TJ Reid urges Kilkenny to ‘sharpen up' after late Galway scare despite sealing Leinster six-in-a-row
The
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Kilkenny captain John Donnelly lifts the Bob O'Keeffe Cup after their win against Galway at Croke Park on Sunday
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TJ Reid of Kilkenny insists the Cats must improve in their hunt for the All-Ireland title
Goals from Mossy Keoghan at the end of each half proved vital against the Tribes, as Huw Lawlor starred at full-back.
Reid's second half goal helped steer Derek Lyng's men 13 points ahead coming down the stretch.
But a stunning Galway revival saw the Tribes get back within four, before Keoghan's second strike sealed their SEVENTH
And iconic stalwart Reid, 37, insists they have huge work to do if they want to end their 10-year wait for Liam MacCarthy after letting Galway back into the game and firing 11 wides.
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He told SunSport: 'We have things to work on for sure. but look, we have a Leinster title, it's what's coming home.
"It's time to reset, refocus and take one or two days off and sharpen up for the next four weeks.
'We hurled well, very happy with the outcome, we move on now to four weeks off which is a blessing.
'But look, we weren't efficient - first half especially and there were probably four or five points there that we left behind.
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'We weren't efficient, we dropped five short there in the second half, we weren't efficient there either, and it makes life a lot easier for the opposition to reset and go after us again.
'We hurled well in the second half but we weren't happy with their goal that they got from the free.
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"It's something that we should look back on now and try to figure out what happened and try to rectify it.
'We were over 10 points up and they got it back to four, and it just put pressure on things and we shouldn't allow that to happen.
"But we responded well, and Mossy got the goal at the end to finish the game.
'We targeted the Leinster final of course, it makes life a lot easier instead of going through the back door - and a Leinster final is one you want to win.'
Reid scored his fifth championship goal this summer to bag his 14th provincial medal.
Croke Park goals are always sweet - and his green flag ended a super team move when Keoghan fed him and Reid did the rest.
But he knows team performances are what matter most as they head into the last four along with newly-crowned Munster champions Cork.
TIME TO BLOSSOM
He said: 'Croke Park is where you want to be blossoming and Mossie..we turned over a ball again, through hard work from Stevie Donnelly.
'I think it was John Donnelly; both of them combined and then Mossie broke onto it and I peed away from Daithí Burke.
'And again, look, it's all about team play and team work. and Mossie saw me inside and popped it to me.
'Every team tries to be efficient and to pick the player in the best position. and if you see it, give it - don't hesitate, if he's ten yards in a better position you always try to feed him.
'I'm around a while so it could be 14 but look, it's all about being present and winning the next one.'
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Aki and Jones will hit it off exactly like any other type of partnership, insists Farrell
Andy Farrell selected a record nine Irishmen in his British & Irish Lions starting line-up for Saturday's second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. No Lions Test side in the professional era has featured as many players from Ireland, though Farrell's predecessor Warren Gatland did select 10 Welshman for the final Test against the Wallabies on the 2013 tour, infamously jettisoning Brian O'Driscoll in the process. There was not as much blood on the carpet as the 2025 head coach unveiled the team he hopes can get the job done on Saturday and secure the series victory at the earliest possibility in this three-Test set and Irish representation might well have been at 11 had Joe McCarthy, Mack Hansen and Garry Ringrose not failed to pass fit. In a starting line-up showing three changes from last Saturday's 27-19 victory over Australia in Brisbane only the selection of Andrew Porter at loosehead prop over series-opening starter Ellis Genge was entirely unenforced. Joe McCarthy failed to overcome the plantar fasciitis in a foot that caused him to come off after 42 minutes in Brisbane, with the Irishman replaced in the second row by Ollie Chessum, who had come off the bench at Suncorp Stadium and now partners Maro Itoje from the start. Bundee Aki at inside centre could be considered unenforced in intent, yet