Leinster Hurling Final

cruiserweight

Wexford v Kilkenny is on this Sunday. Do Wexford stand a chance? Can they stop Kilkenny? Will this be the first half of a Leinster double for Wexford? Will the stadium be empty?

Well IMO, Wexford will be beaten, the game plan will determine by how much. However, I think we have a decent chance of beating Kilkenny in the minor. As for the attendence the Leinster Council considered moving this game.

http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=97470

Leinster Council secretary Michael Delaney has revealed that they had considered moving next Sunday’s provincial hurling final out of Croke Park.

With the attendance for the clash of Kilkenny and Wexford not expected to exceed 25,000, the final could have been comfortably accommodated in Nowlan Park, Wexford Park or Portlaoise but, according to Delaney, plans to stage it at a provincial venue were scuppered by the replayed Wexford-Dublin semi-final.

"The most we can hope for is 25,000 and that will be lost in Croke Park," Delaney said.

"We talked about it this year and I’d say that but for the Dublin-Wexford semi-final going to a replay, we’d probably have gone ahead and moved the final. But the extra week made it impractical to switch venues at short notice.

"We would have been thinking in terms of asking Wexford and Kilkenny to toss for venue and alternate the next time the counties met in the final."

And despite the involvement of renowned crowd-pullers Dublin in the Leinster football final against Wexford on July 20, Delaney isn’t expecting the game to be a sell-out.

"We would expect a crowd around the same size as Sunday’s (67,075)," he added.

"Wexford won’t suddenly have huge football support and I’d imagine the crowd will be between 65,000 and 70,000.

"But that’s not the way we judge the seasons and it’s marvellous to see Wexford coming through as a new face on the scene. There’s been a lot of development work in the county and it’s paid off."

yahoo_moe

cruiserweight wrote: »

Wexford v Kilkenny is on this Sunday. Do Wexford stand a chance? Can they stop Kilkenny? Will this be the first half of a Leinster double for Wexford? Will the stadium be empty?

I'd say no, no, no and not quite.

Kilkenny's attendance is always an issue (though in fairness, it's a big stadium to fill for any team that has to travel there) but I don't think their hurling will leave any room for doubt - they looked very clinical against Offaly and Cody doesn't seem to let his teams get complacent.

Much as it'd be more interesting to talk about Wexford's chances, I just don't think they have any (and I'd be saying the same if, as I'd hoped, Dublin were playing KK instead )

popebenny16

No.
No.
No.
As good as.

I heard that Leinster Council are expecting 17,000 to be sold before the weekend and that the ticket cabins will do the reat on the day.

brettmirl

yahoo_moe wrote: »

Kilkenny's attendance is always an issue (though in fairness, it's a big stadium to fill for any team that has to travel there) but I don't think their hurling will leave any room for doubt - they looked very clinical against Offaly and Cody doesn't seem to let his teams get complacent.

I think there will be a very poor attendance from KK fans.

It's an expensive day out for a game that Kilkenny are 99.9% sure to win.

Plus, people forget that Kilkenny is a small county population-wise. You could fit almost everyone from Kilkenny City & County into Croke Park.

listermint

Yeah really dont stand a chance at all what so ever. Attendance is always an issue. Not that the Wexford fans travel either. Not alot there when they had the 3 teams playing two weeks back.

hawkwing

Why would anyone go to a game that you are 90% sure of a 15pt difference between the sides,and even if Wexford do hopefully cause a massive shock what does it mean as kilkenny are still there anyway and would come back and beat them later on, only reason to go is to watch the minor match for to see have Wexford any prospects for the future

StudentEmeritus

20k attendance is an ambitious target... they should have tossed for a venue, waste of time having it in Croker.

windy bee

Kilkenny will wipe the floor with Wexford. Fitzhenry is a serious doubt and the recent average winning margin for Kilkenny over the yellowbellies is 14 points, they may as well just hand them the Leinster title because Sunday is going to be nothing more than a turkey shoot....

aidan24326

cruiserweight wrote: »

Wexford v Kilkenny is on this Sunday. Do Wexford stand a chance?

