Kilkenny GAA Thread Part 3 **MOD NOTE POST 1***

Billy Ocean

dubcat51 wrote: »

After walsh pk 2nd worst venue IMO.took me an hour over 2 year ago to get out of there.swore never again.allways a wind ruins the game.

you may give salthill a visit, another horrible venue. Walsh park worst in terms of spectator facilities.

brookville

Pity the weather is bad and if it was like today probably be no benefit to either team.Hopefully the decision is took early in the morning and we dont have a repeat of last year I think where people were in the stand only to find out it was cancelled.
Wexford park as we know is a very hard place to get a result and will be a good tester for the younger lads.On the team itself 3 changes to the team.Ger aylward must not have recovered after scoring the goal against cw.The Carlow lads given a deserved break but unfortunately blanchfield picked up a knock and like brassil will probably miss a few weeks.
Manaagment obviously keen to explore the browne experiment corner back.He has played in defence in the past and has good pace.Wallace hasn't done much wrong but these next two matches will be a step up in class and with lads like darren mullen waiting to get their chance hopefully there will be good competition for places.Deegan has shown leadership and I wonder is he seen as our long term number 6 or just plugging a hole till Padraig comes back.Delaney and buckley on the wings doesn't sound bad.Padraig is very flexible and could play nearly anywhere.Thankfully lads after a long club and county run have got a nice break and will hopefully come back fresh in a few weeks when the evenings get longer.
Surprising to see Michael carey listed midfield I dont think I've ever seen him play in this position but could be cover for the half backs who seem to get up the field more in our last two games.
Buckley and hogan have missed alot of game time over the last two years so it's no suprise to see them this early.
I'd like to see Donnelly positioned at 11 he is very selfless and has great vision and stick work.
Glad to hear james bergin has being called in and himself,eoin cody and shane walsh although very green could bring a goal threat and will hopefully benefit from being in the set up.

me89

Pitch passed the inspection this morning and is set to go ahead

Billy Ocean

corner back 2 wrote: »

Any word of an early pitch inspection don't want to travel in vain.

pitch passed 9am inspection,could be live on tv now as galway tipp is postponed which was due to be live, think its the 1st time i remember a gaa match called off due to winds and public safety fears rather than pitch issues.

Swamp_Cat

brookville wrote: »

Joey holden speaking at a glanbia thing yesterday said he doesn't expect the ballyhale contingent or padraig to return sunday but they are all back in with the count.I would also be in favour of easing these lads back Hopefully the few younger ballyhale lads make the bench and probably tommy and mossy will be there or there abouts.He also spoke about eoin cody and shane Walsh being brought in after impressing for their clubs
Agree with the previous poster that james bergin deserves a look I know he wasnt called in a few weeks ago but with college hurling finished he might get the call.Darren mullen will hopefully see action soon alot of people looking forward to see can he make the step up .We know that davey and cody will be flat out to win this despite it only being February.it will be intresting to see what way we set up.Liam blanchfield could be out for a while but the positive thing is he is hurling with a bit of confidence.The cw lads should be given the weekend off but we might see the dcu lads return.
If this storm comes this weekend the chances are this match might not go ahead

Of all the club performers who shined, and there was quite a few, I think Darren Mullin is going to end up the most consistent and biggest asset to KK when we look back in 5, 10, 15 years time. John Donnelly being my pick of forwards. We'll see if this comment will come back to bite me in 2030 or thereabouts. wow. Just typing 2030 is like science fiction. Congrats to a never say die UCC team. Some impressive stuff. And to Carlow IT as well

me89

Good effort into the wind, scored 4 of the last 6 points

kksaints

The wind is extremely strong here in Wexford Park and we were playing against it. Issue now is that it looks like its going to lash rain. We've done reasonably well so far.

Swamp_Cat

Wind must be really strong! 1/2 time came a little too soon as KK were finally getting & keeping possession & put over a few scores. Can only hope the wind keeps up & any rain holds off. Gotta fight a bit more. KK not showing the intensity we expect. Would guess some subs will be brought on sooner than later. Those last scores were vital.

JJs Left Hand

Wasn't at the game so just going off Twitter but why was Richie taken off for Bill Sheehan immediately after scoring two points?

Bahanaman

Michael Walsh after 10 min of the 2nd half.. "Damage limitation for Wexford from here ...".

kksaints

JJs Left Hand wrote: »

Wasn't at the game so just going off Twitter but why was Richie taken off for Bill Sheehan immediately after scoring two points?

He was struggling a bit physically and while the class remains with the ball in hand he definitely struggled when his marker won the ball.

I wouldn't overreact to that performance as Wexford look further along fitness wise than us but the last 20 minutes of the second half were really poor from us. The same long high pass that we've been playing for the last few years which doesn't work against the sweeper or a backline as big and strong as Wexford when only Wally and to a lesser extent Donnelly can win it. Compressing the midfield was a mistake today as it suited Wexford's physicality and system. We just cannot rely on physicality to win us matches anymore, the tactics have to be smarter now with the players we have.

corner back 2

kksaints wrote: »

He was struggling a bit physically and while the class remains with the ball in hand he definitely struggled when his marker won the ball.

