There were a lot of positives from yesterday, we got 4 well taken goals, Lawlor, Butler and Blanchfield particularly did well in the backs, Cody was a threat throughout and a number of others did well. Donnelly could have ended up with 5 or 6 points, at least he was getting on the ball. Billy Ryan tried hard but may be under pressure the next day whilst Buckley may oust Corcoran. If Mullen is fit, it may be him and Deegan in midfield.
What will be a concern is Galway scoring 1-11 to 0-4 after we went 8 points up. Not sure if they are in better condition than us, something similar happened in the round robin match. Conor Whelan was outstanding yesterday so I wouldn't be blaming any of his markers. We gifted the first goal with 2 men going for the same ball
I expect it will be Clare in 4 weeks time. If our injuries clear up, we have a reasonable chance of getting to an AI. However, Clare seem to be physically stronger this year
Some Craic
https://twitter.com/OurGameHQ/status/1668146769887125504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1668146769887125504%7Ctwgr%5E9394c6753045cf10e2c35ba0b3a53b04cad05b14%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kilkennypeople.ie%2Fnews%2Fgaa%2F1192881%2Fwatch-man-on-stag-infiltrates-post-match-kilkenny-celebrations-after-win-over-galway.html
Tom Phelan and John Donnelly had massive impacts on the game yesterday without really hurting the scoreboard, both on loads of possessions and put in unbelievable shifts. John Donnelly could have ended up with 6/7 from play and his last ball in from the corner was brilliantly done. Look at the impact they had compared to the 2 players in the opposition half forward line, Conor Cooney and Thomas Monaghan who were very very poor
Hard to see Billy Ryan hold onto his place after yesterday, he actually gets turned over way to much and turns attacks into turnovers, with few injured players returning and players like Walter in great form it will be hard to start him again.
Did Conor Fogarty have any possessions yesterday Cannot have him lined out v Clare
If you didn't enjoy that win yesterday then you should find a new hobby for yourself as hurling isn't for you!!! A winning goal with the last puck of the ball - I would have paid double for my ticket beforehand if I had known that was going to happen!!
Considering the circumstances with the injury situation, getting through yesterday with a win was an incredible result so kudos to the players and management team. I know that some posters on here are probably crushed today that we won but such is life.
On the game itself it was certainly a mixed bag in terms of performance. It was quite an open game in a lot of ways and end to end and I thought ot was an exciting game overall.
We had stand out players in Butler, Lawlor and Blanchfield in the backs. Cody had a great tussle with Mannion. Wally was outstanding after being introduced and showed what he was capable of with a brilliant goal. He is a force of nature when he finds space and runs into it. Midfield worked diligently but the game kinda passed this area in general. Buckley apart from the goal was really good when introduced. Mossy started well untill the injury flared up again - hopefully he can recover fully in the 4 weeks. All of the subs made a big contribution when introduced which is what you are pooking from them really.
Billy Ryan, Tom Phelan and John Donnelly all put in a good shift with it being reflected on the scoreboard which has kinda been the way for them all year. I feel (and hope) that it opens up for them one fine day soon.
Conor Whelan was a huge threat all day and is their main man and is one of the best forwards in the country. So I wouldn't be overly critical on anyone from yesterday.
minors are 15,16,17 years of age give them a chance
declan hannon got slaughtered by his own people in 2013 after a nervous performance which ultimately lost limerick an all ireland semi final he was 22 at the time , has gone on to be one of the greatest of all time
i was very much against the abuse he got afterwards , but to give that to a 16 or 17 yearold kid is unforgivable
it happened in a u16 club game between ballyea and sixmilebridge in 2010 (i think) , tony was taking a free and someone older then myself shouted in ,go **** yourself you just cost us an all ireland !!!
tony had missed a free to level a game against galway a few weeks earlier i think it hit the post in fact ,tony was 16 at the time
Minors well beaten in 3 matches is one way of looking at it, minors being competitive against the eventual winners despite having a player sent off is another, they obviously weren't the best underage team we ever sent out, but I liked their attitude in their last two games, may be wrong but from what I remember Huw Lawlor struggled to make underage teams including the minor team but he pushed on and developed as he got into his late teens and early 20s, you take the current minors, develop them physically and tactically and you might get more players from this years under 17 team than this years under 20 team who were a way more naturally skilled team on their way up through the age groups
had pauric mannion decided to pick the ball off the ground with time up and not kick it into bloody cillian buckleys chest they would be flooding the place with abuse , fine margins as they say
I feel we are really missing the contributions of some of our fellow Kilkenny posters on here who even when the under 17s have played and were beaten, give us their input within 10 minutes of the final whistle
Didn't take long 😁
😎😎😎😎
Kylian mBuckley!
Well done……
What a way to win the Leinster final. Was in section 406 in the cusack and there seemed to be all Galway around us but when buckley got the goal it was unbelievable. Some criticism of tommy walsh here but I thought he did well enough. Lawlor excellent as was butler. Deegan was kind of bypassed a lot, especially in the 2nd half. Corcoran did ok in the 1st half but his lack of pace was a big worry in the 2nd half. Buckley did well when introduced and brought a bit of pace there. Blanchfield I thought was outstanding along with Lawlor and butler.
