Past the ‘Walls of Limerick’ and onto the ‘Siege of Ennis’, the dancing metaphor seems especially appropriate on a day when the Tipperary fans skipped home with a jaunty bounce in their step. A spirited effort was too much for struggling Clare; two points gained, a second win on-the-trot and suddenly the gloom of Parnell Park has lifted.
But, as Eamon O’Shea might point out, the league is the league; like March with its many weathers you expect contradictions. So, lest we get too smug with our position the Ides of March approaches next Sunday: Kilkenny come to town in need of points after back-to-back defeats.
A pleasant day at Cusack Park – I can never visit the place without recalling the 1999 U21 final and the viciousness that was in the air. Thankfully those days seem past. Sunday was different, the game robustly competitive and well-balanced throughout though always in good spirit. We shaded it through more economic use of opportunities, the two goals being critical items in deciding the outcome.
Clare made no secret of their heavy focus on this match following defeats in their opening pair of games. Their selection reflected that intent with thirteen of their All Ireland medalists facing the toss-in. It was an unlucky thirteen as they spilled two goals at the back and failed to ‘nail’ their best chance at the other end.
Five points was the end gap but this was closer that those figures would suggest, Woodlock’s late goal sealing the deal after Clare pushed hard to close the gap in the final quarter.
Approaching half time our position looked dodgy. Despite having a stiff breeze behind us Clare stayed in tow, Conor Ryan’s three rousing points from half back a major aspect. We led by one as the clock ticked into added time but then hit a mini surge that significantly altered the maths. ‘Bubbles’ landed one of his pointed frees from distance and then Michael Breen took a hand, hitting a great one himself before setting up Callanan for another.
Instead of being one-up we now had a cushion of four and Breen again and John McGrath resumed with further flags to stretch it to six and set Clare a stiffer innings entirely than the trend of play might have suggested.
Then when Clare gained some traction in the second period the goals were sucker blows. They pulled us back to three points early in the half before Kieran Bergin’s pass set Noel McGrath away and he stunned the locals with a low one past goalie Kelly. Perhaps the ‘keeper should have done better with a shot that came from angled distance? Against that it was struck with venom and kept low as it bounced across the goalie.
Later Tony Kelly should have taken a leaf from McGrath’s textbook strike. The Clare man had the only clear shot of the day at goalie Gleeson but it was hit waist high. A great save for sure by the Tipp goalie and to compound matters for the Banner Conor McGrath chose to lift the rebound and thereby gave the defence time to smother him out. On such incidents games can turn.
Even after that Clare miss – or Tipp escape depending on your perspective – the locals continued to enjoy defensive superiority and the lead dwindled to a mere three points entering the final climactic moments.
Then came the sealing of the deal, Callanan’s little pop-pass sending club mate, Woodlock, through. In truth James is hardly the clinical finisher you’d like to be presented with a match-winning opportunity but he did enough to shorten the grip and find the net off the goalie’s half block.
It was a precious win for Tipperary given the tightness of this group. There’s no doubt the team has rebounded with great spirit after the dismal showing in Parnell Park. The manner in which they harried Clare on Sunday was commendable, never allowing the locals settle into their running-rhythm. When the attitude is right we usually have the skill range to put ourselves into contention.
Particularly pleasing for the management, I’m sure, was the form shown by several of the newcomers. It seems like we’ve been talking for a long time about Michael Breen’s potential but this is the first time we’ve seen clear evidence at this level. Ronan Maher too is developing incrementally with every outing so the competition for places in defence will be particularly hot when the injured return.
John McGrath’s TG4 man-of-the-match award reflected his five-point contribution to the result. Give him ball and space and he certainly has the hands to punish a defence though he won’t often be given the same latitude as last Sunday. Still it’s good to see a newcomer impacting in this manner on a day when Brendan Maher and Jason Forde were unable to start in attack due to illness.
Overall though while 2-19 is a healthy total in any game this was more a victory for defence than attack. The rearguard was exceptional despite the relentless pressure especially in the second half. Paudie Maher was outstanding on the ‘forty’ and Conor O’Mahony rediscovered his star of old. Nominally named at full back the Newport man often found himself out on half line given Clare’s set-up and he revelled in the role. One second half free under the stand was cuteness personified.
Cathal Barrett too was at his dashing best and Conor O’Brien was locked into a titanic tussle with the slippery Shane O’Donnell. Behind them goalie Gleeson had that eye-catching stop to his credit as well as several routine catches though he needs to be more assured when coming out to clear.
Kieran Bergin and Woodlock battled away at midfield, the latter with that goal to his credit though also with a lot of fumbles and fouls on the scorecard as well as those two woeful wides in the first half.
However, it’s when you switch to attack that issues of concern arise as we look beyond this game. Noel McGrath I thought showed more aggression in his play than we’ve seen for some time, the criticisms, I suspect, hurting. But the problem remains: we lack primary ball winners in attack, especially when ‘Bonner’ is absent.
Conor Kenny did reasonably well, I felt, in the first half but otherwise the likes of Cian Dillon, David McInerney and Conor Ryan were lords of their demesne for long spells of this game. ‘Bubbles’ had those first half points but little in the second period, Callanan too had individual items but lost so many one-on-one tussles while Niall O’Meara has still to rediscover to form of early last year. Jason Forde did well when brought in and Shane McGrath too injected great energy when introduced.
Overall then a gutsy, spirited effort that did the business in a tricky assignment.
For Clare and Davy it piles on the misery. In fairness it wouldn’t have taken a lot to swing this game. There’s not much wrong with their defence though outfield this running game is too often hitting cul-de-sacs. Teams have adapted to counter their style and in any case it requires great precision which they lacked on Sunday. In Conor Ryan they had surely a candidate for man-of-the-match.
For Tipperary now the focus switches to next Sunday and yet another date with Kilkenny. I assume at this stage nobody needs reminding of our dismal recent record against the ‘Cats’. Eoin Kelly is correct: psychologically this is a must-win game with an importance way beyond the nominal league points on offer.
We went to Nowlan Park last year and came out the wrong side of a ten-goal, show-stopping spectacular, 5-20 to 5-14. The ‘Cats’ were back at the Stadium for the league final later and another marvelous spectacle ensued. Once again Tipperary came up painfully short, this time after extra-time, 2-25 to 1-27. All these defeats to the same opponent take their toll on the psyche. We’re sick of losing to Kilkenny so it’s time to make a stand. A combination of retirements, injuries and the absence of the Ballyhale lads suggest that the opportunity is there for Tipperary, though we won’t be full strength ourselves. Still let’s go for it.
The Ides of March was a turning point in Roman history; let’s hope for a similar seminal moment in our hurling world on Sunday.
By Jonathan Cullen Thu 12th Mar
