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A thought for Sunday
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Author:  DJ [ Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:13 pm ]
Post subject:  A thought for Sunday
Sunday, and I'll be up early (if i
am able) ,get the train in from
Maynooth and wander around dublin
soaking up the atmosphere and
wishing we hadnt stayed for the
extra few in flannerys the night
before. Saunter down Grafton Street.
Rebels wandering around, wondering
what all the fuss is about Dublin,
"shure, tisn't that big atall". Down
past Bewleys, queues of the Blood
and Bandage out the door, fry-ups
being lashed over the counter. On
then, around the corner by Trinity.
Even more Rebel supporters here,
"'Suppose Trinity is nice alright.
Why did they put it in de middle of
de city though". More and more
evidence of the big match as you
walk towards O'Connell Bridge. Lads
with Sunday paper in the hand, "sure
Finnerty knows nathing 'bout
hurling?and Considine is from Clare.
Cork will win it out alright",
Fathers, bringing the young fellas
to their first final, the kids
taking 2 steps for everyone of the
father, kids doing their best to
take a few eyes out with their
flags.

Down to the Bridge, hear a few
fellas commenting "tis wider than
it's long you know!", a big scrum of
people watching the countdown,
waiting for the lights. One teenager
makes a break for it. Gets caught in
the middle. Green man. Flurry of
tourists and Corkonians. Heading for
grub in Kylemore, or Burger King for
the young fellas. Auld lads striding
for the Gresham. "Anyone got a spare
ticket please?" "How'Yo? What you
looking for, huuuh?". "Upper Cusack,
no good boy, de wife won't go up
that high atall". Tourists are well
outnumbered now. A few Kilkenny fans
are spotted here and there. Cork
jerseys predominant though. It's a
great feeling. Huge match
anticipation now. This is the way
it's meant to be. Tickets in hand,
paper under the arm for the gap
after the minor match. Read what
that f*cker Loughnane has to say,
has never said anything good about
Cork anyway.


On up the road. "Hats, Flags and
headbands". You don't see as much of
the chocolate sellers these days, "3
for a pouund" was the call before
the match, "4 for a pound" after.
Around then, take the corner?there
it is. Barrys Hotel. May as well be
the Imperial or Cashs on Homecoming
Celebration night. Sends a shiver
down the spine. Half of Cork must be
outside there. Precious tickets are
changing hands faster than Ben and
Jerry trade passes. "Hup, it's game
on now, boy". Still 10 minutes from
Croker, but you see her long in all
her glory before you get there. A
fine job, "you wouldn't see that
soccer crowd build something like
that". Down past the park, the lads
still selling "Peoples Republic of
Cork" t-shirts, ten years on. Closer
and closer then, tickets clutched
tightly in fists?pace slowing as
crowd gets thicker. Down the hill,
you can see the barriers now.
Irrational bit of panic in the
stomach, what if they stop you at
the barrier?is the ticket real?is it
valid?is this a dream. On into
Croker then. Through the new
turnstiles, no queues these days. Up
the steps then. The buzz is
everywhere. A few more Kilkenny lads
in here alright. "jaysus, they speak
awful slow up there. Not like Cork
boy". "You're right. They don't run
as fast either". Up the final few
steps. The hallowed turf opens up
before you, the stands encircle you,
towering into the sky. Deep
breath????.......?Pull hard. COME ON
CORK!
Author:  jimmy [ Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:35 pm ]
Post subject: 
Up the Cats!!!
Author:  Doc_Ho [ Mon Aug 28, 2006 5:32 pm ]
Post subject: 
and all that for nuthin :twisted:
Author:  DJ [ Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:54 am ]
Post subject: 
Right Lads before ye start the abuse and have recovered from ye're hangovers, all I can say is well done the best team won. However I think Tommy Walsh was robbed of the man of the match award. It was him the John Tennyson that destroyed us
Author:  jimmy [ Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:32 am ]
Post subject: 
You're spot on lad, Tommy Walsh was brilliant yesterday
Author:  cat [ Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:39 am ]
Post subject: 
Absolutely brilliant match! Was even worth not being able to drink cos I was the designated driver for the journey home!!! :D
Author:  Doc_Ho [ Mon Sep 04, 2006 12:35 pm ]
Post subject: 
no abuse comming from me. gracious in victory as i would be in defeat. great game and great day had by all no matter who won.
Author:  DJ [ Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:27 pm ]
Post subject: 
From the Examiner this morning. Reckon it pretty much sums up what all of Cork was thinking this morning

Hickey heart of the matter

By Diarmuid O'Flynn
TWENTY points was the Cork target coming into this All-Ireland final. Twenty points was their average all season, and would have won them yesterday’s All-Ireland final and secured that sacred three-in-a-row.


That they fell short of that target, fell four points short, was down to defence, ferocious Kilkenny defence.

