Leinster final was simply puke hurling

SEEING beyond the ‘ordinary’ viewer is the last refuge of the spoofer. There were soccer pundits who argued that Pep Guardiola’s management of Bayern Munich was a success.

This was despite his failure to win the Champions League, the one trophy he was hired to land. Apparently, only an ignoramus would judge Pep by anything as crude as winning a trophy.

A similar strain of blather has emerged in reaction to the drawn Leinster hurling final. Rather than a stultifying clash between limited challengers and slovenly champions, it was seemingly a study in defensive excellence.

Those of us not in the know couldn’t appreciate it. Only a few could take in this intricate battle of wills, as Croke Park became a chess board – as if players were responding to the gentle persuasions of a grand master.

The game was poor. Galway were awful, whether by dint of underestimating Kilkenny or a more pervasive problem. If it was the latter, then that structural weakness will be exposed in Thurles.

Kilkenny were disciplined and handled Galway’s attacking designs brilliantly, yet only scored nine points from play. This is not a Kilkenny team in the image of their brilliant recent predecessors.

Sometimes an anticipated contest turns out to be a brutish battle, nothing more.