David Herrity: Eoin Murphy is an 'absolute freak of nature'

Former Kilkenny goalkeeper David Herrity has hailed Eoin Murphy as a 'freak of nature' after the latter's superb save to deny Clare's Peter Duggan a goal in Sunday's semi-final

SAFE HANDS: Kilkenny goalkeeper Eoin Murphy catches the ball close to his crossbar to stop a point from a shot from Diarmuid Ryan of Clare in the All-Ireland SHC semi-final at Croke Park. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Former Kilkenny goalkeeper David Herrity has hailed Eoin Murphy as a 'freak of nature' after the latter's superb save to deny Clare's Peter Duggan a goal in the dying stages of Sunday's All-Ireland SHC semi-final.

Murphy replaced Herrity as the Cats' number one in 2013 and, speaking on the Irish Examiner Hurling Show, Herrity says he takes comfort in knowing how good Murphy turned out to be.

"You could have a 20-minute reel of Eoin Murphy's saves. It's like TJ Reid, they're on a different level. TJ scores 12 points and we kind of just go 'good man'. He doesn't even get man of the match anymore because it's kind of 'that's what TJ does'.

"I've seen Eoin pick off saves there in Leinster Championships, he could pull off three and no one even mentions it, 'that's what Eoin does'.

"I asked myself what would I have done (with Duggan's shot) and I think I just would have stood. The fact that he was able to dive up, twist the body, get two hands on it...

"You can get one hand to it because it's nearly easier to reach but he got the two hands and then was able to flick it onto the crossbar. 

"Eoin does this, he's an absolute freak of nature. I bloody know because he took the jersey off me.

"I had sleepless nights. I remember going to the GPA Counsellor. I remember thinking at the time 'I'm doing everything I can do but your man's a freak like'.

"We had to sit down and have a discussion about it. We eventually worked it out that 'you have more experience, David' and that helped me sleep at night.

"Because he can catch balls two foot over the bar, he can ping out his puckouts, he can make these phenomenal saves, his first touch is off the charts.

"His hand is like sandpaper, if you ever manage to shake hands with him. He'd catch bullets.

"It was just experience, that's the only thing I had on the lad."

Herrity recounts a conversation he had with Brian Cody about Murphy which he feels now he would have handled very differently.

"I was in goal in '11 and '12 and in the semi-final in '12, Lar Corbett landed me on my arse and Pa Bourke scored a goal.

"In the next training session, I went out more early than usual to see what Brian's reaction was with my mistake. We had a chat and we discussed it and he kind of slipped in, as he does, 'what's Eoin like?'

"I'd been training with him for two years, and I made the horrific mistake of going 'when Eoin gets in goal, no one will take the jersey off him'.

"What I should have said was 'he's terrible, very poor attitude, he loves Tipperary, Brian!'.

"But it was the truth. Anything I do he just soaks it up and does it quicker. I said 'he's like a sponge'. 

"Brian went 'grand'. We went on and won the All-Ireland after a replay and the very first training session of 2013, Brian took me into the medical room along with Martin Fogarty and just goes 'change happens'.

"And that was it. All he wanted was confirmation off someone else that am I seeing what he was seeing in training.

"The only bit of comfort you have is it's like if you're a Barcelona player and Messi takes over from you. You'd be pissed off at the time but then when Messi turns out to be Messi then you go 'maybe I'm alright'.

Kilkenny now go on to face Limerick in a rematch of last year's All-Ireland final. Herrity says he would be 'very confident' of Kilkenny tuning over the champions.

"I'd be very confident. I'd be confident with the panel of 20, 21, even the lads that didn't come on (Sunday). I would be very confident.

"With the sideline, with the panel, the way that they're playing at the moment, without a doubt they have a chance.

"I think it's very like the Tipperary - Kilkenny rivalry of '09, '10, '11. Except Kilkenny are Tipperary now, where they are the underdogs.

"I think it's going to be such a cracking final.

"There just wasn't that belief last year, there is now."