Clare v Cork - Round 2

Clare to finish them off this time, Cork played as well as they were let. If Aidan Walsh was playing for Cork I might think differently.

Have to go with Clare after the 1st game as well,hoping JBM has come up with some way of avoiding Clares half back line,Clare have rightly gone favs,surprise me.

Think Clare will win today if they play even close to the level of the last game. The goals kept Cork from a bad defeat and I am not convinced this Cork team in any use so I am sceptical if there is any improvement in them. Clare by 3-5 points.

patrick horgan to be MOTM 8-1 is the play.

Cork being backed in just like the first day, but not as low as 1.7 this time!

Im on Clare to be ahead at half time 2.14. Not sure about their resolve to go through with the job over the full 70 mins.

I think Clare will be a bit rattled after the last day. In the first game most likely played to 100%, were a far better team and still coudnt seal the deal. Their full back line goalie combo are likely to leak goals too.
With all that taken into account and an improved display from Cork likely I cant call the winner. Still I think Clare will start at 100mph again and should be ahead at half time. Whether they wilt mentally in the 2nd half remains to be seen.

Markets a bit skewed with only 20 mins to the off .  Clare were 2.28 a few minutes ago for the 70 minutes , yet I laid them at 1.93 last night to win outright . Fairly big difference there .

Kelly I assume its just the casual (clueless) punters backing Cork on the match odds to "have an interest" just like the first game

Draw hits 48 pre match. I stand by my previous post!!!

Up ou dat Nash. They hadn,t enough on the line

had a few quid on shane o donnell for man of the match........looking ok at the moment......

yre still in the game jimmy,old stock!but for ffs,get something done about the full back line!

Great match so far .  Cork are not out of it despite how well Clare have played and scored .

One bad half for Cork painful viewing,still 4 points only, surely will better this half.

Big 2ndH for Cork. The HT money saw it coming.

Super Goal-I wouldn't begrudge Clare the win if that's how it materialises but Davy.......
Very strange to have an All Ireland Final on a Saturday.

Clare did well to stop that momentum

Clare well deserved,weathered the storm,a poor 1st half and a couple of softish goals cost Cork ultimately, erra fook it.

Well played Clare .  Most neutrals wanted them to win , but Cork looked likely half way through the second half .  Great advertisement for game of hurling . No sport anywhere can touch it .

And JBM is a class act .

Good match, Clare team are obviously young but looks like senior hurling is played by spotty adolescents.

Good match?................bloody fantastic match......no game in the world like it. Superb.

Terrific game played in a great spirit by both teams. Clare the better side in both games and worthy winners. I thought Jimmy Barry Murphy's interview post match confirmed something I have known all my life. This man has class,a true sportsman and a real gentleman. In a country were we see so many sleeveens and gougers strut their stuff it does the heart good to see we have some decent people  to admire.

im after it.unreal.best game in the world bar one.how did we irish stumble across it.it was draining and it was magical.im sure if cork had won we would have wished them well.but i think clare were the better team over the two games..its great for a lovely group of young lads!!

bar none!!.carlsberg cutting in!!

Brought my son to his first All-Ireland final today.

Great match. Great atmosphere.

Cork put in a much improved performance and had the best of the first 20 mins of the 2nd half and could have gone ahead.

Clare better over the 70 and deserved their win.

Clare should be around for a few years, not so sure about Cork(no underage success for years). And I think Dublin are well off this pace.

Great match and quite an open game - very open and defending was poor but a great advert for the game. Hard luck Cork and well done Clare.

The game might have lacked a bit of class but for sheer excitement you couldn't beat it.

Best team won even die hard Cork fans will admit that?.

"The game might have lacked a bit of class"

Not sure about that Silvergreaser. Class all round on both teams. Unreal match.

great match for sheer excitement but some of the touches were way off at times, don't want to be a kill joy but who would say that Clare are going to dominate for years to come?

Tou will not see classier forwards than that Clare set, and most of em are only kids. Cork were outclassed but mentally so tough and complete and utter class acts in defeat like they always are. That game had class coming out its ears Sil.

You*

no it didn't neil, Kilkenny played the exact same amount of games through replays as they did last year, this year they scored 2 goals, last year they scored 15.

Does anyone really think that Clare or Cork were really the best 2 teams in the country.

They gave us 2 fantastic matches but??

Not sure what game you were watching Silvergreaser "some of the touches were way off at times". Maybe during the period where Cork got on top, Clare lost a small bit of composure but that was due to Cork raising their game too. But Clare were ruthless for the first twenty and last fifteen, certainly no bad touches in those periods.

Wouldn't agree that Kilkenny are a better team. They had limped through a few games before Cork put them out of their misery. Most people will agree this is only the start of a great era for Clare hurling. Cork I'm not so sure. JBM factor had a big impact this year.

Clare were the best team in the country by a mile Sil, ok, KK had injuries but I promise you this Clare team will prove itself to be out of the top drawer over the next few years.

I'd argue that last years KK/Galway final was actually of a much lower standard. Look at the quality of the Clare full forward and half back lines compared to Galways and they nearly beat Kilkenny. Limerick also gave KK a good game last year and Clare simply blew us away.

I backed Clare at 8/1 to win Munster what a bummer and they go on to win the All Ireland of course I seen the potential in Clare.

Hate to be harsh Sil, but if you can't appreciate the quality of that Clare team, you simply don't know what you're looking at. You are a Kildare man after all!!

