Holding Shefflin in reserve right move for Kilkenny

Former Dublin hurling manager Anthony Daly feels holding Henry Shefflin in reserve for tomorrow evening’s All-Ireland final replay is the right move for Kilkenny.

Last night Shefflin was named on the bench for Kilkenny and Daly feels the nine-time All-Ireland winner is better coming on as a substitute, though he added that the player needs more time than he got in the drawn game against Kilkenny.

“I couldn’t believe Kilkenny left it so late to put on Henry in the drawn game, but then you never know how they’re thinking.

“I was talking to a former Kilkenny player the week of the drawn game and I asked if they were likely to spring Walter Walsh, for instance and he was telling me Walter wasn’t going well in training — I saw the same man the day of the final and said, ‘wrong, my friend!’ But the point is that we heard Henry was flying in training.”

Daly pointed out that if Shefflin had to be substituted tomorrow evening, it would be a huge boost to Tipperary.

“It’s hard, in fairness, when you only have three or four minutes, which was all he had the first day,” said Daly.

“It’s not a lot of time to get into the game unless it just pops into you for a goal or to set up a goal on a plate.

“I’d be thinking that I wouldn’t play him from the start simply because if he had to come off, either through a knock or through not playing well, it’d be the biggest boost Tipp would get. The Tipp support would erupt in the stadium and the players would surely scent blood.

“I’d stick to that reasoning still, and there’d be a boost when he’d come on. It was so late when he came on the first day, though, that it was hard to figure out.”

Daly feels Shefflin has had a better season than he’s being given credit for. “I know against Limerick Henry made a couple of mistakes, in terrible conditions, but in the Galway game, the draw, he got a massive score to put them one ahead in injury-time.

“In the Leinster final he hit three good points from play, and I know people were probably saying, ‘sure it’s easy for him to do it then’, they were on top and our heads were down, but still.

“He went in centre-forward on Liam Rushe, who was everywhere trying to clear ball, but once Henry found the space, he found the target.

“The one point I’d take out of the whole thing, though, is he can’t have been going as well as we were led to believe; the reason I say that is that if you or I were the manager and this fella was going well in training, you’d use him.

“He’s Henry Shefflin, after all.”