Shrinking pitch means less fluency

Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final between Kilkenny and Waterford followed a template we’ve become familiar with this season: A great deal of anticipation followed closely by a vague sense of disappointment.

A contest we expected to develop into a mixture of individual battles and cavalry charges came to resemble a sweep of massed armies back and forth, sometimes contesting and sometimes yielding the coveted middle ground. It’s a new kind of game we’re watching, and people are grumbling, comparing it to Gaelic football to convey their unhappiness.

Is the discontent warranted?