Sione Tuipulotu would have missed the game in his hometown regardless due to a tight hamstring. Farrell's intention had been to replace his all-Scottish centre pairing of Tuipulotu and Huw Jones with an Irish one but having shown his hand to his squad on Wednesday night, his plan unravelled at the end of training on Thursday morning as Ringrose withdrew himself from a Lions Test debut after reporting a recurrence of concussion symptoms to his head coach. So a reprieve for first Test outside centre Jones in an Irish-Scottish combination alongside Aki. As one by now expects from Farrell, he was able to promote the upside, embracing the adversity that has made his Ireland tenure such a success. "It's a good place to be sometimes,' the Lions boss said of the enforced change. 'These things happen in the warm-up of any game, the pressure is off and people tend to play freely because of that type of situation. Huw won't miss a beat in that regard." Similarly, Aki, now reunited with his centre partner of 22 minutes at the tail end of last Saturday's win at Suncorp Stadium, and starting with Jones for only the second time having played the first 67 minutes together against the Queensland Reds. 'Sione has had a little bit of a tight hamstring going on there so we're nursing a little bit of that at the minute. I mean, Bundee's well able, isn't he? That type of combination is something we certainly would have trusted anyway," Farrell insisted. 'They'll be good. At this stage of the tour and well before this stage of the tour, actually, the combinations have been absolutely fine together. So Bundee and Huw will hit it off exactly like any other type of partnership.' Porter's promotion from the bench last weekend means an all-Irish front row with hooker Dan Sheehan and tighthead Tadhg Furlong while the back row is unchanged following standout performances from Tadhg Beirne, fellow flanker Tom Curry and No.8 Jack Conan in Brisbane. There will be joy in Wales with the selection of Jac Morgan as the back-row replacement, the Lions having last Saturday fielded a Test squad without a Welshman for the first time since 1896. Morgan replaces Ben Earl on the bench while James Ryan fills the vacuum as the lock replacement following the promotion of Chessum to the starting side. Farrell has been impressed by Morgan's reaction to his omission from the first Test 23. 'He hasn't missed a beat. No difference whatsoever. Now, I'm sure 100 per cent in himself, or what he talks to his family or whatever, but he was exactly the same last week, delighted for whoever was picked in his position, and was so good in helping the team prepare for that first Test. "And his peers are doing exactly the same back. He's just been himself, very polite and very diligent in his work.' The other changes to the bench are backs, with Owen Farrell replacing Marcus Smith and providing cover at 10 and 12, following an impressive 80-minute performance last Tuesday captaining the Lions to a narrow win over the First Nations & Pasifika XV. The former England captain's selection means the 32-year-old, son of the head coach, is in line to appear in his fourth Lions Test series having debuted in 2013 against the Australians. Scrum-half Alex Mitchell retains his place among the replacements but Aki's move into the number 12 jersey sees wing/full-back Blair Kinghorn named as the outside backs replacement. It was a far from straightforward selection process given the wait and see approaches on the fitness of McCarthy and Mack Hansen, who has not recovered from the foot injury he sustained on July 12, and then the late moment of selflessness from Ringrose. 'They are all difficult and that is exactly how it should be,' Farrell said. 'They all matter because it is such a huge game, I honestly believe this is one of the biggest, if not the biggest game we have all been involved with so selection always matters in that regard… until we get to the next one.' AUSTRALIA: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, David Porecki, Alan Alaalatoa; Nick Frost, Will Skelton; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson – captain. Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson. BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: H Keenan (Ireland); T Freeman (England), H Jones (Scotland), B Aki (Ireland), J Lowe (Ireland); F Russell (Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland); A Porter (Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland); M Itoje (England) – captain, O Chessum (England); T Beirne (Ireland), Tom Curry (England), J Conan (Ireland). Replacements: R Kelleher (Ireland), E Genge (England), W Stuart (England), J Ryan (Ireland), J Morgan (Wales), A Mitchell (England), O Farrell (England), B Kinghorn (Scotland).
