Tipperary Hurling Tipperary GAA Premierview

Meander Through 2008 and a Look Forward to 2009 Knocknagow 20.10.08

It is far to say that Tipp hurling has come a long way in 2008. Although we are not yet at the level to compete with Kilkenny Liam Sheedy and his management team have done remarkably well in their first year in charge. While a lot of this is due to Liam Sheedy and the work he put into the team in the last 12 months it is also due to the state that he found the Tipp Senior hurling team in when he took over in late 2007. While Babs achieved great things during his first spell in charge of Tipp by any stretch of the imagination his second spell left the Tipp Seniors in pretty poor health. Now don’t get me wrong if Babs hadn’t arrived in 1986 we could be playing in the Lory Meagher Cup next year with Donegal and Cavan. He rescued us in his first spell in charge but he could not reproduce that in his second spell. While there may have been issues with discipline, the incidents after the 2006 Munster Final and dropping of a number of players in 2007 surely this could have been sorted behind closed doors instead of in the glare of both local and national media? For me Babs second spell is summed up in the following example. On the Off the Ball programme on Newstalk the intro that they have for GAA is made up of snippet from various GAA personalities and Babs is one of those featured. I’m paraphrasing but he says something to the effect of we only have a plan A and if we have to switch to a plan B were f****d! Now why anyone, especially an intercounty manager, would make a statement like that beggars belief.
So Liam Sheedy took charge and after the debacle with the dropping/resting/injuries to Shane McGrath, Brendan Cummins and Eoin Kelly for the All-Ireland Semi-Final against Wexford in 2007 I am sure all the players were glad to hear a different voice in training and in the dressing room. (As an aside the 3 players mentioned all were nominated for All-Stars in 2008, so perhaps Babs was right after all!) Sheedy had a number of advantages coming into the job mainly, he wasn’t Babs!, was still playing Senior hurling with his club when he took the job so he had first hand knowledge of a lot of players in the county, had played Inter county hurling as recently as 2000, and as successful manager of the Tipp minors in 2006 he knew what players of that team had the mentality to make the big step to Senior level. His first honour was regaining the Waterford Crystal Trophy and then onto the more serious business of the League.
While a lot was made in the media of how Tipp went unbeaten in the League it is the performances of the team in a number of games that were most impressive, especially the away game against Galway where Tipp were playing the second half into a gale force wind with only 14 players and still managed to eke out a draw. The Quarter-Final win over Waterford gladdened the hearts of Tipp fans in Nowlan Park when Tipp got their noses in front and held off Waterford’s challenge. Tipp beat a weakened Kilkenny in the Semi-Final, (their only League or Championship defeat in 2008), the following week. Players began to emerge who would shine all year that day, Paul Curran, Conor O’Mahony, Shane McGrath and Eoin Kelly. Tipp duly accounted for Galway in the League Final for our first National title since 2001.
The wheels could very easily have come off our year as after 20 minutes Cork lead 1-8 to 4 points however Tipp brought it back to 1-8 to 1-7 by the break with a superbly taken goal by Eoin Kelly. Tipp powered on and eventually won by 1-19 to 1-13. Again it was the spine of the team that performed with Curran and O’Mahony outstanding in defence, Callinan got 3 second half points and Lar and Eoin back on form scoring at will.
Tipp won the Munster Final by 8 points, 2-21 to 0-19 with goals from Callinan and John O’Brien. Tipp had a shaky period at the start of the second half conceding 7 points in 14 minutes but John O’Brien’s goal steadied matters and Tipp won by 8.
Tipp lost the All-Ireland Semi-Final to Waterford and unlike the 2 previous games Tipp looked edgy and unsure. Waterford went 6 points to nil up after 8 minutes and though Tipp got back level at half time, 10 each, we could never get our noses enough in front to put serious pressure on Waterford. Probably the final chance to win the game went when Seamus Callinan’s shot was saved, Webster fumbled the rebound and Eoin Kelly missed the resultant 65. Waterford won 1-20 to 1-18.

