Hurling team of the weekend

Patrick McCarry

Brought to you by Centra #WeAreHurling

And then there were two, and a familiar two… too.

After two more classic, breathless All-Ireland encounters, we are down to Tipperary and Kilkenny scrapping for the Liam MacCarthy for the fifth time in a decade.

Wexford appeared to run out of steam, on Sunday, while Limerick were fuming over a late refereeing decision, regarding a 65 they never got. John Kiely and Davy Fitzgerald paid credit to the victors and went off to lick their considerable wounds.

In terms of performances, Aaron Gillane plundered 1-10 for Limerick while sub Shane Dowling’s swatted goal will have kids all over the country trying to replicate that moment of genius.

Wexford fans saw towering games from the likes of Lee Chin, Paul Morris, Dee O’Keeffe, Liam Ryan and Matthew O’Hanlon yet left for home with plenty of regrets.

Adrian Mullen, left, and Cillian Buckley of Kilkenny celebrate following their semi final win over Limerick. (Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile)

For Kilkenny, Adrian Mullen [pictured above] continues to impress and inspire, Colin Fennelly grabbed a crucial goal, Richie Hogan was a nagging fly in Limerick’s ointment while TJ Reid bagged a hatful of points in the first half before being bottled for most of the second.

Last but by no stretch least, Tipperary had stand-outs all over the park, especially when they turned around a five-point deficit with 20 minutes left to play. Noel McGrath and Ronan Maher were go-to titans while Jason Forde got 0-12 and Seamus Callanan razzed in his 34th championship goal. Liam Sheedy turned to his bench in the closing stages and was rewarded with scores from four of his subs.

Team of the Weekend

1. Eoin Murphy (Kilkenny)

2. Cathal Barrett (Tipperary)
3. Liam Ryan (Wexford)
4. Joey Holden (Kilkenny)

5. Brendan Maher (Tipperary)
6. Matthew O’Hanlon (Wexford)
7. Ronan Maher (Tipperary)

8. Noel McGrath (Tipperary)
9. Wille O’Donoghue (Limerick)

10. Conor McDonald (Wexford)
11. TJ Reid (Kilkenny)
12. Walter Walsh (Kilkenny)

13. Aaron Gillane (Limerick)
14. Lee Chin (Wexford)
15. Adrian Mullen (Kilkenny)

The hurling team of the weekend brought to you by Centra #WeAreHurling.

Kilkenny hurling swaggers again

Well done to Senior and Minor teams yesterday. Roll on Aug 18th… Lots of events and activities will be arranged between then and now, please support these events as they happen. It promises to be a special day…. pic.twitter.com/B7jz6IdqKy

— Kilkenny GAA (@KilkennyCLG) July 28, 2019

34 championship goals for Seamie

1. Nicky Rackard (59)
2. Tony Doran (40)
2. Eddie Keher (35)
4. Seamus Callanan (34)
= 5. DJ Carey (33)
= 5. Christy Ring

Seamie just passed two legends and he's far from done 🙌 pic.twitter.com/0n4GPyLktx

— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) July 28, 2019