All over
Game over at Croke Park. Kilkenny win at their ease, racking up 4-19 despite rarely getting out of second gear. A devastating afternoon for Dublin, whose progress looks to have ground to a halt since last year, when they were beaten by just six points in a Leinster final.
That’s all from me for now. I’ll be back for another one-sided mauling, Cork against Limerick, in a few minutes’ time.
Shefflin. Another.
It gets easier, and easier, and easier. Aidan Fogarty fires his second goal in the space of three minutes. Some people would call that a statement of intent. Not me, of course.
And Rice adds another from the right sideline. Fifteen points in it.
Goal Kilkenny!
Gary Maguire saves from Henry Shefflin but Fogarty shows no mercy from the loose ball. Michael Rice adds a point. Suddenly, there’s 14 in it and the bet is in danger of going out the other side.
Great skill from Eoin Larkin gives him a sight of goal, but Stephen Hiney intervenes with a suitably cynical free. Shefflin takes the point – his 11th of the day.
Dublin get another close-range free and again they go for a goal. It’s Alan McCrabbe this time, but it’s beaten out for a 65.
…which John McCaffrey converts.
Alan McCrabbe is fouled on the 21-metre line and Paul Ryan, who couldn’t find the net from the penalty, tries to make amends. PJ Ryan throws his hat on it and Kilkenny clear it up the field.
That was like running the gauntlet on Gladiators. Michael Rice tries to beat a few tackles but gets a hurl in the chest and an arm in the face. He eventually hits the deck and John “Wolf” McCaffrey gets the yellow.
Aidan Fogarty and John Mulhall on for Kilkenny, Eddie Brennan and TJ Reid off. Reid scored a couple of nice points but he didn’t exactly grasp his opportunity to stake a claim for a regular starting spot.
Meanwhile, McCrabbe and Shefflin swap points.
But it’s saved. Paul Ryan took it himself but JJ Delaney got a stick on it. It wasn’t especially powerful and it wasn’t especially well directed, so no surprise to see JJ keep that one out. The loose ball falls to Peter Kelly but his point attempt from a narrow angle goes wide.
Penalty Dublin!
PJ Ryan hauls Paul Ryan down inside the square, denying a clear goal chance.
Goal Kilkenny!
If it wasn’t game over before, it is now. Richie Power leaves the Dublin defence for dead, shortens the grip and flicks cleverly past Maguire. Suddenly there’s nine between the sides.
You know, if Dublin had a bit of belief they could really make a game of this one. Peter Kelly reduces the lead to five with his second point in a row, but Eddie Brennan restores the six-point gap at the other end.
Gary Maguire in the Dublin goal intervenes again. It was Shefflin’s flick from the edge of the small rectangle, but Maguire gets something behind it. Moments later we have Kilkenny’s 14th wide from a Sheff 65.
Looks like I was spot on. Eoin Larkin on for Kilkenny, Richie Hogan off. Doesn’t bring about an immediate improvement – Martin Comerford slings one wide from 60 yards. That’s 13 wides for Kilkenny now. My bet is going up in smoke.
Shefflin. Free. Point.
Another aimless wide by Richie Hogan. I’d say it’s a matter of minutes before we see some of the cavalry from the Kilkenny bench, which includes forward power such as Eoin Larkin and Aidan Fogarty.
Another save by Gary Maguire. Think that’s his fourth of the day. This one’s from Michael Fennelly’s fairly tame shot.
Peter Kelly fires one over for Dublin. Nicky English reckons Kelly’d be much better on the opposite flank. That’s like saying which deck of the Titanic would you like to have sat on.
Kilkenny start as they finish: a point from Richie Hogan and a wide from Richie Power. Dublin are rabbits in black-and-amber coloured headlights here.
“Dublin are trying to confuse Kilkenny,” says Daithin in the studio. “You don’t confuse Kilkenny.”
There’s no forward plan from Dublin, says Liam Griffin.
Jamesie said something about Dublin too.
Half-timeguff #1:
“Dublin are very lucky that they’re not much further behind,” says Nicky English with all the controversy of an Irish language law report in the Irish Times. It’s half-time. Expect much better from Kilkenny after the break. I tipped a 13-15 point victory for the Cats in JOE’s Weekend Fancies, and I’ve seen nothing in that first half to prompt a rethink.
TJ Reid extends the lead to five points but Shefflin is wide with another good chance. Kilkenny have scored 1-10 and missed probably another 1-10. They should be out of sight as we tick into first half injury time.
Gary Maguire is keeping Dublin on the Cats’ heels. A long ball drops just over Eddie Brennan’s attempted flick, and Brennan is able to scramble it away.
A fifth free for McCrabbe cuts the gap to three but Shefflin replies with one of his own. Margin should be a lot more than four, you would think.
Make that two wides for Dublin, and it’s a costly one. Liam Rushe skins Kilkenny full back Noel Hickey but he fires wide of PJ Ryan’s near post. Dublin have had a couple of decent goal chances but failed to take them, so you’d have to say they have no chance in this game. That’s what I’m saying, anyway.
Shefflin with a routine free, but he’s off target. The TV3 caption says that’s nine wides for Kilkenny before the half hour mark. Dublin have had just one.