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A number of aspects that pleased me about the Tipp team this year was the way in which Tipp upped their intensity; blocking, harrying and putting the opposition under pressure. This was evident early on, in the League with the displays against Waterford and Kilkenny and carried through to the Championship. Whenwe were struggling in Cork Lar Corbett drove Sean Og over the sideline and Conor O’Mahony set up a point after blocking down a point effort from a Cork forward. This was the type of effort that was missing in previous years. Confidence was also back; Curran and O’Mahony assured and commanding in defence, Conor O’Brien playing like a veteran, Shane McGrath winning possession and using it superbly, Eoin Kelly nearly back to his best, Seamus Callinan and Pat Kerwick new to the panel having the self confidence to shoot and take their points when the chances presented themselves. The unity in the panel was also superb. Declan Fanning was the 2007 All-Star full back and when he lost his place to Paul Curran did not complain, or walk out, he put his head down, did what was asked of him, came on as a sub in the Munster Final when Curran got injured and played solidly.
Of course we are not the finished article yet as we saw against Waterford in the Semi-Final. Certain Tipp players were not able to react to Waterford provocation before the match, we reverted to type when the going got tough; shooting from impossible angles and not playing the ball into the better placed colleague, witness the wides Pat Kerwick, Shane Maher, and John O’Brien all had when Webster was inside screaming for the ball. Of course the management also made a number of errors that day as well. Hugh Moloney should never have been started at centre forward especially as Seamus Callinan had done such a fine job there in the Munster Final. We knew Waterford would come out and be aggressive from the start yet some of the players looked like rabbits caught in the headlights. These are some of the issues that Liam Sheedy will have to sort out next year.

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So the team for next year:
Brendan Cummins will continue as number 1 for 2009 and after his displays in 2008 he is still the best around and has his fourth All-Star to prove it. Personally I think that Mathew Ryan of Templederry looks a great prospect and should be brought onto the Senior panel. His displays for both the U21’s and his club this year have been exceptional. I would have him ahead of both Gerry Kennedy and Darren Gleeson.

Corner backs: Conor O’Brien was rightly nominated for an All-Star for his displays and played superbly all year. Eamon Buckley lack of pace was exposed by John Mullane in the All-Ireland Semi-Final, although the counter argument could be made as to how many corner backs can cope for 70+ minutes with a man of Mullane’s skill and speed. There is always the possibility of moving Paul Curran to corner back and restoring Declan Fanning to full back, however Paul Curran was immense this year at the edge of the square so I would be loath to move him. Other possibilities; Michael Cahill, (Sars), Paddy Stapleton, (Borris) and Diarmaid Fitzgerald.

Full back: We have the 2007 All-Star Declan Fanning who was on the bench in 2008, we have 2008 All-Star nominated full back Paul Curran and they will hopefully be joined on the panel by the 2006 Minor Hurling All-Ireland Man of the Match and the 2008 U21 Hurling All-Ireland Man of the Match Padraig Maher of Thurles Sarsfield. His displays again this year both for Sars and Tipp U21’s were superb. He made some powerful catches and clearances in the County Final until Eoin Brislane went to full forward and steamrolled him. Given the queue in front of him for the No. 3 jersey he may also get a run out at midfield where he sometimes plays for Sars.

Wing backs: I must hold my hand up and admit that I did not think that Shane Maher was up to Senior Inter county hurling but he has improved immensely every single game this year and was rightly nominated for an All-Star. He needs to keep up the level of performance he showed in the Semi-Final and even build on it if Tipp are to move to the next level. It remains to be seen if Eamon Corcoran will return to the fray in 2009. He was badly exposed under the dropping ball in the second half of the Waterford game. He has given many great years to Tipp and was always outstanding since he first pulled on the Tipp jersey, however it may now be time for Sheedy to look at alternatives. One of those being Paddy Stapleton who impressed during his cameo in the Waterford game, I am sure that the name of Benny Dunne will be mentioned and while he is undoubtedly a superb hurler his looseness anywhere in the half back line would be punished at inter county level. Of the other players on the panel I have great time for Diarmaid Fitzgerald who played centre back for Tipp in his first Championship game against Waterford in 2005. This year he was ruined with illness, injuries and lack of game time. Hopefully an injury free year next year would see him return at either corner or wing back. Alan Byrne was on the 2008 panel but I think he is that fraction off the pace for this level. Outside the current panel Tom King of Loughmore-Castleiney played superbly well in their 2007 Munster winning campaign however their loss in the County Semi-Final may come against him. Thurles’s Michael Cahill grew into the U21’s all year and impressed greatly for Sars however at 19 may need a year or two to develop.