Realistically no. Although Wexford do come up with the odd rousing performance when it's least expected, it's difficult to see anything other than a comfortable win for Kilkenny on Sunday, especially if the cats build up an early lead.

Can they stop Kilkenny?

Every team is beatable, Kilkenny included. But Wexford have suffered so many hammerings from KK in recent years that I think they are now psychologically beaten before the ball is even thrown in.

Will this be the first half of a Leinster double for Wexford?

No. Ye do have a reasonable chance in the football though, but alot depends on how Wexford handle the occasion.

Cost Boy!!

I dont think the hurlers stand a chance and there will be a poor attendance from wexford for the game I think alot of people will be waiting to go to the football.

cruiserweight

Damien Fitzhenry will be fit for the game on Sunday

http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=97544

Wexford goalkeeper Damien Fitzhenry has declared his fitness ahead of Sunday’s Leinster SHC final against Kilkenny.

The 1996 All-Ireland winner injured his foot in a club game last weekend, but will start against the All-Ireland champions.

He said: "I took a bit of a knock last weekend, a shot on the foot, but it’s okay."

The Wexford captain is refusing to subscribe to the view that Sunday’s game is a mission impossible for the Slaneysiders.

"Everyone is beatable and that’s the bottom line. Tiger Woods goes out to compete in golf tournaments and although he’ll win 90 per cent of the time, he won’t win them all. Kilkenny are a fantastic team but there will be days they won’t perform."

blackbelt

Wexford don't have a prayer in my book and I base this assumption on KK's recent maulings of Wexford (especially) in the leagues and last years final coupled with Wexfords struggle and luck to overcome Dublin and Kilkennys precision in hammering Offaly who I think are on a par with Dublin and Wexford anyway.

The attendance will probably be around 22,000 if they are lucky.I was at the hurling final last year in the pissins of rain and both Kilkenny and Wexford were playing twice as well as Dublin and Laois.Kilkenny minors were playing Dublin in the Leinster Final,Wexford played Laois in the football semi and Wexford then played Kilkenny in the hurling final.It was a very poor turnout.

I don't expect much to change this year.

buck65

Wexford will do well to keep it under 15 points. Unfortunately Leinster Finals have become a joke.

Flukey

The day of the Leinster Hurling Semi-finals used to be a great double bill in Croke Park, and one of the best days of the year in Croke Park. It's been a while since those times. The Leinster final isn't what it used to be. We had one good Leinster final in recent years, when Wexford came out and simply ran at Kilkenny for the 70 minutes and caused an upset. I don't think it will happen this year. Nevertheless, I'll be there on Sunday.

taidghbaby

keith rossiter is very doubtful for sunday so i hear

cruiserweight

The teams have been named for Sunday

KILKENNY (SH v Wexford) -- PJ Ryan; M Kavanagh, JJ Delaney, J Dalton; T Walsh, B Hogan, PJ Delaney; J Fitzpatrick, J Tyrrell; M Comerford, D Lyng, E Larkin; R Power, H Shefflin, E Brennan.

WEXFORD -- D Fitzhenry; M Travers, K Rossiter, P Roche; M Jacob, D O'Connor, D Stamp; E Quigley, D Redmond; PJ Nolan, W Doran, D Lyng; S Doyle, S Banville, R Jacob.

taidghbaby wrote: »

keith rossiter is very doubtful for sunday so i hear

Even though he is named in the line-up he is still doubtful apparently, rumour is that James Tonks might start instead of him. I haven't seen the bench but Barry Lambert should be back.

StudentEmeritus

Is this confirmed?

cruiserweight

StudentEmeritus wrote: »

Is this confirmed?

The line-ups are the official line-ups that were named. All of the rest is rumour.

tippspur

Wexford have no chance,sorry but i wish i could say otherwise.

