Déjà vu means, literally, “already seen” or, put another way, having a sense of being here before. That pretty accurately sums up the feelings of Tipperary followers leaving Ennis on Sunday last. Another one-pointer adds to the litany of such marginal miseries. Once more we blink on the home straight with the winning tape in sight.
Not since semi-finals were added to the league system in 2012 has Tipperary failed to make the penultimate round. By any reckoning it’s a backward step sending us into a seven-week hiatus before Cork come to town on May 22 for the championship opener.
Following Tipperary hurling is a frustrating pastime. All that flashy skill is fine and dandy but if we can’t dig out wins in tight games then it ultimately counts for nothing. Once more our temperament was flaky when it came to the home straight; old uncertainties remain firmly embedded.
Given Clare’s long list of absentees this was a game we should be winning. Yet even the early indications suggested a brittle Tipperary. Callanan’s early misses from frees were inexcusable and they set a pattern of wayward shooting which dogged our efforts all day. Seventeen wides versus Clare’s seven needs no further comment.
The early skirmishing in this game was Pat Spillane’s version of puke hurling. This sweeper system is ruining the game and the quicker teams develop strategies to demolish it the better. You had endless traffic-jams in the middle third of the pitch with rucks galore, packed defences and no free-flow whatsoever. After about twenty minutes the scoreboard read 0-2 each. It was pitiful.
When eventually the game did open up it came with Clare’s first goal, John Conlon getting the better of Conor O’Brien and giving Darragh Mooney no chance from close in. That was the spark that saw Clare eventually go six-up and Tipperary in some disarray.
In fairness there was a Tipperary kick-back before the break. Four unanswered points eventually had the lead back to just two at the interval, the game was still very much in the melting pot if Tipperary could muster some more urgency.
The tempo did increase in the second half and eventually Tipperary seemed to have earned more traction. Kieran Bergin, in for Niall O’Meara, was busy though as wayward with his shooting as the others. John McGrath alone remained a constant in attack ending up with six from play.
At our best we got ahead by three with the game into the final ten minutes. A Clare free cut the margin to two and then we suffered the game changer with the ‘Banner’s’ second goal. Substitute Aaron Shanagher won possession off James Barry before careering through with Cathal Barrett in tow and unable to prevent the batted finish. Darragh Mooney won’t enjoy watching replays of the score.
Back in front that goal gave renewed oxygen to Clare lungs and they drove forward with John Conlon stretching the margin to two. Paudie Maher pulled one back in a frantic finish but we couldn’t get the leveler, substitute Forde wide from play and from a crucial late free. By now ‘Bubbles’ had been withdrawn and maybe the in-form John McGrath would have been a better option for that final pressure free.
We’d emptied the bench in the second half with Forde replacing the ineffective Callanan, Tossy Hamill replacing Conor O’Brien, Gearoid Ryan for Dan McCormack and, rather curiously, Steven O’Brien a late, late replacement for ‘Bubbles’.
There’s no concealing our disappointment after another one-point defeat. Those who argue for positivity in the wake – appropriate term – of this reversal need to face one important reality: taken in isolation you could put it down as just one of those off-form days but unfortunately it’s part of a worrying pattern. The more things change the more they stay the same.
Five of our starting forwards last Sunday scored just a single point from play between them. Take John McGrath out of that attack and the output would have been pathetic. Furthermore our forwards created just one clear goal chance and guess who was the architect? John McGrath. Just like last August we had a one-man forward division.
Midfield fared better with Breen strongest in the first half and Brendan Maher improving in the second. Kieran Bergin added to the effort also though I’m uncomfortable with Michael Breen being pushed forward once more after establishing himself in previous games as a midfielder of quality.
At half back the Maher brothers could hardly be faulted, Ronan excellent once more and Paudie too contributing majorly. Barrett and Barry did best on the inside line though, like goalie Mooney, they’ll face scrutiny on that crucial goal. Of the substitutes Bergin, Hamill and Forde did best.
Ultimately there’s a soft-centre to our hurling that sees us unable to nail down results in tight finishes. I’ve been reminded of a recent excerpt from the soap opera, Fair City, where one character described another as’ having an ego almost as big as a Tipperary hurler’. I don’t know if the scriptwriter is from Kilkenny. Anyway such generalizations are unfair to the majority though stereotypes usually develop for a reason. Tipperary’s ongoing difficulties leave little room for egotism; plenty of honest graft needed now ahead of May 22.
Finally, a word on the referee. Despite what you may have read in other papers it was a very poor performance, with plenty of bad calls on both sides and the type of inconsistency which seems to have become the norm. In the case of Ciaran O’Doherty the Clare management had to intervene and replace him when the official shirked an obvious call.
As a follow up to recent comments on the advantage rule, what about the Aaron Shanagher goal? Yet again it was another bad call, one that goes contrary to the rule, albeit a flawed rule as I’ve previously pointed out. Yes, the Clare man was fouled by Cathal Barrett but then with the aid of advantage he took around double the number of allowed steps. According to the present rule it should have been a free out.
Yet Anthony Daly in his Monday column told readers that the referee ‘played the advantage rule smartly because Aaron Shanagher was being dragged back’. The match report in the same daily paper stated that ‘allowance of advantage for Shanagher’s goal was a good call’.
Really? Clearly these guys don’t know the rule and what’s worrying is that this has become an accepted interpretation. Because a player is being given advantage it does not entitle him to foul himself as he goes on to score. Clearly the present rule is being widely flouted by referees and when you get ill-informed comments like those quoted above there’s going to be no pressure for change. What are the odds that key games this season will be decided by the breaking of this advantage rule?
Anyway Tipperary now head into an uncertain future. Cork will have been buoyed by that relegation win over Galway while Tipp have to pick up the pieces without competitive action to test out options. This is our worst league outcome since losing a quarter-final to Waterford back in 2007. That result nine years ago proved a harbinger of things to come; we eventually went out to Wexford in the All Ireland quarter-final. Hopefully there will be no more déjà vu in 2016.
With Tipperary relegated now to spectator status in the inter-county scene the focus hereabouts switches to the start of the county championship this coming weekend. I haven’t seen any precise fixtures posted yet but the series is scheduled to kick off with a full round of games this weekend.
It’s an important club campaign because next year we’ll have the teams effectively divided into “A” and “B” competitions. The Roinn 2 teams in 2017 will be taking part in the “B” grade though the county board has cleverly avoided using that tag.
There are some interesting pairings in the upcoming fixtures. Reigning champs, Sarsfields, will face Borrisoleigh while also in that group Annacarty tackle Roscrea. Sarsfields will be fancied to top the group with a battle royale between the other three to decide who drops to Roinn 2 for next year.
Also in the top section Drom face neighbours, Upperchurch, while Killenaule tackle Brackens. Drom will probably be fancied to come out top here. Nenagh face a tough draw in their group; they play Kildangan in an all-North opener with Mullinahone taking on Templederry in the other tie. In the final group in Roinn “A” Clonoulty play Kilruane, which could well decide top spot; Portroe face Lorrha in the other tie.
Likewise in Roinn 2 there are likely to be some intriguing battles with most of the groups pretty even. Perhaps the exception is group 3 where Loughmore will be fancied to top the pile ahead of Kickhams and Borrisokane.
Anyway check the fixture list for details of games in what promises to be a busy weekend of action. Sure it’s all we’ve left now with the county side taking a not-so-well-earned break.
