Simple tactics pay rich reward

TRUST Johnny Pilkington to encapsulate it. As precise, accurate and succinct with words as he is with the ball, the veteran Birr midfielder afterwards summed up the old-fashioned ground hurling style with which his side had just demolished fancied Athenry thus: “It’s lazy hurling, get rid of the ball, less work to do, isn’t that it?”

Of course, it's far more than that. It's the essence of hurling, a simple game that can be made most complicated by players who insist on garnishing, who will pick and run and elaborate, slow everything down, when a quick snappy stroke is all that's required.

"We said we'd play ground hurling, and that's what we did", Pilkington added. "No point in sending high balls in there (to their forwards)."