Kojak

I read in the Irish Independant today that some Wexford supporters are saying that if they keep it within 10 points of KK, then Wexford will be doing well. I think that it will either be a close call (with KK just about shading it) or else Wexford will be hammered (+ 15 points at a guess).

As was said earlier, Wexford have got so many thumpings from KK that they dont seem to be able to muster a challenge. Against anyone else they will put a good challenge, but against KK thye just seem to lie down. It seems to me that they are beaten before the throw-in.

KK to beat the handicap and win by more than 15 points. Although Leinster hurling could badly do with a Wexford win (plus the other counties making a meaningful challenge)

dr.bollocko

You can't ever write off wexford in a game against the old enemy.
Wexford are a strange little team at the best of times. They always give me the impression that if they actually tried they could hammer anyone in one match.
Would be very interested to see the odds given for the game.

cruiserweight

Kojak wrote: »

I read in the Irish Independant today that some Wexford supporters are saying that if they keep it within 10 points of KK, then Wexford will be doing well. I think that it will either be a close call (with KK just about shading it) or else Wexford will be hammered (+ 15 points at a guess).

As was said earlier, Wexford have got so many thumpings from KK that they dont seem to be able to muster a challenge. Against anyone else they will put a good challenge, but against KK thye just seem to lie down. It seems to me that they are beaten before the throw-in.

KK to beat the handicap and win by more than 15 points. Although Leinster hurling could badly do with a Wexford win (plus the other counties making a meaningful challenge)

The games against Kilkenny over the last few yaers have been strange, either very close or a huge Kilkenny win. Wexford won in 2004, it was close in 2005 (if Fenlon hadn't gone off injured we might have won), but in 2006 and 2007 we have been well beaten.

As for playing other teams, over the last two years league and championship Wexford have beaten Galway, Down, Offaly, Clare, Waterford, Tipperary and Dublin. They have lost to Cork, Kilkenny, Waterford and Antrim. The Antrim game, which ultimately cost us our divison 1 status, Wexford have an okay record. The problem is they play Kilkenny every year which is when most people see them and then think they are crap.

cruiserweight

Wexford losing at half time in the minor final, but apparently they have the wind in the second half

Keano

Wexford totally outclassed again. Very hard to watch for the neutral.

Het-Field

Keano A Legend wrote: »

Wexford totally outclassed again. Very hard to watch for the neutral.

Sure its just a taster for the Wexford fans for Sunday two weeks. Better they know what a hammering feels like now !

Keano

In fairness to Wexford they played well in the first half but that seemed to knock so much out of them.

Nalced_irl

Goes to show again that the Leinsters are a joke. Nobody is within an asses roar of Kilkenny and wont be for many years. Terrible attendance again also. My bro was saying that the word is this will be the last Leinster Final in Croker for a while, not surprised but sad to see.

Het-Field

Nalced_irl wrote: »

Goes to show again that the Leinsters are a joke. Nobody is within an asses roar of Kilkenny and wont be for many years. Terrible attendance again also. My bro was saying that the word is this will be the last Leinster Final in Croker for a while, not surprised but sad to see.

I wouldnt be suprised if it was the end. In fairness it would be far more cost effective to play this farce in a 20,000-30,000 in Lenister. There could have been little or no aptmosphere with the empty terrace, and the empty upper tier. However, those in Wexford may have felt it was not worth the effort to come up and see their team concede 5-20 points.

cruiserweight

Het-Field wrote: »

Sure its just a taster for the Wexford fans for Sunday two weeks. Better they know what a hammering feels like now !

I don't know what you are on about Wexford are going to beat Dublin IMO. Sorry if your silly post didn't get the reaction you wanted

Nalced_irl wrote: »

Goes to show again that the Leinsters are a joke. Nobody is within an asses roar of Kilkenny and wont be for many years. Terrible attendance again also. My bro was saying that the word is this will be the last Leinster Final in Croker for a while, not surprised but sad to see.

