It might yet prove to be the most precious point of the league. ‘Bubbles’ late leveler rescued Tipperary from another one-point torment and sets the team up nicely to engage Cork on Sunday next with a quarter-final place on offer. Cork’s hapless defeat to Kilkenny means that Sunday’s fixture is a ‘dead rubber’ for the rebels but very much a ‘live’ event for Tipperary.
It could so easily have been another week of deep depression if that marvelous line ‘cut’ by Canning had proved the winner. The margins can be so tight in these games and so often we’ve fallen the wrong side of the balance sheet. There was understandable joy then that Tipperary found the composure to maneuver that late rescue at Salthill.
In truth this display deserved a happy ending. Compared to the Waterford game there was significant improvement throughout the team.
Even allowing for the incursions by Joe Canning and the scoring of the likes of Niall Burke and Jason Flynn for Galway there were still enhanced displays by several Tipperary defenders. Ronan Maher showed why many regard him as a centre back in the making; Paudie too stepped up on recent showing and Barry Heffernan made his strongest statement yet for team inclusion, especially in the first half.
Midfield too upped their game considerably from the previous week with Michael Breen beginning to show the benefit of game time in the role and Brendan Maher far more influential than a week earlier. In attack John McGrath thus far has been the find of the league, winning a decent share of his own ball, combining well with others and confidently taking his scores when the chance arises. Noel McGrath too was much more influential this time and Niall O’Meara showed some fine touches. Then ‘Bubbles’ arrived and added another dimension so that even in the absence of Callanan, ‘Bonner’ and Forde we could work up a very respectable score total of 1-22 – and squander a few goal chances in the process.
In many ways it was a typical Tipp/Galway affair, high-scoring and fluctuating, with neither side able to exert a controlling influence. Tipperary’s opening statement was emphatic. Barry Heffernan got the scoring moving and then Noel McGrath played a crucial role in the Tipp goal, his poke ahead to O’Meara prising open the Galway defence. Noel Followed with a point and it was suddenly 1-2 to nil.
That initial salvo set the tone for much of the opening half though it was never going to be sustained. There was bound to be a kick from Galway and early evidence showed Jason Flynn as a threat as well as Niall Burke and, inevitably, Canning. We escaped an early scare when Conor Whelan hit the side netting and Canning too got through but he couldn’t get enough on the ground shot to bother Gleeson. Still there was enough evidence there to suggest that our rearguard was going to be tested.
Mickey Cahill came off worst on that collision with Canning and had to be replaced by Conor O’Brien as the teams swapped scores with Galway’s coming mostly from Canning frees and Tipperary having a greater spread of shooters. The McGraths, Michael Breen and Brendan Maher all got on the sheet and there was a little issue of eight first half wides too to record. Incidentally the best touch of the half belonged to Niall O’Meara who ‘killed’ the sliotar on his stick before turning his marker and unfortunately shooting wide. It would have been a classy score.
So far then Tipperary was doing very well but sadly the gains were virtually wiped out in a Galway thrust just before the interval. Canning’s goal was an item of individual brilliance. They hit an unanswered 1-2 before the break and retired just one adrift with Tipperary’s excellent work effectively undone.
I don’t go with the notion that Galway was the better team in the second half. They had the benefit of their second goal early on where I’m sure Darren Gleeson won’t be happy that Tannian’s bouncer beat him; in fairness to the goalie he made an excellent stop moments earlier. Yet despite that setback Tipperary retaliated very effectively and for most of the half the sides traded points with the issue deadlocked on eight occasions. It was that tight.
Then there were the goal misses by Tipperary, first Michael Breen and then the best chance falling to ‘Bubbles’ who failed to beat Skehill on two attempts. There were also half a dozen wides against Galway’s greater economy. Everything considered we didn’t deserve to lose this one.
The finish was dramatic. When Michael Breen did a great flick away for the sideline ball around sixty metres out it seemed a long-shot even for an expert like Canning. Yet he ‘nailed’ it and our hearts sank. Not again! And it’s here I take encouragement. Brendan Maher’s high fetch in the lead up to the leveler was both brave and brilliant. What ensued was team work par excellence. Maher laid off to Noel who found O’Meara and then on to ‘Bubbles’ as the last link and the ideal recipient to hit the match savior from near the sideline. What a relief!
Having lost so many one-pointers it was great to see such composure at the climax. Seldom has a side more deserved a ‘break’. It was a truly priceless point from ‘Bubbles’ one that opens the door now for further progress in the series instead of the prospect of a relegation dogfight.
The Cork game on Sunday offers another chance to kick on now and secure knock out involvement. It will be interesting to see what adjustments the management makes for the final league round. We still have to win this one, remember, and Cork’s form on Saturday night against Kilkenny was an eye-opener. They don’t have anything tangible to fight for on Sunday but I can’t imagine a Cork side meekly rolling over to Tipperary.
James Barry was ready to come in as a sub in Salthill so one imagines he’ll feature on Sunday though what role he takes on will be interesting. Mickey Cahill damaged a hamstring so he seems to be out; Barry will be the obvious adjustment though you still have to decide where to position him. The placing of Kieran Bergin at number eleven last week had all the appearance of a stop gap measure in the absence of ‘Bonner’ with a knee injury. Ultimately you’d expect to see the Killenaule man find a slot at either half back or midfield, though he’ll have to battle for inclusion.
In attack there seems to be strong hopes that both Callanan and Forde will be available, which would be good news indeed. Overall we’ll just have to wait and see what emerges in Friday night’s team announcement. Incidentally the on-off deployment of Conor Kenny last Sunday was an item of comment. You could view it as harsh on the player or evidence of a more ruthless streak by management after criticism of their slowness to react in previous games. I tend towards the latter.
Elsewhere during the last week the Abbey pulled of an unorthodox win in the All Ireland semi-final of the post primary schools senior hurling ‘B’ championship. I’ve been urged to give the competition its proper title since it was re-vamped in recent years with the coalescing of the old secondary and vocational schools’ competitions. The new championship has the Paddy Buggy cup as the prize for the winners.
There won’t be a Kilkenny presence in the final, however, after the Abbey put out Colaiste Mhuire, Johnstown, on Friday last with a strange two-part semi-final. Here’s one for the stats people: when did a hurling team last qualify for an All Ireland decider after failing to score in the second half of the semi-final? I’m sure there’s an answer, which I don’t have.
Anyway this was a disputed fixture with Johnstown unwilling to play as fixed on Saturday and eventually agreeing to Friday; they’d gone to extra-time in their Leinster play-off the previous Tuesday. The Abbey turned on the style in the first half to lead by eight but needed dogged determination to hold out in the second half as their scoring dried up. It was difficult to explain such a turnaround but it led to a dramatic conclusion where the Abbey held out against the odds. They now face St. Louis of Ballymena in the final on Easter Monday at the Stadium; it’s part of a double bill with the ‘A’ final between St. Kieran’s and Ardscoil Ris of Limerick.
Finally Patrick’s day belongs to the club finals with Na Piarsaigh seeking a first for Limerick against Cushendall. I fancy them to deliver. Incidentally I’m reminded that it’s the thirtieth anniversary of Kilruane’s win back in 1986. Goalie, Tony Sheppard, was captain and Eamon O’Shea was in attack against Buffers Alley of Wexford. Borris-Ileigh replaced them a year later to become just the third Tipperary club to win the crown – and the last. Brendan Maher rates the club trophy above the Liam McCarthy. Its absence from Tipperary for so long is a major blemish on our record.
