All-Ireland hurling semi-final as it happened: Kilkenny set up final against Limerick

Okay, that’s all from our live All-Ireland SHC semi-final blog from Croke Park. Thanks for keeping us company throughout the day. Kilkenny, the more things change the more they stay the same.

Here’s Seán Moran’s match report from Croke Park.

[ Kilkenny hold off furious Clare comeback to set up All-Ireland rematch with Limerick ]

All the highlights

Lohan on the goal by Mark Rodgers which was not given as referee Colm Lyons called play back for a free in the build-up play: “Yeah, look, he had blown the whistle. But didn’t seem to get a huge amount from the referee today. Found it hard to get frees.”

When asked again on the ref, Lohan replies: “There’s a rule there that I can’t be critical of referees.”

Lohan on Murphy’s spectacular save: “Eoin Murphy seems to produce those really good saves. The standard of goalkeeping now is just huge, they have so much pressure with their puck-out and their shot-stopping as well but some of these guys are just outstanding. It was a really good save by him. It was kind of a half chance for us.”

Brian Lohan: “Disappointed with how we played in the first half, for sure.”

Lyng on facing Limerick in the All-Ireland final: “Massive challenge, they are a fantastic team, obviously going for four-in-a-row and rightly so. They’ve been the form team for many years now. It’s a massive challenge ahead of us, but we’re looking forward to it.

“We’re in the final now but we’re not just happy with that.”

Lyng on Murphy’s save: “To be honest with you, I just saw the reaction, he’s a top-class keeper. It was very edgy towards the end there, we just did enough to get over the line.”

This is stunning, jaw-droppingly stunning.

Derek Lyng has entered the press conference room:

“It looked like momentum had swung towards Clare,” he admits. “But our workrate right through was outstanding.”

Several of the Clare players are still on the pitch, some watching replays of the game’s key moments on the big screen at the Hill 16 End. Kilkenny have already made for the dressing-room. They’ll be back in a fortnight. Eoin Murphy’s save was incredible. Just awesome. Right, I’m going to head down to the bowels of the Hogan Stand for some reaction from both camps. Seán Moran’s match report is imminent also.

Clare tried to force a goal in the dying seconds but Kilkenny had plenty of bodies back. Derek Lyng’s men hold out. Kilkenny’s goal was the pivotal score in the game. Up until that stage Clare were dominating the second half. The Cats, you just can’t kill them off. Lyng leads them to an All-Ireland final in his first year at the helm. The 2023 All-Ireland final will be a repeat of the 2022 showdown, which Limerick won.

FULL-TIME: Kilkenny 1-25 Clare 1-22.

74mins: Padraig Walsh point. Kilkenny 1-25 Clare 1-22.

73mins: Wow, wow, wow. Incredible Eoin Murphy save from a Peter Duggan shot. Clare manage to get a point. But the save. OH MY WORD. Kilkenny 1-24 Clare 1-22.

72mins: Eoin Cody stretches the lead to three again. Kilkenny 1-24 Clare 1-21.

70mins: Aaron Shanagher replaces David Reidy for Clare. Rodgers scores from a 65 to leave two between the teams. Three minutes of additional time announced. Kilkenny 1-23 Clare 1-21.

69mins: A nice score by Eoin Cody extends Kilkenny’s lead to three. Kilkenny 1-23 Clare 1-20.

68mins: Padraig Walsh enters the game for Billy Ryan. Rodgers hits a long range free wide for Clare. Still two between the sides.

67mins: TJ adds a free from a tricky angle out wide on the Cusack Stand side, after Richie Hogan had bene fouled. Kilkenny 1-22 Clare 1-20.

65mins: TJ Reid pops over a free after Walter Walsh was fouled. David McInerney picks up a yellow for his troubles. Kilkenny edge back in front. Kilkenny 1-21 Clare 1-20.

Stunning strike by O’Donnell, who shrugged Walsh out of his way before unleashing an unstoppable shot high to the back of Eoin Murphy’s goal. Wow.

63mins: GOAL - Shane Donnell rocket. Clare 1-20 Kilkenny 1-20.

62mins: Cian Kenny, who has replaced John Donnelly, points from play. Kilkenny 1-20 Clare 0-20.

61mins: TJ Reid arrows a sideline from under the Cusack Stand over the Clare crossbar. Kilkenny 1-19 Clare 0-20.

60mins: Huge Kilkenny roar as Richie Hogan enters the fray. He replaces Tom Phelan.

59mins: David Fitzgerald pulls a point back for Clare. Kilkenny 1-18 Clare 0-20.

Rory Hayes was turned over coming out of the Clare defence with the ball by Billy Ryan. TJ Reid came away with the ball, raced in on goal and fed Eoin Cody, who made no mistake by blasting it to the Clare net. Terrible goal for Clare to concede, came from nothing. Kilkenny needed that. Huge moment. Paddy Deegan had popped over a point just beforehand. The goal came from the resulting puck-out. Game on.