Sheff from inside his own 65. That’s what? 90-odd metres out? Same result. A sixth point for the King. Meanwhile, Tommy Walsh and Jackie Tyrrell are stoking the blood in the backs. There’s no such thing as half measures for some lads.
Wing back Maurice O’Brien pulls one back for the Dubs, then Joey Boland drops one short. The Dublin half back line is leading the resistance here.
Martin Comerford has had a range-finder, so no surprise to see him slot one from the right wing. Margin back to four.
TJ Reid finds himself in a bit of space and does the needful. Kilkenny four points up without playing well. Ominous for Dublin.
Yet another for Shefflin. That’s five, including four from placed balls. Dublin battling well but you sense that it’s finger in the dam stuff.
Two cracking saves by Gary Maguire in the Dublin goal keeps the Cats at bay. Richie Power and Shefflin are both denied by the Dublin netminder, but Shefflin slots the 65. That’s a new record for the great Kilkenny forward – all-time leading scorer in the game. Kudos to him.
The margin is down to one. Dublin much more economical going forward and centre back Joey Boland is on target with a long raking drive.
McCrabbe slots another free. That’s three for him, as he keeps the pace with Shefflin. At the other end, Brian Hogan is off target for Kilkenny.
Alan McCrabbe with a free for Dublin, which sails over. As you’d expect, from someone with a scoring record such as McCrabbe’s. At the other end, King Henry adds another free to draw level with Keher.
11′
And another. Martin Comerford this time, from only 35 or 40 yards. Still, you wouldn’t expect them to be costly. Would you?
10′
Something you don’t see every day. Richie Hogan in an acre of space about 60 metres from goal but his effort for a point trails well wide. That Eddie Brennan goal apart, there’s a hint of rustiness about Kilkenny.
08′
Alan McCrabbe with a 21-yard free. He shapes up as if he’s going for a goal but it goes just over. Dublin could have a couple of goals now but the only three-pointer has been at the other end.
07′
Two in a minute for Henry Shefflin. One from a free, another from play. Sheff is now just one adrift of Eddie Keher’s all-time scoring record.
That’s the difference. Dublin’s Dotsy O’Callaghan with an almost identical goal chance to that scored by Eddie Brennan, but this one flies just over PJ Ryan’s bar.
We’re away at a fairly ghostly Croke Park. And guess what? A goal for Kilkenny inside 40 seconds. TJ Reid takes a high ball into the square, releases Eddie Brennan who stitches it high to the net. Just the start Dublin didn’t want.
On the Kilkenny subs, Michael Kavanagh has 11 Leinster medals, Aidan Fogarty has five All-Ireland medals, Eoin Larkin was an All-Star last year and John Mulhall scored 1-16 in the National Hurling League. All that has been pointed out by TV3 commentator Sean Walsh. He says it’s frightening. Reassuring is another word, especially if you’re from Kilkenny.
Liam Griffin again: “I don’t want to overstate it but I think Tommy Walsh is the greatest wing back of all time. I’ve never seen a better wing back in my lifetime.”
Daithi Regan doesn’t agree. “I’m going to be biased. Brian Whelehan is the greatest player I’ve ever seen.”
“One-word answer,” says anchor Matt in the direction of Jamesie. “Walsh or Whelehan.”
Jamesie demurs.
Who’s better: Walsh or Whelehan? Let us know at shout, Twitter or Facebook.
1340:
In team news, there’s a late change on the Dublin team were Liam Ryan replaces namesake Paul Ryan in the forward line.
Kilkenny show five changes from last year’s All-Ireland final – John Dalton, Noel Hickey, Michael Fennelly, Martin Comerford and TJ Reid start in place of Michael Kavanagh, John Tennyson, Derek Lyng, Eoin Larkin and Aidan Fogarty. Incidentally, it’s a first championship start for new captain Reid, who spoke to JOE recently. That interview is here.
Kilkenny: PJ Ryan; J Dalton, N Hickey, J Tyrrell; T Walsh, B Hogan, JJ Delaney; M Rice, M Fennelly; M Comerford, R Hogan, H Shefflin; E Brennan, TJ Reid, R Power.
Dublin: G Maguire; N Corcoran, T Brady, O Gough; S Hiney, J Boland, M O’Brien; S Durkin, J McCaffrey; S Lambert, P Kelly, L Rushe; D O’Callaghan, P Ryan, A McCrabbe.
Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork).
1332:
A bit from the TV3 studio (at a near empty Croke Park).
Daithi Regan, the former Offaly player and a man who wouldn’t sit on a fence if the world was made up of them and he’d been standing for a week, reckons Kilkenny are the greatest hurling team of all time, and that no matter what Dublin or their manager Anthony Daly do today, it won’t be enough.
It’s a hot day at Croker but Liam Griffin sees no problems for the players. “These are well-honed athletes – they’d rather that than a wet day. Dry ball, nice new stick, a flying ball – it’s a special sensation.”
Jamesie O’Connor is the other guest alongside Matt Cooper, but I missed what he had to say. Anyone any the wiser? Contact me via the links above…