Only pisstakin btw

Neil, in that Limerick match Kilkenny were all over Limerick only the sending off of Richie Hogan gave you's a semplance of respectability.

Very young team, and I'd guess Davy had to be very hard on them in the spring to get the newer lads to the required fitness level.

Some of the goals Limerick conceded that day were criminal I thought Sil, KK pulled away in the end but they weren't on a different level to me. I don't think last years form was strong tbh.

Might have Munster but for some sloppy hurling in the second half of the Cork game. Probably their worst period in this year's championship. Cork might have won it but for a harsh sending-of in the Final.

It's been a topsy-turvy year, the top 2 teams from Division 2 plus the bottom 2 from Division 1 contested the semi-finals. It was a fiercely competitive Division though, if I remember correct, were there four teams level on 4 points going into the final round of games, 1 had 5 and 1 had 3.

Thats a very decent Clare side hence why I backed them to win munster as I thought the likes of Tipp and Cork were so so.

Who knows maybe Kilkenny are gone?, but I doubt it as their backs were as good as ever just that the forwards misfired this year if they fire next year only one winner.

Yep whoever beats em next year will win it, but I'm not sure there forward line has functioned in the last 2 years. Sheflin balied em out in 2012.

Kilkenny will be back of course. On the subject of the backs I think Murphy and Joyce looked very good again this year. JJ is getting turned a lot easier and he's not a pure full-back. Does a job there but he'll be remembered as a 7. Tommy Walsh's wing was targeted a lot more on puck-outs this year and he was found out a few times. Hogan took longer to make his mark on games and even then, he was in and out of them. Jackie Tyrell does as he does best and bullies all round him. So I think Kilkenny will have question marks over their backs next year. They'll need players like Conor Fogarty and Paddy Hogan to step up. John Dalton should never have left the squad either. Their forwards definitely misfired too. Larkin and Power have big disappointments this year. Colin Fennelly had a massive dip in form.

They'll give anyone a game from memory alone but yeah I'd be disappointed if this Clare side din't have their measure next year. Richie Power for me is the one who has the most ability and could lead that forward line. He needs to make the step from very good to great.

SYT you really couldn't fault Kilkenny backs this year I thought they were outstanding as always, gave their forwards a multitude of possession which they failed to turn into worthwhile scores, but if those backs do exactly what they nearly always do and dominate their opponent and the forwards click like they use to do nothing in the other counties have that arsenal.

When Tipp beat them in 2010 Kilkenny murdered them the next year even if the final score board didn't do justice to Klkennys total dominance, hell hath no fury like a cat scorned...

Can't keep in the tide though Sil.....

Yes I agree Kilkenny will be raring to go next year. Getting knocked out a bit earlier might also freshen them up. But they're getting older. They won't keep getting by with the same players. Maybe all the year's hurling caught up with them this year. Especially in the forwards. But also the backs. Off the top of my head Tommy Walsh was roasted by the Offaly full-forward and Dotsy O'Callaghan left JJ in the dust several times over the two games. I felt at the time some players hadn't prepared as they normally would have so maybe next year they can get that right again. I would say though Dublin are the team to beat in Leinster.

neil kilkenny were not too far off this year even with a misfiring forward line, against Cork I personally thought they were rode by the ref, but anti Kilkenny sentiment will say sore loser, but I can understand, not another Kilkenny All IRELAND win, so saddle them up, and only Kilkenny play the rough stuff?.

I'd still have them ahead of Cork Sil, I don't rate that Cork team.

I'm off to bed my team Moorefield play Athy in the county senior semi final tomorrow, they beat us well last year and we hammered them a couple of years ago when they were the up and coming team.

Moorefield are much better this year with a new manager, Athy are Athy they're a seriously good outfit, both teams dreaded meeting each other in the draw, may the best teaM win!. Hopefully Moorefield?.

Good night and sweet dreams!

Night Sil, hope your crowd win tomorrow.

Could anyone tell me did PP quoted Shane o donnell for MOM? And if they didn't what are the rules regarding man of the match?

Yes O'Donnell was named MOM and all bookies settle on the Sunday Game choice or in this case Saturday game.

Yes O'Donnell was named MOM and all bookies settle on the Sunday Game choice or in this case Saturday game.

Have to agree with the assesment of JBM. What an absolute class act. Plenty of winning managers have moaned about Refs etc in victory this year (Davy Fitz, Jim Gavin...) What a man Murphy is (He always was, no wonder the Rebels love him). No moaning, no excuses, no passing the buck.....

A better loser than many have shown themselves winners this year.

tactically,fitz blew jbm away over both games,the little bollix!

Last May, Clare were a best priced 25/1 to win 2013 All Irel with PP. Now 10/3 with same firm to win 2014 contest. Incredible transformation.

i know a lad had a grand at 20/1.another grand at 14/1..he owes donovan a pint or two!!

^^^^translation,some geezer sitting on a bar stool beside the kav,says hes going to have a 5er on for the craic.

Can't remember who it was but one of the hurling pundits on Matt Cooper's Today FM show tipped up Clare to win the All Irel last April/May time. Perhaps Matt will replay the comments in tomorrow's review.

Anyone who attended the 4 Senior Championship Quarter Finals today in Kilkenny will realise that Kilkenny won't be winning an All Ireland anytime soon.

Nothing coming through at all. Lean years ahead.