Nobody has beaten Kilkenny in the championship in the last couple of years. In the same time only Cork, Kilkenny and Antrim have beaten Wexford. Wexford are doing okay against the Munster teams. Kilkenny are ahead of everybody, not just Wexford. Having said that, if Galway and Antrim played in the championship it would add some extra games and some extra competitiveness.

With regards to playing the game in Croke Park, only about 8,000 people saw Offaly beat Kilkenny in 1980 so it is not unusual to have low attendences at Leinster finals. It would be a shame to have the game moved

Kojak

cruiserweight wrote: »

Having said that, if Galway and Antrim played in the championship it would add some extra games and some extra competitiveness.

I thought that Daithi Regan made a fair point after the match (On the TV3 analysis). If Galway were in Leinster it could, potentially, turn into KK and Galway fighting it out every year (depending on the draw, of course) and the others getting the same hammerings that they are recieving now. IT would do more for Galway rather than the other counties. We saw Galway thrash Laois yesterday (at their ease) and it still wouldn't do anything for the so-called waker teams.

As for the game today, I thought that Wexford played well in the first half. They battled hard and kept KK under pressure but seemed to fall apart in the second half. However, I think they showed up the fact that KK dont like it when teams run at them at pace - Offaly showed that up the last day as well IMO.

Het-Field

cruiserweight wrote: »

I don't know what you are on about Wexford are going to beat Dublin IMO. Sorry if your silly post didn't get the reaction you wanted



Nobody has beaten Kilkenny in the championship in the last couple of years. In the same time only Cork, Kilkenny and Antrim have beaten Wexford. Wexford are doing okay against the Munster teams. Kilkenny are ahead of everybody, not just Wexford. Having said that, if Galway and Antrim played in the championship it would add some extra games and some extra competitiveness.

With regards to playing the game in Croke Park, only about 8,000 people saw Offaly beat Kilkenny in 1980 so it is not unusual to have low attendences at Leinster finals. It would be a shame to have the game moved

On what grounds do you feel they will win. I think this should be in the other thread.

cruiserweight

Het-Field wrote: »

On what grounds do you feel they will win. I think this should be in the other thread.

It should be, but you are the one who brought it up

woody27

i was in croker today and being a wexford man im begining to wonder whats the point paying 35 for a ticket to see that display. Ive been an avid and loyal supporter throughout the years and have come to a stage now where i am just going to give up on it and watch from home.
I dont hold the players at fault its the co board and those behind the scenes who cant get things right, the players are going out and playing at the best they can its the lack of commitment by co board at underage level that has wexford where they are.
I honestly think it will be ten or more years before we can sort things out thats providing the board bother there arse to try sort things out and build from underage up.

dr.bollocko

woody27 wrote: »

i was in croker today and being a wexford man im begining to wonder whats the point paying 35 for a ticket to see that display. Ive been an avid and loyal supporter throughout the years and have come to a stage now where i am just going to give up on it and watch from home.
I dont hold the players at fault its the co board and those behind the scenes who cant get things right, the players are going out and playing at the best they can its the lack of commitment by co board at underage level that has wexford where they are.
I honestly think it will be ten or more years before we can sort things out thats providing the board bother there arse to try sort things out and build from underage up.

You can't give up the faith after another wupping man.
Remember 96.
Wexford hurling will be magic again soon.

woody27

dr.bollocko wrote: »

You can't give up the faith after another wupping man.
Remember 96.
Wexford hurling will be magic again soon.

i was there in 96 still living off those memories haha

dr.bollocko

Me too!
And I lived in Limerick at the time.
Something fantastic about walking up O'Connell st. in my Wexford shirt in the weeks after that game.

woody27

ya happy days id love to see that match again

popebenny16

Forget moving Galway to Leinster, it'll only result in Galway/Kilkenny finals forevermore.

Move Kilkenny to Munster. Replace them with Antrim.