55mins: GOAL for Kilkenny. Eoin Cody. Kilkenny 1-18 Clare 0-19.

54mins: Rodgers extends Clare’s lead by converting a free from close range. Clare have outscored Kilkenny 0-9 to 0-2 since the break. Clare 0-19 Kilkenny 0-17.

52mins: Clare go in front. David Reidy clips over from play to push the Banner ahead. Clare 0-18 Kilkenny 0-17.

51mins: LEVEL. Rodgers clips over from play to bring the sides level. Clare have all the momentum. Kilkenny 0-17 Clare 0-17.

O’Donnell drops an effort short after a brilliant fetch. Clare need to get level. It’s so tense right now.

Walter Walsh and John Conlon just went at it like a pair of heavyweights thundering at each other. The earth shook. Honest.

48mins: Rodgers free leaves just one between the teams. Clare are dominating this often crucial third quarter so far. Kilkenny 0-17 Clare 0-16.

45mins: Clare fuming a goal is not given because of a free blown in the build-up. Duggan had been fouled before he sent the ball in, whistle went, Clare played on but it was called back, much to their frustration. Either way, Rodgers converts the free. Kilkenny 0-17 Clare 0-15.

44mins: Bit of dunting on the Hogan Stand sideline just in front of Brian Lohan. Walter Walsh introduced for Martin Keoghan, Kilkenny’s first sub.

43mins: Ian Galvin and Adrian Mullen swap points. Kilkenny 0-17 Clare 0-14.

42mins: Reid free. Kilkenny’s first since the restart. Kilkenny 0-16 Clare 0-13.

40mins: A bit of argy-bargy on the Clare 20 metre line. Quilligan has just equalled Murphy with a brilliant save, the Clare goalkeeper denying Eoin Cody.

39mins: Rodgers registers a 65, which came after a stunning Eoin Murphy save to deny Shane O’Donnell. Clare have started like a train here in the second half. Kilkenny 0-15 Clare 0-13.

37mins: Clare burst out of the blocks with the first two points of the second half, the first from Rodgers, the second from Fitzgerald. Kilkenny 0-15 Clare 0-12. Clare sub at half-time - Ian Galvin for Morey.

Nope, not Bob Marley but Let’s Dance by Bowie as Clare come back out.

Kilkenny are back out. We await Clare. Perhaps they will re-emerge to a bit of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song.

Attendance at Croke Park: 48,360

While you are having a cup of tea, here’s a piece from a few weeks back by Malachy Clerkin on TJ Reid’s history-making scoring exploits. He went out on his own during that first half. TJ, that is.

[ Hiding in plain sight: Patrick Horgan and TJ Reid are pushing back the scoring boundaries ]

HALF-TIME: Kilkenny 0-15 Clare 0-10.

37mins: Rodgers free for Clare. Kilkenny 0-15 Clare 0-10.

35mins: Eoin Cody adds another point from play for Kilkenny. Kilkenny 0-15 Clare 0-9.

33mins: Clare sub - David Reidy replaces the injured Ryan Taylor.

33mins: A period of very patchy, messy play during which players from both sides are guilty of giving away possession. The scrappy spell ends with TJ Reid winning a free. And scoring it. Kilkenny 0-14 Clare 0-9.

29mins: Wide stat alert change - Clare and Kilkenny each smack a couple of wayward balls outside the posts. Wide count now is five for Clare, one for Kilkenny.

28mins: Tony Kelly wide with a long-range free. That’s Clare’s fourth wide. None so far for the Cats.

27mins: Cathal Malone with a point from the middle of the field. Kilkenny 0-13 Clare 0-9.

26 mins: Eoin Cody point awarded after Hawk-Eye took a look. Kilkenny 0-13 Clare 0-8.

25 mins: Rodgers free followed by a Reid free. Kilkenny 0-12 Clare 0-8.

24mins: Amazing last-gasp block by Conor Fogarty to deny a Clare goal.

22mins: TJ Reid pops over a free. It’s from in front of the posts, but it is a milestone score as it makes Reid the top scorer in the history of the championship. What a player.

20 mins: David Fitzgerald from the middle of the park. Kilkenny 0-10 Clare 0-7.

20mins: TJ Reid scores a free from inside his own half. Makes it look easy. It’s far from it. Kilkenny 0-10 Clare 0-6.

18mins: Tony Kelly responds with a point from play. Kilkenny 0-9 Clare 0-6.

17mins: Superb save from Clare goalkeeper Eibhear Quilligan from a goal-bound TJ Reid shot. Could prove a pivotal moment. Reid converts the resulting 65. Kilkenny 0-9 Clare 0-5.

