Poll: Who will win the All-Ireland SHC semi-final between Kilkenny and Tipperary?
Kilkenny are six-in-a-row Leinster champions while Tipperary are heading back to Croke Park for the first time since 2019 after a comfortable eight-point victory over Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
The Cats have received a major boost following the news that ace forward Eoin Cody has been named to start after returning from injury. Tipperary are sticking with the same team that defeated Galway as they look to continue their search for a first All-Ireland title in six years.
Before the action gets underway this afternoon, make your decision about how you see this game going?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
14 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside Alan Connolly's life beyond GAA from girlfriend to famous family after ace fires Cork into All-Ireland final
ALAN Connolly vaulted to another level of stardom on Saturday as he fired home a hat-trick in an All-Ireland semi-final. He was far from the only Cork ace to be in clinical mood as 4 The Blackrock clubman on a trip to Paris with girlfriend Alanna Credit: @alanconnolly123 4 Which naturally included a visit to The Louvre Credit: @alanconnolly123 4 In the mildly less sophisticated setting of Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Laois Credit: @alanconnolly123 4 Celebrating after Cork ended Limerick's reign as Munster champions last month Credit: @alanconnolly123 Here, SunSport delves into the rising Rebel star's life away from the hurling pitch: GIRLFRIEND AND JOB Connolly is only 23, although he will turn 24 on July 19 which just so happens to be the day before He's still in college with him studying Business Information Systems at Munster Technological University in Cork. In addition to that, Read More On GAA He's in a relationship with girlfriend Alanna with them routinely popping up on each other's social media channels. FAMOUS FAMILY His family is steeped in Cork GAA as his uncles Tom and Jack Cashman collected six All-Ireland medals between them during their playing days which lasted from 1977-1990. That's not all though as his granddad Mick Cashman as well as granduncle Jimmy Brohan also lined out for the Rebels during the 1950s. SENIOR BREAKTHROUGH He's been playing for the Cork seniors since 2021 having initially broken through at minor level in 2018 and Under-20 in 2020. Most read in GAA Hurling The pacy forward previously spoke to The Echo about how even if he does wind up lifting Liam MacCarthy later this month, he'll still have a long way to go to become the most decorated hurler in the family. He joked: "Even if I did win one, Tom and Jim would probably still laugh at me because of the amount of medals they have between them! RTE pundits weigh in on scoreboard controversy that marred Tipperary's dramatic win over Kilkenny "It's great. I feel very proud when I'm representing Cork and Blackrock and they're hopefully proud of me as well." Connolly epitomises their goal-focused approach under manager Pat Ryan. After their demolition of Dublin on Saturday, Ryan He underlined: "We're targeting goals all the time and we're targeting fast starts all the time. That's the goal and that's the game. Our lads were really clinical today. "I thought we left an awful lot of scores behind us for points but that's me being a bit critical, maybe over-critical. They're some things we'll go after. "But delighted with our fellas. For us to get back into a final shows the character and strength of commitment to the jersey that the lads have."
Irish Daily Mirror
20 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Liam Cahill's crucial switch and how Tipperary undid Kilkenny to hit four goals
Tipperary deserved this victory for their fight, spirit and attitude, but Kilkenny will feel aggrieved about the scoreboard error. It's a big mistake to make and someone should have corrected it. Normally the stats people would be on that too. My honest opinion is the game is won on the field and knowing Kilkenny as I do, they are the type of team that I don't think will contest it. I can see their annoyance that if they'd known the proper scoreline at the time, they would probably have shot a few points and they could have got back into the game, rather than going for a goal. That shouldn't have happened in an All-Ireland semi-final. If I was Kilkenny I might also be a small bit aggrieved at a few soft enough frees, particularly in the second half But credit to Tipperary, their work rate and fitness has been incredible all year and you could see more evidence of it here. Kilkenny will be kicking themselves. They won't be happy with certain things They dominated the first 15 minutes, but they had a number of wides that should have been over the bar. John Donnelly was effective going back deep, while Cian Kenny and Billy Ryan were going well, and it looked good. But goals changed everything and Kilkenny seemed porous at the back. Huw Lawlor was decent but he was pulled out of the middle a number of times and that exposed them. If there was a transfer market in hurling one of