I wouldn't overreact to that performance as Wexford look further along fitness wise than us but the last 20 minutes of the second half were really poor from us. The same long high pass that we've been playing for the last few years which doesn't work against the sweeper or a backline as big and strong as Wexford when only Wally and to a lesser extent Donnelly can win it. Compressing the midfield was a mistake today as it suited Wexford's physicality and system. We just cannot rely on physicality to win us matches anymore, the tactics have to be smarter now with the players we have.

Would have to agree with you. I thought KK were tactically very poor in the last 20 mins. WX bench was very strong and probably the difference between the teams. On the plus side there was some excellent performances especially in the backline. I was very impressed by Conor Browne and Wallace and Delaney also played very well.

conor05

I thought Conor Browne was our best player today. He bet Cathal Dunbar to every single ball before Dunbar was substituted.

Wexford are going to be hard to beat again in championship but atleast we have Padraig Walsh, Colin and TJ to come back in.

Alonzo Moseley

Outfought by Wexford in last 20 mins, which for Cody is a cardinal sin
And yes their subs were very influential

Can't agree about yanking Hogan off (unless he was injured)
He had Ryan in his pocket at that stage and I'd say he was delighted to see Hogan called ashore
Did Cody perhaps think job was done (a point up after 50 mins playing with a gale)?

Good performances by backs and even Lawlor recovered well after conceding a bad goal early on (he was in front of Mc Donald but just misjudged ball)
Good use of ball and accurate hand passing
Conversely forwards were not as crisp, a lot of wayward passes

James Maher, Billy Ryan (despite great goal) and Walter all left their best hurling behind in the 1st half

Too many positives to get worked up about result
But doubt Cody will be as philosophical as that, especially when hunger was the deciding factor

Grats

Don't forget, there was a gale force wind blowing on favour of Wexford in first half. All our players ran themselves into the ground and were, in my opinion, knackered in second half. Bear in mind, the wind eased considerably in that second half. We didn't have the bench to replenish the fatigued forwards. That's not to take from Wexford's well executed fane plan plus they upped the gears with subs and finished the match with a full championship team.

While I would be disappointed by some of our play in the second half, I'm happy enough in holding Wexford to 2 points.

Re R Hogan. He was listed to start so I'm guessing it was felt there wasn't 70 minutes in him.

BloodyBill

Great game to watch considering the conditions. I thought it was played in a good spirit. The game was there to be won in the final 20 and Wexford went for it. Kilkenny weren't up for the fight in the last 5 minutes for some reason. It was as poor a finish as iv seen from a Kilkenny team.
Wexford are a limited side. Let no one tell you otherwise. They got beat at home by a Clare side in experimental mode last time out. Some good performances by Deegan and the full back line were ok. Midfield were very poor at stopping runners,very naive. I'm not sure Kilkenny have recovered from last Augusts defeat. They look abit low in confidence.

castletownman

BloodyBill wrote: »

Great game to watch considering the conditions. I thought it was played in a good spirit. The game was there to be won in the final 20 and Wexford went for it. Kilkenny weren't up for the fight in the last 5 minutes for some reason. It was as poor a finish as iv seen from a Kilkenny team.
Wexford are a limited side. Let no one tell you otherwise. They got beat at home by a Clare side in experimental mode last time out. Some good performances by Deegan and the full back line were ok. Midfield were very poor at stopping runners,very naive. I'm not sure Kilkenny have recovered from last Augusts defeat. They look abit low in confidence.

Well then, where does that leave Kilkenny?

Thought ye're fitness was atrocious down the home straight today.

TheMilkyPirate

BloodyBill wrote: »

Great game to watch considering the conditions. I thought it was played in a good spirit. The game was there to be won in the final 20 and Wexford went for it. Kilkenny weren't up for the fight in the last 5 minutes for some reason. It was as poor a finish as iv seen from a Kilkenny team.
Wexford are a limited side. Let no one tell you otherwise. They got beat at home by a Clare side in experimental mode last time out. Some good performances by Deegan and the full back line were ok. Midfield were very poor at stopping runners,very naive. I'm not sure Kilkenny have recovered from last Augusts defeat. They look abit low in confidence.

"A limited side" who have won 4 of the 8 competitive meetings with kilkenny and drew one since Davy took over. Where does that leave Kilkenny?

JJs Left Hand

He's not from Kilkenny so cool your jets lads yea.

To call Wexford limited at this point is a nonsense. I thought their ball retention in the last 10 minutes was excellent. Their confidence with the ball in hand to keep possession until one of their runners gets free is admirable in my opinion. I don't like the short 5 yard passes that causes so many clusters of players but it's done with a clear outcome in mind and is very effective.

Grats

TheMilkyPirate wrote: »

"A limited side" who have won 4 of the 8 competitive meetings with kilkenny and drew one since Davy took over. Where does that leave Kilkenny?

