Cats star Walsh earns his place among the greats
Two Kilkenny lads were talking before the first of the Leinster semi-finals in Croke Park yesterday, and one admitted – “You know what, I’m afraid...”
“You’re afraid of what?” says the other, “You’re afraid it’s going to rain? Because there’s no fear we’re going to lose here today!” How right he was.
I’m not going to dwell too much on this game, but I’m going to mention four things. First, and most significant; I’ve often seen Tommy Walsh play a good game for Kilkenny but yesterday was his finest hour.
Surely now – and I know he still has years to go – we can say, this is one of the greatest hurlers to ever play this game.
Secondly the goal by Richie Power was a piece of genius. What a score and what a time to get that score. When Richie caught that ball there was nothing on, but he made it happen. He showed pace and the power to round Tomás Brady, then intelligence to finish past a goalkeeper at the top of his game. hat strike will be in the running for goal of the season.
Thirdly, I was amazed at how far back Dublin have gone in less than one season. It’s backwards they’ve gone since they met Kilkenny in last year’s Leinster final and ran them to two goals. The big question Dublin have to ask themselves – are they going to continue that backward slide, or are they going to cop themselves on? How long before these Dublin youngsters grow up and realise that they’re now in with the big boys where there is no room for messing around? I know they were up against a great team yesterday but this was a test Dublin failed, miserably. Finally, the fourth item. Henry Shefflin, broke the long-standing championship scoring record of yet another Kilkenny great, Eddie Keher, in this game, with 12 points, and in the process confirmed his own status – Henry, the king.
Whatever about the disappointment of Kilkenny/Dublin, yesterday was all about Offaly. What a display by the men from the midlands, and men they are; tough men, men of true character. A player sent off, momentum lost to a Galway team that suddenly found its form, and then to recover and draw a match that looked like it was gone from them. I’d say this, when referee Johnny Ryan reviews the video he won’t be too impressed with himself – at least he shouldn’t be. He made a lot of wrong calls, against Offaly, particularly. From where I was, up high in the stands, the straight red card for Daniel Currams looked harsh. Yes there was contact, but I don’t think there was any intent to injure in that tackle, and surely that should be the principal guiding factor if a referee is going to pull out a card.
Much the same kind of incident happened in the first game with Maurice O’Brien’s tackle on Martin Comerford. But Diarmuid Kirwan deemed that – rightly – it merited just a yellow. And it should have been the same for Currams.
It left Offaly under serious pressure from there to the finish, but is any county better equipped to handle that pressure? Time and again in the past three decades they’ve shown character – again it was there yesterday.
Rory Hanniffy, David Franks, Paul Cleary, Brian Carroll, Joe Bergin, Derek Molloy – all were outstanding. But, when it finally comes down to it, is there any man other than a Dooley that you’d want to stand over the ball in a pressure situation, and deliver?
In the past, and on the biggest stage, it was Billy, and Johnny, and Joe; yesterday it was Shane, son of Joe, who stood over that free, 70m out, on the right sideline, with the clock ticking down. You know the rest.
It wasn’t just that free, of course; what a performance overall by young Shane, and on no less a man-marker than Ollie Canning. I also want to mention another Offaly youngster, Derek Morkan. What a game this lad had, what a find by Joe Dooley. They’ve had some fine wing-backs in Offaly over the years and this lad has the skills to join them.
I’d better say a few words about Galway as well, because they too played their part in what was a great game.
They came into this one under huge pressure, as raging-hot favourites against a Galway team they have always had problems with. They were caught with some serious body-blows early on, and still they responded. I thought their two midfielders, Ger Farragher (especially) and David Burke, had great games, but so had Joe Canning, Damien Hayes, Iarla Tannian. Their defence, however – and not for the first time – was suspect, and this is going to be the challenge facing John McIntyre and his selectors over the next week. Galway are a team that play on confidence; it can be too easily dented. They started really well but then came the Offaly goals, and you could see the confidence seeping away almost immediately.
Finally, a couple of words on the Cork/Limerick game – I’m glad I missed it.
We were getting constant updates, and it was just as I expected, Cork comfortably in control throughout, a farce of a Munster semi-final. It sets up another Cork/Waterford Munster final, and the prospect of a good game there at least, but this one won’t have done Cork any good.