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
How Kerry or Donegal could win or lose the All-Ireland final
Most of the attention this summer has been on two-pointers – on which counties are scoring them and which counties are not even attempting them. However, a key aspect of the attacking play of both finalists is that they haven't forgotten the score that produces the most impact. Galway were the most prolific in raising green flags this Championship campaign, with 17 across eight games (2.13 goals per game), but Kerry are just behind them with 15 in eight games (1.88 goals per game). Donegal are no slouches themselves, third overall for total goals, with 13. That figure is aided by the amount of games they've played, but they are still fifth in goals per game, scoring 1.3. The counties have come across their goals by very different means. Kerry have scored 15 goals and it will be no surprise to anyone that David Clifford has amassed more than half that tally, with eight goals. A concern for the Kingdom is that Clifford is the only man to raise a green flag since May. A guide to each Kerry championship goal in 2025, with seven goalscorers. There are two aspects that really stick out in Kerry's overall style of play this summer. Against Armagh, Kerry were lauded for their kickout defence as they shut down Ethan Rafferty. Before this, they ruthlessly capitalised on Roscommon's kickout, sourcing three goals directly from winning the midfield battle. The two high kickouts won on the map below show the effectiveness of their press, while they also profit well from breaking balls out the field, thanks to the battling abilities of Joe O'Connor. READ MORE Kerry's have scored two goals from short opposition kickouts, while Donegal focus more on their own restart, with Patton sending the ball long Kerry's structured unit has been executed perfectly to profit off opposition kickouts this year. It's been one of their biggest strengths, no doubt helped by the addition of Cian O'Neill to Jack O'Connor's backroom team. Roscommon's kickout goes to an isolated player, who is already surrounded by Kerry players looking to intercept David Clifford has been their go-to man since his intercounty arrival and he is the focal point of the Kerry attack more than ever this year. He has scored a total of 8-53 this summer. With such a potent inside forward, the Kerry game plan is often about getting the ball in there rapidly. Clifford cuts out a kickout against Cork and scores a goal directly from the high press Some of Kerry's goals really emphasise their kick passing skills. Seán O'Shea delivered a well executed sideline ball into Clifford for the first goal against Cavan. There was a lot left for the Fossa man to do as he won the ball on the 20m line, but he broke the tackle and drove hard along the endline before firing into the back of net. 'Get the ball in, it's one on one' seems to be the tactic with Clifford. Still plenty of work for Clifford to do, but the early ball in affords him the space to create the goal The opening goal against Clare was even more direct. Tony Brosnan measured a perfect ball into Clifford from around 65m out, spinning the ball right to the corner-forward, who found the net. The second goal that day was also via a direct ball, with Tom O'Sullivan getting his head up to survey the inside options and feeding the ball inside. Brosnan gets his head up early to find Clifford for Kerry's opening goal in the Munster final Kerry have utilised the kick pass 19 times in the build-up to their goals. This is in stark contrast to Donegal, who only kicked the ball 10 times in the build up to theirs. One of these was a square pass from Oisín Gallen to Conor O'Donnell inside the 13m line against Meath. Donegal are effectively kicking the ball half as often as Kerry, with only one of these passes being an aggressive forward kick pass, via Ryan McHugh. This emphasises how much of a 'through-the-hands' team they are. This aspect of their play is the real hallmark of Jim McGuinness 's outfit, who are able to give and receive hand passes at full pace going forward. This skill execution at full pace is only an aspect of their style though, as hard running and finishing out support runs is key to it all working. Shaun Patton's huge kickout and Donegal's willing runners open up space in the scoring zone against Down Donegal players from all parts of the field run hard during quick attacks, getting ahead of the ball and stretching opposition defences considerably. This is likely to be a key battleground in Sunday's encounter. Kerry have a sturdy central channel but they haven't met the 'sprint repeatability' that Donegal possess through the central channels. The key to making Patton's kickouts even more successful is runners sprinting ahead of the ball straight away While Donegal play the ball through the hands a lot, they also have the weapon of Shaun Patton, with unmatched length and trajectory to his kickouts. Kerry dealt well with Niall Morgan's kickouts in the semi-final, but he doesn't have the range of Patton, nor do the Red Hand men have co-ordinated runners off the long kickout like Donegal. Patton's kickout exceeds Morgan's, flying well into the opposition half, where Donegal back that up with support runners Kerry have done really well from their kickout press, but they must be wary as Donegal typically favour either short or long kickouts. Kerry will have to adapt their defensive structure on these restarts, which could mean that mid-range gaps may materialise for Patton. If Kerry push up to stop short kickouts, then the kickout could go over their heads and leave them defending facing their own goal and unstructured, like Meath It is hard to play against Donegal considering their strength is their lack of reliance on any individual. This is shown below in the variety of goalscorers they've had and also the men providing assists. Donegal's style of play means that they are not reliant on any one player for goals Everyone is expected to be able to carry out the basics – run, carry and handpass – at both ends of the field. There is a rapid pace to their attacks, with Donegal possession in the build-up to goals lasting just 20 seconds on average, compared with Kerry's 27 seconds. While goals are only a small aspect of the play, they highlight three broader strengths of the finalists: Donegal 1 – The weapon of Shaun Patton's long kickouts. 2 – Players finishing out their runs to create gaps and stretch opposition defences. 3 – Lack of reliance on any individual to score, with trust in the unit. Kerry 1 – Sticking to traditional values of aggressive kick passing to the inside forward line (something that hasn't been as prevalent as expected with the new rules) 2 – Defensive kickout press, which is even more important for stronger teams than their own kickout. 3 – The brilliance of David Clifford, with the other players knowing this and feeding him ball.