It neither started nor ended with those wearing No’s 1 to 7 (keeper is the most critical, remember) — the two midfielders, Derek Lyng and Cha Fitzpatrick, the six starting forwards, the two subs used (Willie O’Dwyer and Richie Mullally), all battled like gladiators, in a cauldron every bit as intimidating as anything ancient Rome every conceived.





This magnificent Kilkenny triumph was grounded in the ferocity shown by those up front, by those in midfield, as they cut off avenue after avenue, outlet after outlet for an increasingly desperate Cork defence. But, ultimately the magnificent seven — the two outfield lines superbly marshalled by James McGarry — denied Cork that magic 20.

You could pick Michael Kavanagh, Noel Hickey, Jackie Tyrell, James Ryall, John Tennyson or Tommy Walsh, name him man-of-the-match, and no-one would really bat an eye. At the time of writing, the official RTE gong hadn’t yet been awarded, but as is the custom here anyway, we’ll name our own.

Tommy Walsh was breath-taking, in nearly everything he did; James Ryall was supreme, on the other flank. The man who gets the nod here, however, is Noel Hickey. Since his return to the Rebel fold in 2004, the value of Brian Corcoran to this Cork team has been well documented. Like DJ with Kilkenny over the years, a score from Corcoran is worth at least double. With one exception, last year’s All-Ireland semi-final win over Clare (when he went into the game less than 100% fit), the Erin’s Own hero has been Cork’s go-to man in time of greatest need. Yesterday, in a fierce physical battle that typified this whole thrilling, absorbing, fantastic contest, Noel Hickey locked up the Cork talisman, threw away the key.

“Battle is right,” said an exhausted Hickey. “I don’t think either of us hit a ball really, a lot of pulling and dragging, but Brian is a great hurler. He’s a player that you have to really focus on, be prepared for anything. You can’t afford to take your eye off him, that man is special, a point from him seems to lift the whole Cork team. If you can keep Brian quiet it helps, it kind of runs through their team if he’s playing well.”

It does, and yesterday he looked primed, really primed, to play well. He was out strong to every ball, used all his fantastic experience to position himself to best advantage, used his considerable strength to try and win possession. All to no avail; Hickey was simply unbeatable, as were most of those in that suffocating defence.

“A great performance,” he accepted. “Backs to the wall stuff a lot of the time, but we got there in the end. One thing there is in this team, a great fighting spirit, we were definitely going to go to the bitter end. We knew Cork would come at us with 10 minutes to go, and they came, but we were ready for it. We’ve been training since last January, and that’s what you have to do if you have any ambition about beating Cork, you have to stop them from delivering the ball. It’s fitness, but it’s just heart really, it drives you on; you don’t feel tired when you’re in the lead coming into the final minutes of an All-Ireland final.”

Just before half-time came the game’s pivotal moment, a Kilkenny goal scored by young corner-forward Aidan Fogarty. It put Kilkenny a goal in front, the margin they had at the finish, but it was never a comfort zone, not with this Cork team. Noel knew, his team-mates knew — in a game of this intensity, there could be no let-up in concentration. There was a lapse, five minutes from the finish, allowed Niall McCarthy (who had a super game) in along the endline, pass to Ben O’Connor, goal blasted to the bottom corner. But that was it, shutters back up. “We were prepared for anything — if Cork went ahead we were going to keep battling away, stick to our game. We were worried when they got the goal, there was only a goal in it at that stage, they were coming back at us, but lucky enough we steadied up a small bit. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but we got there in the end.”

Got there, and deservedly so, nothing at all to do with luck, nothing. This was a game won on merit, pure and simple, won by the better team, against the odds, and how it will be savoured, Noreside!

“It’s definitely a sweet one, the first time we were ever underdogs up here, some people mightn’t have given us much of a chance. Cork beat us in 2004 and 1999, so we kinda had enough of that, we were right for today. Looking out there afterwards, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Kilkenny fans out on the pitch, it’s fantastic, just as good if not better than the other ones. We got fantastic support; when everyone else wasn’t giving us much of a chance, people in the county rowed in behind us, gave us great backing. They knew coming up they’d be outnumbered in the stands by the Cork supporters, but they definitely weren’t in voice anyway.”

So, one dynasty ends, could another be about to begin? The average age of this Kilkenny team is now in the early 20’s; how far can they go? “It’s up to the lads themselves how far they want to go, if the fire and hunger is there anything is possible, no limits.”

Yesterday in Croke Park, two giants of hurling clashed; one dream dies, another is born. Magnificent.
Author:  Doc_Ho [ Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:18 pm ]
Post subject: 
Here Here......
Author:  Ninger [ Tue Sep 05, 2006 2:02 pm ]
Post subject: 
i thought james fitzpatrick should have got man of the match myself, he deserved in the semi final against clare as well, to keep jerry o'connor and tom kenny quiet like that was the winning of the game for us.
Author:  beano [ Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:31 pm ]
Post subject: 
I agree too damo, cha was my man of the match
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