Cats vowed not to lose another semi, says stellar Reid

HERO'S WELCOME: TJ Reid of Kilkenny embraces supporters after his side's victory in the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Final match between Kilkenny and Clare at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Man of the Match TJ Reid said Kilkenny simply weren't prepared to lose another All-Ireland hurling semi-final.

The Cats followed up their 2019 final defeat to Tipperary with last four losses to Waterford in 2020 and Cork last year.

"The big motivation over the last four weeks was that we lost the last two semi-finals - no way was that happening today," said Reid, who struck 0-10 in the dozen-point demolition of Clare, noting that 'you leave your big performances until the big days'.

Munster finalists Clare had appeared the team most likely to threaten Limerick's three-in-a-row bid but Kilkenny stepped out from the shadows in remarkable fashion.

"You have to be confident," said Reid. "You have to believe in your team and we did. We had four weeks of great training. We were together for the last four weeks, serious training, serious bonding. We were waiting in the long grass.

"I suppose we trained really hard and we showed today with the performance, it was excellent from start to finish.

"We dominated the game in a lot of areas. Just a massive effort today and it was needed because Clare were coming off a fantastic year. But look, we were told that it had been quiet in Leinster, nobody was really talking about us really. We were just focused on one thing, a win today and get a performance."

Reid's brother, Kilkenny captain Richie, locked down the defence during the 2-26 to 0-20 win.

"Today was a big performance, from one to 15, and our backs were outrageous, tigerish, real heart," said Reid.