It was a Tipp-top day at Croker as minors and seniors booked visas for September 4. The minor goal-fest ensured a stress-free passage; the senior affair, however, tested the county’s cardiac health.
We’re through – but only after a rollercoaster ride of emotions following each dip and rise in fortunes. Like last year it came down to the tightest of margins but this time there was no late slip by Tipperary. Maybe the Gods are just after all: last year they smiled on Galway; this time they gave Tipperary the nod. There’s a balancing symmetry there somewhere.
It was nerve-wracking, one I can’t claim to have enjoyed. The end destination may have been pleasing but the trip was certainly turbulent. It won’t rate among Tipperary’s finest hours but, I suppose, the outcome is all that matters. Like a lax student we got a pass grade this time with a reprimand to try much harder in the next test. And what a test that promises to be!
We knew – or should have known – what to expect from Galway. Their quarter-final win over Clare had ignited their season, and with the knowledge of last year they knew the recipe to employ against Tipperary. Yet they very nearly caught us unprepared once again.
Their opening goal set the trend. Niall O’Meara won’t enjoy watching replays as his touch deserted him out on the sideline in the lead up to Conor Cooney’s cracking finish past a static Gleeson. Perhaps James Barry could have advanced to pressurise the striker.
And yet the Tipperary response to that opening setback was commendable. Maher and Breen got a grip at midfield, the attack was latching onto breaks and in a ten-minute flurry we reeled off seven points against a solitary reply from Galway. The work rate of ‘Bonner’ and McCormack was noticeable as Breen hit three points, Callanan added a few frees and the McGraths too got on the record. It would all have been richly endorsed if Noel McGrath’s effort hadn’t rattled off the crossbar.
This was impressive from Tipperary but in the swings and roundabouts of this contest it didn’t last. Our midfield lost traction and the Galway defence got to grips with their men. Daithi Burke was doing a vigilant policing job on Callanan and with Galway defending in numbers we hit a fallow spell in attack.
While Tipperary went from the fourteenth to the thirty-first minute without a flag, Galway would reel off six points in the same spell to go three-up. This was fluctuating fare – and time for Tipperary to worry.
Earlier our goal came under threat when Barrett did well to push Canning towards the end line and Gleeson made the stop. Paudie Maher’s hook on Conor Cooney was a stand-out item too, as was his heavy hit on Canning. We got to the interval just two down as Joe Canning limped towards the dressing rooms; neither he nor Adrian Tuohy would see second half action. These were undeniably heavy blows to Galway.
Yet the second half would see no immediate Tipperary progress as Galway’s stubborn spirit kept up the charge. As in the first half a Tipperary error coughed up Galway’s second goal, Joseph Cooney intercepting Brendan Maher’s careless attempt at a return pass to Seamus Kennedy before careering in for another cracking finish.
As the half unfolded Tipp fans shuffled uneasily. The long ball policy was yielding little dividend on this occasion with the Galway defence holding strong. David Burke was ensuring a Galway edge at midfield and the likes of Barrett were having a testing time in defence.
It was going to take something special to alter the trend. Eventually ‘Bubbles’ was called into action. A significant move saw Callanan vacate the edge of the ‘square’ where John McGrath now took up a position from which he’d exert a telling influence on the ultimate outcome. A great catch by the younger McGrath saw a goal denied by a fine stop from keeper, Callanan.
Eventually the crucial breaks came to turn this match Tipperary’s way. John McGrath set up ‘Bubbles’ for that unforgettable finish. It’s one of those goals that will live in the memory. Before Galway could draw breath Tipperary struck again. Great work by ‘Bonner’ in the lead up saw Callanan improvise with that handballer’s pass to McGrath who rode the goalie’s challenge and finished to the net.
Crucially in the home straight Tipperary had got the breaks and now was the time to play out a nervous finish – and boy was it nervous! We’re still not composed in these situations. Some careless wides prevented a more secure lead. Barrett was penalised for a Conor Cooney free to cut the margin to just two. Some nervous juggling by Paudie Maher let to another Galway point from Shane Maloney – the ghost of 2015.
It was nail-biting as we drifted into the final minute of added time. Galway tried to work the ball out of defence but David Collins fumbled it over the line. Relief for Tipperary. Brendan Maher sent the side line wide but the full time whistle greeted the puck-out. Collectively the county exhaled in relief.
It was one of those toss-up outcomes that might have gone either way. Enda McEvoy’s tweet summed it up best: “Better team (barely) won (barely) and deserved to”. Yes, it was one of those ‘barely’ games that we so often miss out on so we’ll take whatever luck came our way.
In the stats department we had a marginal edge in several areas such as percentage possession, scoring chances etc. and that marginality was certainly reflected in the final outcome. In a sense it’s an ideal way to win a semi, just scrambling over the line after playing below form and thereby dampening expectations for the final.
Our defence faced more questions this time than in any of the Munster ties. James Barry put in a strong second half shift especially but Cathal Barrett found tall opponents a problem and there’ll be talk now of Cody targeting our corner backs with tall men like Walsh, Fennelly and company. Paudie Maher was excellent once again and in fairness to the rearguard overall Darren Gleeson wasn’t called into action too often apart from the pair of breaches where he had little chance. Perhaps it’s a slight worry that our midfield was second best this time after a bright spell in the opening half.
In attack great credit goes to the workhorses, Maher and McCormack. I thought John McGrath was our individual man-of-the-match though ‘The Sunday Game’ didn’t even nominate him. He scored 1-1, set up the second goal, might have had another but for a great save, set up brother Noel for the first half chance, scored a point and had several other inputs. It’s quite a contribution to a one point win.
Could management have done better? ‘Bubbles’ wasn’t called aboard until the 45th minute, which has led to quite a lot of comment. You could justify the original selection, which excluded him, but surely a player of O’Dwyer’s caliber, who hasn’t had championship hurling since June, needed an earlier call to arms? He showed signs of rustiness before lighting up the occasion with that incredible goal.
Tactically too one has to wonder about this long ball into attack. It has its use but surely more variation is needed, especially when we’re losing the aerial battle. It worked against a deflated Waterford in the Munster final but mostly didn’t work on Sunday and is unlikely to reap much reward against Kilkenny either. So, overall then it was a huge win but there’s still much to do before September 4.
Once again the minors live in the shadow of the seniors. It’s a pity because this was a spectacular exhibition by the under-eighteens. Reigning champions, Galway, with a healthy quota of last year’s winners available, were fancied, but Tipperary absolutely demolished them. Seldom have we seen such a goal-glut. Man-of-the-match, Cian Darcy, whipped in the first, Mark Kehoe flashed in the second and Rian Doody poked home the third. It was a first half prelude to a second half spectacular. By game’s end they weren’t interested in points, sensing goals on every attack.
Ironically it’s a win that has handed Liam Cahill a major problem: how to keep these guys grounded in the coming weeks. Teenagers, by nature, are impressionable and irrespective of what the manager says in the coming weeks these players will imbibe the hype. They won Munster by seventeen and beat Galway by fifteen so they are now invincible. So, in the coming weeks we’ll have to keep reminding them of past ‘invincibles’ who met their Waterloo and tell them too that they play a different Limerick side in the final than the one they crushed in Munster.
Anyway it’s great to have the double involvement to anticipate on September 4. Speaking of doubles, of course, the footballers seek to emulate the hurlers on Sunday next. Mayo stand in the way. Anyway good luck to Tipperary.