the first defenders I would go after is Mikey Butler, but he wasn't his usual self here and was at fault for a couple of the goals. Tipp could ever have had another goal or two, but when Paddy Deegan went back there after half-time they looked more solid. Deegan only made one mistake and it led to Tipp's fourth goal when he threw up the ball. Kilkenny allowed Tipp that short puck out and it led to the second goal with Bryan O'Mara delivering the ball inside. When you get a short puck out like that away, you are able to avoid the opposition half back line. Tipp were getting it short and their goalie, Rhys Shelly was driving it over the half back line, or they were getting it short to midfield and getting a score. Kilkenny let that happen for the whole game and you can't do that. Tipp's off the ball running was incredible though. They ran at goal, and when Jake Morris goes at you, you are in big trouble. I thought one of the best things Liam Cahill did all day was putting Jason Forde on the frees. His very first free was a tough one, out on the sideline and it went straight over the bar. He was impeccable on the frees after that. Darragh McCarthy missed two that he shouldn't have missed. He is a really good player, but one thing I've noticed is he's making a few flicks and chops that he doesn't need to make. The one bit of advice you'd give him is battle hard and work hard, but get that out of your game. He's done it a few times now and he doesn't need to do it but he will be back to play in the biggest game of the year. Kilkenny's puck outs in general were a disappointment. They won very few long ones, which is very unlike Kilkenny. Maybe they should have brought TJ Reid out to the half forward line for them. They started the second half pretty well with Eoin Cody and Mossy Keoghan doing damage. But when Tipp had the man sent off I was shocked at how many long balls Kilkenny hit. They seemed to be pumping ball inside for no reason. They've adapted their game over the last few years and were running more ball. I was surprised they didn't work the ball more, especially for the last 15 minutes with an extra man. In general you have to say, fair play to Liam Cahill. He has turned around a situation where Tipp were not competitive. His head was on the block in Tipperary. He has responded and got the team to play really well for him and that's some turnaround and achievement. The introduction of Noel McGrath and Oisin O'Donoghue was important. I rate O'Donoghue. He's a big strong lad and he can finish. Again, that Tipp bench made the difference. . Cork will be favourites for the All-Ireland. No doubt about that, but Tipperary have shown all year that they will fight hard and it will be no different in the final.
Irish Daily Mirror
37 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Tipperary unhinge Kilkenny full back line to book All-Ireland date with Cork
TIPPERARY 4-20 KILKENNY 0-30 Tipperary haven't forgotten how to perform at Croke Park - and even with 14 men they still have the hex over age old rivals Kilkenny. It was six years, including a couple of covid seasons, since the Premier man had set foot out on the sod of GAA HQ, with Kilkenny hoovering up Leinster titles at the Jones' Road venue in every one of those years. Not to mention numerous All-Ireland semi-finals and a couple of finals, but none of these deterred a Tipperary side that finished bottom of the pile in Munster last year as they made it three Championship wins on the bounce against Kilkenny. The other two were both All-Ireland finals, 2016 and 2019, but those heady days seemed in the distant past. Many were left wondering where Tipp were going at the end of a turbulent 2024 season - year two under Liam Cahill. This summer they've gotten an emphatic answer - to the All-Ireland final. Buoyed by recent All-Ireland titles at minor and under-20 level, the Tipperary juggernaut is rolling again, steered by the redoubtable Noel McGrath - a triple Celtic Cross winner - and a raft of lads with two medals to their name. Yesterday, they had heros all over the park as they toughed it out to set up an All-Ireland decider date with Cork in a fortnight - the first time the sides will ever meet in the final showdown of the season. It looked though like Tipp's lack of big game experience at Croke Park, when the air is at its thinnest and the stakes at their highest, might cost them as they trailed 0-8 to 1-0 after 14 minutes. Eight scores to one and Tipp were scrambling to find any sort of foothold. They'd also had four wides, but tellingly two of them were half goal chances. A portent of what was to follow. And so they pawed away at each other for 58 minutes until Darragh McCarthy was red carded, as James Owens pulled out a second yellow for a slap on the hand of Kilkenny goalie Eoin Murphy. Kilkenny were one point up at the time. A minute later Tipp carved out a one on one for Jake Morris, exactly the man they would have wanted in such a scenario with his electric pace. When he elected to point rather than go at his man, it didn't seem like the right call and you wondered if Tipp would get another chance. It