I'm sorry for Wexford (ancestral county and all that) but there was no doubt of this result. Offaly weren't that far behind in Portlaoise before the Coady hair dryer was switched on a half time. Same happened today.

Kilkenny go to the AI semi's. Maybe, just maybe, they'll lose. If they lose for several years they may also cop that there is no preparation any more for them and will look to go to Munster.

Yes, yes, its up to us to get to their level and all that ****e. Problem is that they are not going to be static as we catch up. By the time we get there they'll be gone further. Remember when we all thought that Cork team would never be caught. KK caught and have surpassed them.

will1977

I was at the game yesterday and the biggest diff between the teams was their ball control and first touch. Wexford players were taking an age to get the ball under control or struggling to pick it up, hence allowing a Kilkenny man to harrass and tackle him. On the other hand Kilkenny were the opposite, allowing them that split second extra to be able to clear the ball or find their man. This of course goes all the way back to when they are kids and how they are coached. I just hope the under age coaches that have been put in place in the last few years in Wexford start to address these problems. Unfortunatly we will not see the benefits for a good few years yet

hawkwing

the backdoor is also to blame,what difference if wexford pulled out all the stops and won,the cats would beat them later on like 2004..and when teams go 6-8pts down they give up as they know they are still there,also the reason for the small crowd,if kilkenny were beaten before the BD their year was over so they would go to support just in case. shut the backdoor now--it's killing both codes!!

blackbelt

I thought it was a very sad eulogy to hear Nicky English talk of moving Galway to Leinster instead of talking about the performance and result of the match that had been at hand.

I whole-heartedly agree with Popebenny.What is the use of putting another very good team into a province where there is little or no competition anymore.Dublin are improving but they are quite some time away from being at the level of Kilkenny who will probably advance even more.

I say what the GAA should do is put Kilkenny in Munster (extra competition and a less easy walk to the semi) and have Antrim and Galway play off for Kilkennys place in Leinster.

At least the likes of Galway,Antrim,Wexford and Dublin would have more chance of winning something and maintaining their development.

aidan24326

blackbelt wrote: »

At least the likes of Galway,Antrim,Wexford and Dublin would have more chance of winning something and maintaining their development.

Galway are currently a step ahead of all the Leinster teams bar KK, and well ahead of Antrim as last week's result showed. Galway's underage setup is also way ahead of these teams so you're not comparing like with like.

will1977 wrote: »

I was at the game yesterday and the biggest diff between the teams was their ball control and first touch. Wexford players were taking an age to get the ball under control or struggling to pick it up, hence allowing a Kilkenny man to harrass and tackle him. On the other hand Kilkenny were the opposite, allowing them that split second extra to be able to clear the ball or find their man.

This was also noticeable (to me) at last year's U-21 final, when Galway's players had a first touch and skill level that was another step up from their Dublin counterparts, despite it being a pretty good Dublin team. The gaps in hurling are not easy to close, and like you say it has to start at the bottom i.e underage coaching

popebenny16 wrote: »

Forget moving Galway to Leinster, it'll only result in Galway/Kilkenny finals forevermore.

Move Kilkenny to Munster. Replace them with Antrim.

If Galway were in Leinster it probably would be KK-Galway finals most years, for the foreseeable future at least. Wexford would catch Galway the odd year maybe, but then get slaughtered by KK anyway.

Putting KK into Munster is an absolute non-runner. That would make the Munster championship into an All-Ireland championship without Galway, totally pointless. And Galway would proceed to win Leinster 80% of the time, so nothing much would change.

woody27 wrote: »

i the players are going out and playing at the best they can its the lack of commitment by co board at underage level that has wexford where they are.
I honestly think it will be ten or more years before we can sort things out thats providing the board bother there arse to try sort things out and build from underage up.