Wexford are well respected by Kilkenny people. And we're well aware that we're a good bit off from the team of a few years ago. In fairness to the current team they did get through to the Final last year.

Wexford need to push on now and to gauge themselves against the better teams. Kilkenny have been conquered, so time for Wexford to reach for higher goals now. However, if Davy is satisfied with just beating a developing Kilkenny team then he's doing Wexford no favours.

corner back 2

Very strange decision bringing Darren Mullen on midfield which really didn't suit him. Midfield has to be a major concern for the summer. Would love to see Deegan there with Fogarty or Conor Browne. James Maher has looked ok/good at times but still hasn't established hi.self as first choice. Also I would say Cody will be disappointed with the way the half forwards faded for the last 20.

Realt Dearg Sec

TheMilkyPirate wrote: »

"A limited side" who have won 4 of the 8 competitive meetings with kilkenny and drew one since Davy took over. Where does that leave Kilkenny?

Ye know he's from Wexford right? Untwist the knickers.

Grats

corner back 2 wrote: »

Very strange decision bringing Darren Mullen on midfield which really didn't suit him. Midfield has to be a major concern for the summer. Would love to see Deegan there with Fogarty or Conor Browne. James Maher has looked ok/good at times but still hasn't established hi.self as first choice. Also I would say Cody will be disappointed with the way the half forwards faded for the last 20.

As I said in a previous post, the players put in a massive effort playing against a gale force wind in the first half. They clearly ran out of steam in the second half and we didn't have strong experienced subs to bring on like Wexford had. I imagine Cody will be disappointed but fully understanding.

Billy Ocean

BloodyBill wrote: »

Great game to watch considering the conditions. I thought it was played in a good spirit. The game was there to be won in the final 20 and Wexford went for it. Kilkenny weren't up for the fight in the last 5 minutes for some reason. It was as poor a finish as iv seen from a Kilkenny team.
Wexford are a limited side. Let no one tell you otherwise. They got beat at home by a Clare side in experimental mode last time out. Some good performances by Deegan and the full back line were ok. Midfield were very poor at stopping runners,very naive. I'm not sure Kilkenny have recovered from last Augusts defeat. They look abit low in confidence.

Wexford are limited... Limerick have an excellent panel at the moment but considering you're a county who specialize in over hype and under achievement ( 3 u21s in a row spring to mind) there's no guarantee this panel will fulfil their potential.

TheMilkyPirate

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Ye know he's from Wexford right? Untwist the knickers.

I thought he was from Limerick myself. My knickers aren't twisted I've nothing but respect for Kilkenny but if people make stupid comments I'll call them out on it no matter where they are from.

Greensoup

I don’t think bloodybill is from limerick but I’ll let him fight his own battles....at least we got to know Billy’s attitude to limerick anyway. Good game today considering conditions..it’s true that sometimes a team playing against wind in first half this time of year is gassed by the end.

brookville

Fair play to both teams and davie keeps his winning streak going.Theres no doubt their subs got them over the line especially Chin when he came and we had no one like him to bring on.Dissapointed not to get anything from that but hopefully we can learn from it.we finished very poor which is dissapointing and lacked a few leaders In attack.We all know we need to find a few fowards I hope a few more a given a run over the next few weeks.Speaking of leaders deegan showed great leadership.Maybe richie hasn't 70 mins in him but surprising he went off.wexford running off the shoulder again caused us bother.browne was a bright spark.Cody said afterwards its unlikely the ballyhale or Padraig will be back so it will probably be the same squad.Its no harm to get game time into brennan in goal.wallace done ok despite giving away a few frees.we need to work on midfield up hopefully we see a better finish against clare who like wexford we have struggled badly.

Billy Ocean

Grats wrote: »

Billy Ocean - can I respectfully suggest that you take comments such as in your last post elsewhere?

sometimes you have to fight fire with fire..... On the more important issue of today's game firstly great effort from both teams, taught it was a very good game considering the conditions. Taught deegan was excellent for ye and your defence as a whole was very good. Who am i to question cody but taught taking off Hogan and the timing was bizarre, taught your hurling was sharper and crisper than ours even in the 1st half despite the scoreline and early 2nd. I know we introduced big hitters but 2 points in the last 24 mins with the elements at your backs was a poor return, realistically this game will matter little come the championship meeting in June.

BoroMan32

Wexford were very impressive in closing out the game, their physicality as well as use of the ball was extremely impressive and left Kilkenny in the shade. The impact of the Wexford bench was obviously a big factor.

I just don't get why you'd bring someone like Bill Sheehan into a game like that, he doesn't have the physicality for a game in those conditions. A few others (especially John Donnelly) seemed to fade very badly late on in terms of fitness. Then again it's early days and you wouldn't know what stage they're all at. A disappointing result but plenty to take from it, too.

Realt Dearg Sec

TheMilkyPirate wrote: »

I thought he was from Limerick myself. My knickers aren't twisted I've nothing but respect for Kilkenny but if people make stupid comments I'll call them out on it no matter where they are from.

I was mixing up my Bills.