurles and the year before in the park were very much different you can see there is a different mindset this year already

mickmackey1

Cheese Wagstaff wrote: »

What I am saying is that O'Donnell is there to be the threat in front of goal. The guy you do not want to have bearing down on goal as the opposition. The gamechanger.

Yeah its a long time since he scored 3 goals in an AI final alright :rolleyes:

Pretty fast

niallo27 wrote: »

The sending off changed the game in fairness. Clare were only a point behind playing against a strong breeze. The plan was to keep it tight and it was working until that moment of stupidity which ruins the game plan. The Limerick goal was a mistake from the keeper. Limerick carried no goal threat. Clare threw that game away rather than Limerick win it.

Don't be such a sore loser. Your team were filthy today and were never going to win fouling all round them. Limerick deserved their win in a very scrappy very competitive game.

HillFarmer

Just watched the game today, jees Lynch is a class act . He's got serious skill and judging by his interview is a bit of a character.
Delighted for Limerick, just hope we can get past Cork!

Mehapoy

windy shepard henderson wrote: »

they are but as said earlier both teams played with a notion that there is more to come nither side were at there best

there was also a bit of maturity in limericks victory today , there was no one getting carried away in interviews after the game , no pitch invasion's supporters having a sit in on the terrace , it was very much a case of just go home and worry about the next day , i remember last year in thurles and the year before in the park were very much different you can see there is a different mindset this year already

Limerick and TJ would have to be happy enough with that, got through with room to improve, all the talk is of Clare and how with all the absentees back they'll be theresbouts(not so sure on that), thought tony Kelly was nullified very well, every time he got near the ball tom condon was there...Cian lynch was tearing it up, and was given enough space to do so...though Paul Browne had a mare, nothing went right for him, including sidelines, gavin O'mahony was good at centre back, seanie O'Brien looks like he could make a contribution, although was exposed abit in the aerial battle, paudie and Jim bob were good at midfield, thought the full back line were poor, I know Cunningham got 2 super goals and could have had a third but nobody pressured him at all going through and he got inside hickey way too easily, Stephen Walsh is a good defender but his hurling is a little slow for this level I think, Dowling and Mulcahy were ok, not outstanding, you feel there's more in them if the tactics are right to use them, Hannon was very quite but I suppose Conor Ryan wasn't dominating either, overall as Donal o Grady said first rounds are for winning, got tipp in limerick and a bit of momentum behind us, with the addition of an X factor in lynch were in a reasonably good place,
I have to say wasnt impressed by Clare's behaviour today, seeing tony Kelly following the ref down the tunnel with Davy is not a good look, pat O Connor diving after basically a shoulder from a lad that's about 5' 6" or 7", the high tackling and arms around the necks, hurleys held etc. makes them a frustrating team to watch and play against, if they left the shackles off and played positively they could be phenomenal but Davy has them ruined, long may he stay there!

zombieHanalei

Plenty to ponder after that.

A number of players disappointed, Hickey doesn't look 100% yet, Dowling's contribution from open play was questionable, Browne wasn't his best, but Hannon was very bad. His application and work rate just does not match his talent. He never forces the issue, doesn't demand the ball, he just hovers on the periphery hoping to pick up a break, it's far too easy for opposition to bypass him as he can be so passive. I'd nearly throw Breen on ahead of him the next day because at least you know Breen will look for the ball and fight for it. I hate to criticise individuals but I'm just frustrated that we're still talking about Hannon in terms of potential and not end product. This is his fifth year senior now, all I want is to see him become the player we all know he can be.

Those who felt Paudie O'Brien was better used in midfield rather than on the wing were proven right yesterday. And very happy for Lynch, we have a special talent on our hands there.

Browney7

Lynch's cards will be well marked for the rest of the year. He had a great game yesterday but Barrett and Stapleton are a cut above the clare lads and he could be quietened a bit. That said Mulcahy was pretty quiet as was Dowling and has Hanalei said Hannon wasn't really in the game either.

Not too worried about the scores from play situation. We were fouled a good few times on the 21 which would have been scores. Our defence was pretty disciplined which is good.

Big improvement needed but a satisfying win none the less. We've lost plenty games like that in the past so to grind it out is good. I think there's plenty improvement in us. Tipp game is massive and they'll be out to do us since we've beaten them the last two times. There could be a big Limerick crowd in the Ennis road in a few weeks. Vital we beat Tipp for the simple reason that we'll be in the exact same situation as Clare if we dont and you've the luck of the draw for home and away advantage.