was then that heroes in blue and gold stood up all over the park. Jason Forde nailed three more pressure frees out of three, as well as landing a sensational point from play from under the Hogan Stand. to take his tally to 1-5, with 1-1 coming from play. Then fearless powerhouse novice Oisin O'Donoghue crashed home a late goal on an advantage to put Tipperary three points clear in a gamebreaking play. Next-up was Noel McGrath, the veteran winning a last gasp relieving free and giving it the full fist bump. Deservedly so too. It was ferocious stuff and it wasn't over yet. How many times have we seen it before, a last gasp Kilkenny goal. They've left opposition bodies strewn across pitches in utter devastation for a couple of decades now, and they were agonisingly close here to doing it again. Bryan O'Mara made an important tackle. Still, Kilkenny were relentlessly coming. But this time round, John Donnelly's blasted effort for the goal that would have won the game was blocked on the line by Robert Doyle have beaten Tipp goalie Rhys Shelly. The four minutes of stoppage time must have felt like an entire game for 14 man Tipperary as Kilkenny threw everything at it. At the time the Cats were unaware that the scoreboard was wrong and might well have elected to pop over a point on a couple of occasions rather than try to work a goal. They can certainly feel hard done by here. Kilkenny had just one wide in the entire second half from 16 shots for points, with coolness personified Rhys Shelly pulling a crucial Jordan Molloy point effort down late on and Richie Reid having a miss. Every play in the final 10 minutes was massive. One chink in the armour and it was all over for Tipp. One ball they didn't compete for. One man they didn't track properly, as Kilkenny ramped it up. Shelly was magnificent late on, and despite Tipp being down to 14 men he refused to launch the puck out long at Kilkenny's spare man and instead kept working the ball. They call it sticking to the process, but Derek Lyng might wonder why his players didn't stop the short puck outs, particularly late on when they had an extra man. Tipp also survived a bit of a freetaking meltdown with McCarthy missing twice and Eoghan Connolly, who shot three points from play and set up a couple more, also missing one in the second half. With TJ Reid a perfect nine from nine from placed balls, it looked as if free taking might have been the difference in the end. McCarthy, who was also sent off at the start of the Munster Championship game against Cork, will be a relieved man that it wasn't and neither was the red card. Tipp boss Liam Cahill said: 'It's misfortune, the second yellow. By the rule book it's there as a second yellow. We had no complaints with it at all. Just disappointed for Darragh. He commits to everything. I suppose just before that we probably had discussed getting Oisín. 'Lo and behold, Darragh was coming off alright but we can't get Oisín in to replace him. It was a bit of a blow at the time but look, I think it really ignited the rest of the players on the field. Again, the impact of our bench coming in had a big bearing. 'I really thought they gave us huge energy. (Alan) Tynan in particular was superb when he came on. Obviously Oisín, and Noel as usual giving us that calming influence. Just happy that the job is done now. 'We try and turn the page as quickly as we can and look forward to two weeks' time.' Another huge factor in Tipp's win was the way they exposed an unlikely weakness under the high ball in the Kilkenny full back line. They were able to land it deep inside the Kilkenny defence thanks to the bravery of their goalie and defenders in taking short puck outs to the corners and between the lines of a zonal defence and working the ball further up the field. The wily John McGrath caused Huw Lawlor all sorts of bother in hitting 1-2 in the first half. He grabbed the first goal off a high ball on eight minutes, slamming to the net to lay down a real marker of intent and unsettling Kilkenny's last line. If they could do it once….. The second goal arrived on 22 minutes and came from another well worked Tipp puck out. This one was pinged to Bryan O'Mara, who delivered it inside and when Shane Murphy went up with team mate Mikey Butler, McCarthy stole inside. His shot was parried by Eoin Murphy but trickled across the line. The third goal came on 25 minutes, a lovely lob to the net by Forde off a McCarthy hand pass to send Tipperary four points clear after Butler had over committed. Conor Stakelum and Jake Morris, who finished with three and four points respectively, were right in the game at this stage, with Eoghan Connolly enjoying an outrageous first half, with three points from play out of defence. But Kilkenny looked to have seized back control of affairs with Martin Keogan building a six point haul from play and with Cian Kenny powering into it at midfield, shooting two second half points to go with midfield partner Molloy's four. Crucially though, Tipperary didn't concede a goal and barely gave up a goal chance, defending heroically to just about see another classic with Kilkenny.