The problem for Wexford definitely stems from underage. Wexford have been very poor at underage level for a number of years, regularly losing to Dublin, getting hammered by Kilkenny and even losing to Carlow a couple of years ago. Dublin are probably the second team in Leinster now at underage level, which really highlights Wexford's fall from grace.

lanod2407

"Put Kilkenny into Munster" - not a chance. Munster hurling is competitive and reasonably healthy - the last thing the code needs is to take Kilkenny out of Leinster and let the province die off altogether. Galway and Antrim in would grow the numbers and quality in Leinster, and make it more competitive over a number of years.

It's catching in my throat to say it - but I gotta say after seeing Kilkenny over the past year that I'm inclined to agree with Ger Loughnane (:eek::( - jaysus, that was harder than I thought). Kilkenny are incredibly talented and the most skillful team on the island - but they have a dirty side that comes out in every game - Power and the other lad got yellow cards near the end of the game yesterday for an attempted decapitation - and ran away laughing. And an Offaly guy got a bad slap of the butt of a hurley into the upper chest in the semi - it's so subtle and well-delivered that one would think it was well practiced if we didn't know better than to even think that!

One last question - how may steps can you take with the sliothar - Kilkenny lads appear to be pulled up once the dozen has been exceeded -

...... you can say I'm ranting on, but take a good open look yourself and you'll see that the Kilkenny play "on the man" is a subtle and cynical act that happens game after game, and they get away with way too much. Hurling is a great physical game, but there's no place for the cynical "professional" stuff.

Danno

There is much merit in keeping the Provincial Championships alive as they are. However, severing the links between these Provincial Championships and the All Ireland Series is what should be looked at.

GalwayDub2

Did I hear on the news that they wont be having Leinster Hurling finals in Croke Park anymore because of the poor attendance?

ddddd

how is it fair, considering wexfords performance, that 2 teams out of Galway, Watrford, Cork and Limerick won't reach the Quarter Finals and a team like Wexford are there solely because of their geographical positioning?? Thats ridiculous

cruiserweight

ddddd wrote: »

how is it fair, considering wexfords performance, that 2 teams out of Galway, Watrford, Cork and Limerick won't reach the Quarter Finals and a team like Wexford are there solely because of their geographical positioning?? Thats ridiculous

Well the last time Wexford played Galway (1996), Waterford (2003) and Limerick (2001) in the championship they beat them. The last time that Wexford played Waterford (2008), Galway (2007) and Limerick (2005) in the league they beat them. Wexford also made the league and championship semi finals last year, beating teams like Clare, Galway and Tipperary. They have not done well against Kilkenny in the last few years, getting a number of hammerings, but what is ridiculous to complain about them being in the quarter finals based on their performance against one team who set the benchmark for everybody else.

aidan24326

Cruiserweight, that's probably a fair point. Wexford can put it up to the likes of Limerick,Clare,Galway on any given day but like I said last week they are mentally scarred now when it comes to playing Kilkenny and are as good as beaten before the ball is thrown in at all. Not to mention the fact that Kilkenny are the best team anyway and are capable of hammering anyone when they hit top form.

It's something I've found frustrating about Wexford in recent years though, that they're capable of beating anyone (bar KK) on their day, but rarely if ever manage to repeat the same level of performance the next day. No consistency whatsoever.

cruiserweight

aidan24326 wrote: »

Cruiserweight, that's probably a fair point. Wexford can put it up to the likes of Limerick,Clare,Galway on any given day but like I said last week they are mentally scarred now when it comes to playing Kilkenny and are as good as beaten before the ball is thrown in at all. Not to mention the fact that Kilkenny are the best team anyway and are capable of hammering anyone when they hit top form.

It's something I've found frustrating about Wexford in recent years though, that they're capable of beating anyone (bar KK) on their day, but rarely if ever manage to repeat the same level of performance the next day. No consistency whatsoever.

You are not the only one that is frustrated by their inconsistency, or their consistency at getting beaten heavily by Kilkenny :mad: The current team are not good enough to win the All-Ireland, but they are good enough to mix it with any of the other teams.