MANAGERS of all teams need enthusiasm when seeking success. It is a key ingredient.

1. The Kilkenny penalty decision.

A number three can hurl a lot of ball, make vital interceptions, thunder out of defence, but cannot afford any mistake in front of goal. The full-back can win lots of ball but all the full forward needs is one.

1. TS and TN number-plates whizzed by – at 120kmph, if any gardaí are reading – as I drove to Dublin yesterday, and it struck me that this county was in a hurry.

1. KILKENNY’S victories in major championship games over the past number of years have been based on scoring goals.

WATERFORD’S big confrontation against Galway came down to the final five minutes and the turning point was the introduction of Big Dan Shanahan.

DUBLIN hurlers are in the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland and, let me stress, they’re hot favourites.

THE CRITICAL DIFFERENCE. A seven-point gap was a little flattering to Galway and a little harsh on Cork. This was a tight affair where possession around midfield and in the half lines was at a premium.

THIS Munster final was decided in the five minutes after half time. In that spell, Waterford dominated the play and Tipperary looked in trouble.

AS I strolled down to Cusack Park from the centre of Ennis on Saturday, I passed a funeral home a hundred metres or so from the pitch. The thought flashed through my mind that the joust with Galway might be the final nail in the coffin for Clare’s hurling season where they have failed to win a game in league or championship.