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
GAA confirm huge departure from tradition for All-Ireland final match-up between Kerry and Donegal
THE GAA has confirmed that Donegal will wear white while Kerry will be decked out in blue for Sunday's All-Ireland football final. The latter part of that dynamic 3 Both semi-finals were one-sided victories 3 A win on Sunday would cap off a storybook comeback for 35-year-old Michael Murphy 3 This aesthetic is certainly going to be an improvement on the 2014 showpiece Credit: @officialgaa However, Wednesday evening brought with it word that The Association tweeted: "A rare sight on the biggest stage. Kerry and Donegal in alternate colours for the first final clash since 2010." The move has been broadly praised over the past few hours. Joe replied: "Good idea. It was nuts having Meath and Donegal play in their normal colours in the semi-final." Similarly, Cathal added: "About time. The Meath-Donegal game should've been the same." Read More On GAA Now that that part of the puzzle has been solved, all that's left to debate is who's actually going to wind up lifting Sam Maguire. Earlier this week Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane The Derry native has been on the record about how He'd made that initial prediction about "not seeing any flaws" in Jim McGuinness' side on his Most read in GAA Football But he expanded on why he's so gung-ho in that belief while appearing alongside Spillane and hurling greats Eddie Brennan and John Mullane on the The 56-year-old set out: "I think Donegal will win because they're multi-purpose. They're not relying on one individual. Sharlene Mawdsley takes part in hilarious road race as part of Tipperary's All-Ireland celebration "They've worked with a basketball coach. McGuinness actually said it the week that the new rules were unveiled. "He said 'We're going back to the old game, this is all about scoring rate.' They're scoring 1-27, 1-28, 3-25. "Paddy McBrearty was asked after the All-Ireland semi-final about how he'd be pushing for a place in starting fifteen and he said he'd be pushing for a place in the matchday 26! "There's massive competition there because Jim has this messianic quality." A few minutes later Spillane then gave his view that he'd marginally give the edge to the Kingdom. When he mentioned that Donegal had a few weaknesses, Brolly called on him to be more specific. To which the eight-time All-Ireland winner replied: "Their running game is a hard game to sustain for 70 minutes. "Zonal defence is a weakness. There's space to be exploited there by a kicking team. "The first half against Monaghan showed that as Monaghan switched the play from one side to the other. They'd an overload and took them on one-on-one and were very impressive. "So zonal marking, running in transition and Michael Murphy - no different from David Clifford - if he's contained (Kerry can win). "The new rules suit Kerry, Croke Park suits them as a heads up kicking team." WEATHER WITH YOU? He also added that his "hesitant vote for Kerry" was partly down to the weather forecast being good for Sunday with dry conditions further helping their prospects. However, based off latest Met Eireann predictions, we're in for a rainy Croke Park affair so that sounds like it'll favour Donegal's running game more. The two counties did of course contest the 2014 decider with McGuinness saying a few days ago that