16mins: Huw Lawlor drills one over from downtown. Great score by the Kilkenny full back. Kilkenny 0-8 Clare 0-5.

15mins: As expected, Mikey Butler is marking Tony Kelly. Key battle.

14mins: Billy Ryan pops a point over from play after a Clare wide. Kilkenny 0-7 Clare 0-5.

13mins: Rodgers nails a 65 for Clare to reduce the gap. Kilkenny 0-6 Clare 0-5.

12mins: Two on the bounce from Kilkenny, a long range free by Reid followed by one from play by Adrian Mullen. Kilkenny 0-6 Clare 0-4.

9mins: The sides swap scores again before a nice point from Shane O’Donnell leaves it 0-4 apiece.

8mins: A TJ Reid frees gives Kilkenny the lead again. Kilkenny 0-3 Clare 0-2.

6mins: Eoin Cody from play edges Kilkenny back in front but Peter Duggan replies with a great score. Kilkenny 0-2 Clare 0-2.

5mins: Mark Rodgers drives a free wide. Bad miss.

4mins: Ryan Taylor from play levels matters. 0-1 apiece.

2mins: TJ Reid, who else, opens the scoring with a free from close range. Kilkenny 0-1 Clare 0-0.

Diarmuid Ryan with the game’s first wide in the opening minute.

Parade over. Anthem ongoing. Here we go......

First blood to Kilkenny, Eoin Cody wins the toss. Tony Kelly will probably get over the disappointment.

Both teams are out going through their warm-ups. Sun is shining. Tommy Walsh, the former Kilkenny player, is sitting just across from us looking like he could still do a job. He embodied the Kilkenny spirit during their era of dominance. They’ll need to bring that intensity this afternoon, quick scan around the ground suggests a large Clare contingent have made the journey to Croke Park.

Hold your horses: Croke Park official has returned to the press box with a change to the change, if you will. Séadna Morey comes in, but he will be starting ahead of Ian Galvin, not Mark Rodgers. Somewhere around Croke Park, the Rodgers clan breathe a sigh of relief. Mark shall start!!!!

What will that change do to Clare’s starting formation? Morey for Rodgers seems to leave Clare short of attackers. They will hardly re-reinvent John Conlon? Or will they perhaps try leave Shane O’Donnell and Peter Duggan up front as a two-pronged full-forward line. Does Tony Kelly switch?

BREAKING: One change to the Clare starting team - Séadna Morey replaces Mark Rodgers.

Some more reading ahead of throw-in: Michael Kavanagh, one of hurling’s greatest defenders, talks about Huw Lawlor’s presence on the edge of the Kilkenny square, continuing the tradition of fine black and amber full backs.

[ Huw Lawlor in prime position to carry on Kilkenny tradition ]

Exciting finish to the All-Ireland senior camogie quarter-final here with Cork edging out their great rivals Kilkenny, 2-14 to 2-13.

Here is some light reading to whet the appetite before the action begins. Denis Walsh writes about the mercurial Tony Kelly.

[ Being Tony Kelly: how Clare’s wizard regained his magic ]

Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of the All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Kilkenny and Clare, throw-in at Croke Park is at 4pm.

Limerick await the winners of today’s contest, which is a repeat of last year’s semi-final when Kilkenny picked apart Clare to run out 2-26 to 0-20 winners. It was a difficult afternoon for the Banner and no doubt they will hope to make an amends by dishing out a dose of revenge today.

It’s Gordon Manning here, live from the press box in the Hogan Stand. I’ll be taking you through the action as it happens. We’re just an hour away, for now it’s a dry and breezy day at Croke Park. Here are the teams released during the week, though it remains to be seen if there will be any personnel changes come throw-in. We’ll keep you updated of any news from GAA HQ.

The teams are as follows:

CLARE (SHC v Kilkenny): Eibhear Qulligan; Adam Hogan, Conor Cleary, Rory Hayes; Diarmuid Ryan, John Conlon, David McInerney; Cathal Malone, David Fitzgerald; Peter Duggan, Tony Kelly, Ryan Taylor; Ian Galvin, Shane O’Donnell, Mark Rodgers. Subs: Eamonn Foudy, Aron Shanagher, Cian Galvin, Cian Nolan, Darragh Lohan, David Reidy, Patrick Crotty, Paul Flanagan, Robin Mounsey, Seadna Morey, Shane Meehan.

KILKENNY (SHC v Clare): Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh; David Blanchfield, Richie Reid, Paddy Deegan; Conor Fogarty, Adrian Mullen; Tom Phelan, Martin Keoghan, John Donnelly; Billy Ryan, TJ Reid, Eoin Cody. Subs: David Brennan, Conor Delaney, Cillian Buckley, Pádraig Walsh, Darragh Corcoran, Alan Murphy, Cian Kenny, Timmy Clifford, Walter Walsh, Richie Hogan, Billy Drennan.