Kilkenny win so many matches every year that everyone has a clear idea of how they do it. It’s never a mystery when they win. They’re probably the most predictable team in the country. Last Sunday, all of that went out the window.
It wasn’t just that they lost, but how they lost: conceding four goals; not scoring a goal; not being able to manage the game against 14 men; surrendering a lead going down the stretch. None of that tallies with the way Kilkenny normally do their business.
Goals were the theme of the weekend. Over the two semi-finals, 13 goals were scored. Even Dublin managed two and threatened a couple of others. Kilkenny didn’t look remotely like scoring a goal until John Donnelly’s shot in stoppage time was blocked on the line by Robert Doyle.
The last time Kilkenny failed to score a goal in Croke Park was the 2022 Leinster final, a low scoring game that they won. Before that, you must go back another three years.
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TJ Reid has always been a goal threat throughout his career but that didn’t materialise on Sunday. The most effective way for Kilkenny to get the ball into his hand now is to drop it on his head, but there wasn’t enough high ball going into him. His free taking was terrific on a tricky day, and he picked off his points from play, but Kilkenny needed to do more to get him into the game.
They also needed a lot more from Eoin Cody and especially Adrian Mullen. He came up with two points just before he was taken off, but that substitution had been on their minds for a good while before they eventually got Stephen Donnelly on to the field. Cody and Mullen need to lead this Kilkenny attack.
Not scoring a goal is a much bigger issue when you concede four. Over the years, Kilkenny have been ruthless in defence of their own goal. That wasn’t the case on Sunday. Darragh McCarthy and Jason Forde got through much too easily and Oísin O’Donoghue should never have been allowed get his shot away. All three were brilliant finishes but they weren’t well defended.
In those situations, you would expect someone to give away a foul. You might say that’s cynical but every team thinks like that. The black card penalty is obviously a deterrent but if the move gets that close to goal somebody hasn’t done their job farther out.
The John McGrath goal that gave Tipp a lifeline in the first 15 minutes was different. I thought it was actually well defended but the ball just broke to McGrath and his finish was top class. He used the wall of players in front of him as a shield and Eoin Murphy didn’t have a clear sight of McGrath as he was striking the ball. That was pure class.
This Kilkenny team are at a crossroads now. The same bunch of core players have been around for the last few years without winning an All-Ireland. In that time, they’ve won six Leinster titles in a row, but I don’t know how much value Kilkenny people would place on that. I’d say it’s a bit like Kerry with the Munster football championship; it only matters when they don’t win it.
In Kilkenny, just like Kerry, the year is only a success if you win the All-Ireland. Of the four teams left last weekend, Kilkenny had by far the most experience of playing big games in Croke Park, and yet they came up short again.
Apart from Richie Reid, who was a sub goalie in 2015, Eoin Murphy and TJ Reid were the only players in the Kilkenny set-up last weekend who had All-Ireland medals. The worrying thing for them is that when you looked through the subs it was hard to see players who could change the game.
In the last couple of years, Richie Hogan, Walter Walsh, Cillian Buckley and Conor Fogarty have all retired and with them a wealth of experience left the dressingroom. They all did a stint as impact subs before they finished up.
Kilkenny had a good under-20 team this year but were well beaten by an exceptional Tipperary team in the final. It is extremely unusual that three players from that team have made a breakthrough with the Tipp seniors this season – McCarthy and Sam O’Farrell starting, O’Donoghue coming on – because it is a huge jump to make.
None of the Kilkenny under-20s were able to make that leap, but Kilkenny will have to try to bring some of them through next year. If Derek Lyng stays on as manager he will have some big calls to make. If Kilkenny come back with the same team, it’s hard to see them winning the All-Ireland next year.
Liam Cahill made a lot of changes since last year. He took a chance on some young players, and his faith has been rewarded. Darragh McCarthy hasn’t been scoring much from play in recent games, but he worked very hard last Sunday and held up the ball.
His discipline is obviously something that needs to be cleaned up. You’d often hear fellas saying if you’re going to get a yellow card or a red card, make sure it’s a good one. Neither of his bookings last Sunday were good. The first one was worse than the second, but they were both needless. For a young player, especially a forward, two red cards in the same year is not good. He needs to learn fast.
There’s going to be a massive buzz around both counties for the next 10 days. I’m sure Tipp and Cork will have A versus B games this weekend and in my experience the B team often wins those matches because those players have nothing to lose. Some of them are only trying to break into the match day 26.
At this stage Cork and Tipp don’t have any secrets from each other. Coming up with something new on Sunday week could swing it.