Midfield struggled today. A couple ogood points for Kenny but overall he struggled. Had a few opportunities to put the ball over the bar but wanted to take it further and got caught. Fogarty struggled to get into the game. The same with donnelly. He got a point I think but could easily have gotten 3 or 4 more. Phelan decent but needs to score a few every day he lines out. Walter when introduced was good I thought. Still has the pace with ball in hand.
Mossy unlucky with the injury. Cody good again today. We probably didn't feed him enough. He was being pulled and dragged all over the place. TJ covered an amount of ground and played well. Couple of frees went astray but you can't get them all. Billy Ryan got some good possession but couldn't convert what he got. If he could get the ball in his hand as quick as Cody he would give himself a much better platform for scores. Delighted to see drennan getting what turned out to be a crucial point.
All in all a excellent way to win and with 4 weeks to get mullen, reid and Carey primed we will look forward to hitting most likely clare again with butler probably taking the role of man marking Tony Kelly.
Great result.
Tommy has had 2 very tough days. Kevin Cooney had him in trouble every time in the 2nd half.Huw switched over for the last few mins but it was nearly too late. Scruff will be dissapointed he went down to early for the 2nd goal.Deegan was caught for the goal but ive seen us giving this type of goal away for years. 2 lads going for the one ball is a sin at this level.lawlor was excellent. Corcoran also struggled and I thought galway went after him aswell.
I know 8 points isn't a huge lead anymore but they got that goal from nothing to get back into it and we probably shouldn't of let them back but Cooney was destroying us and whelan was un markable. Butler picked up Whelan near the end.
Our subs contributed alot which Is great but we were very slow to replace one or two lads who weren't good. Delighted to see drennan get a point.
Mikey Carey,Richie Reid,mossy and hopefully Adrian mullen would be a huge help and the 4 week break is crucial for us. We usually manage it very well.
Yeah I saw Galway targeted him.. so did limerick last year from memory but hey that was some win today well worth the entrance fee. Things are looking better.
🏆🏆
Surely Billy ryan cant be given anymore, chances, tommy walsh is the weakest link in the full back line.but heart, determination is still all there with this team.savage win.
And I was going to criticise Lyng for bringing on the elder players to close out the match which clearly didn't work! Huge win, Buckley placed his finish brilliantly right in the corner. Cody was the best of the forwards, ball wasn't always brilliant to him but he made as much of it as he could. Wally also had a fine game. Billy Ryan and Donnelly were disappointing. Blanchfield is a loose marker but his use of the ball is great and him and Mikey Butler running up the flank for the 3rd goal was brilliant. Tommy Walsh struggled in the last 10 minutes and we wouldn't want to leave him 1on1 with his marker too often in the future. Cian Kenny hurled well in flashes, Fogarty didn't do much and he really shouldn't be starting but we are lacking midfield options.
But they're worries for another day.
Great game, really enjoyed it. Henry was far to negative with Galway. Hue Lawlor and TJ are 2 super players. Really dragged Kilkenny over the line. Blanchfield is a serious player. Now 4 weeks to prepare for Clare.
Yes it was a good speech. Impressive to mention Teddy MCcarthy and his family. He also said some nice words about Mikey Carey that i'm sure he would have appreciated looking in from home.
Brilliant touch by Eoin Cody to mention Teddy Mac in his winners speech.
Didn't have to, wasn't even done in Munster, but to think of Teddy at that moment, bearing in mind the helter skelter finish, was very classy.
Never in doubt.
Robbed em, let's be honest, but how we let an 8 point lead slip in the first place is criminal. Just put Lawlor back on Cooney 5 mins earlier and we're not in that position in my opinion.
But none of that matters now. A glorious way to win a game.
The changes that happened were all the county yesterday morning.
It would have been a terrible game to lose, it was a sweet victory. I thought Kilkenny had thrown it away with some very poor wides and seemingly running out of steam. Cillian Buckley had a very good cameo even without the goal. Blanchfield was excellent as well as being involved in 2 goals. Eoin Cody was the best of the forwards, Huw Lawlor was excellent. I thought Tom Phelan and John Donnelly left some scores behind them and Billy Ryan struggled, maybe Billy Drennan could start the next day, Adrian Mullen would be a huge boost.Have to think it will be Clare again in the semi final
Buckley is finished.
Holy fcuk!
Galway by 2 - need a goal
Draw at halftime. Mixed bag both in defence and in attack. Billy Ryan and Donnelly have been very poor, Eoin Cody and TJ have been good. Defending was poor for goal and the half back line is giving Mannion a lot of space but there hasn't been a goal chance other than the goal. Does feel like we have more of a goal threat although the execution needs to improve, too often it falls apart at the critical point. Could go either way tbh.
Midfield seems to be bypassed. Need kenny and fogarty in the game more. Exposed for Galways goal. Between deegan and lawlor one of them should have called.mossy a loss going off but id say the hamstring or whatever he suffered again Wexford hasn't come right. Wally coming in and scoring 1-01 has been good. Need more from Cody. TJ covering a lot of ground. Donnelly needs a better 2nd half. The game is there to be won. Full back line, aside from the goal, doing well. Lawlor made a couple of great catches and set the team up. If wally can pull right out wide away from their spare man ge could go very well in the 2nd half. Might see buckley come in to midfield to replace fogarty or kenny.
Deegan is 6