Centre back: Liam Sheedy set out his stall early on in 2008 building his defence around Paul Curran at full back and Conor O’Mahony at centre back. Indeed Conor started every single League and Championship game and rightly won Tipp’s first All-Star at centre back since Bobby Ryan in 1989. There is no reason why Conor will relinquish the No. 6 jersey in 2009. Despite have a broken bone in his wrist from the Cork game on Liam Sheedy did not even put Thomas Stapleton on the bench for the All-Ireland Semi-Final. While Thomas Stapleton played centre back for the U21’s this year he does not quiet have the commanding presence required to wear the centre back jersey just yet. Again Benny Dunne is a possibility and for the last few years has been the best centre back in the Tipp club hurling, however as I said above his loose style of play does not suit Inter county hurling, this was shown in the county final where despite clearing a lot of ball Johnny Enright still scored 6 points from play off him. He got his chance in this years League final and did not take it. While both Diarmaid Fitzgerald and Declan Fanning have played here previously for Tipp it is not their best position. Other possibilities: Padraig Maher (Sars) but not his preferred position.

Midfield: We have one of the best midfielders in the country is Shane McGrath who was immense this year, indeed was on the shortlist for the GPA Hurler of the Year. Finding him a midfield partner was/is problematic; at various stages during the League Benny Dunne, Joe Caesar, Shane Maher and James Woodlock all played midfield, without ever one of them wholeheartedly winning the right to wear the jersey. Woodlock started all 3 Championship games but faded badly in the second half of each of them being replaced twice by Benny Dune. Benny Dunne played here in the League Final but did not impress and although he scored a point when introduced against Waterford the play being fractured suited him. Joe Caesar is on the panel but is too similar to Shane McGrath to play both together. From the U21’s Seamus Hennessy, (an All-Ireland minor winning captain), impressed up until the Final but his lack of pace was shown in the lead up to the second Kilkenny goal and indeed it was his midfield partner Gearoid Ryan who produced a great second half of the All Ireland U21 Final, scoring 3 points in total, again he may need time before he is ready to make the step up to inter county. However with Templederry now promoted to Senior he will get his chance to show his wares against some of the bigger guns. Paul Kelly only returned to the panel for the Waterford game but was not even togged. It remains to be seen what role he will play next year. The Paul Kelly who scored 4 points from play in the 2005 Munster Final, and won an All-Star, would be an ideal foil to Shane McGrath. Hugh Moloney is a possibility for wing back or midfield. He was superb in 2007 in the Stadium against Cork and is far suited to here rather than centre forward. Other possibilities: Noel McGrath, (Loughmore too young), or Padraig Maher (Sars), he’s not going to get close to the No. 3 or 6 jerseys so he might get a run here. Another player who may come into the picture is Brendan Maher (Borris). He has impressed all the way up from minor level and with Borris. However where his best position is, is another question. He normally plays in the forwards for Borris yet was both corner and wing back for the U21’s this year. Knows where the posts are and definitely one for the future.

Half forwards: Every year since 2002 this lie has caused the Tipp management sleepless nights and this year was no exception. While John O’Brien is one of the most skilful hurlers in the country he is not consistent enough. He was superb in the Munster Final yet did not touch the ball against Waterford. Whether he gets the opportunity to rectify that game in 2009 remains to be seen. Both James Woodlock and Shane McGrath were tried in this line but their best position is definitely in midfield. Ryan O’Dwyer got a few League games at centre forward and started the Cork game but his abrasive nature and lack of contribution from scoring means he is unlikely to feature heavily come Championship 2009. Lar Corbett has the height and more importantly the primary ball winning skill, but his scoring threat is required far closer to goals. While Seamus Callinan was good in the Munster Final he was poor in the U21 Final, however his nomination for the Young player of the Year and All-Star nomination will make him a marked man for next year. Hopefully he will take it in his stride and push on to lead the Tipp forward line in the years to come. Of the Tipp forwards the one who I was most disappointed to see loose out for the Waterford game was Pat Kerwick. While all around the field the Tipp players were been hit off the ball by Waterford players, (Clinton Hennessy and Declan Prendergast on Lar Corbet before the ball was thrown in), he came on as a sub and gave Tony Brown a dig in the ribs. He then won the next ball between then and scored a point. I would have him starting in one of the wing forward positions. Pa Bourke has had 2 years on the Tipp team and despite not playing in this years Championship was very impressive for the U21’s both from play and place balls and for Sars. His control is superb and his ability to kill a sliothar with the boss of the hurley is class to see. While he may still be too light for wing forward he is still an option. I think that Seamus Butler has got more than enough chances last year and still has not convinced me. His main downfall is where is his best position, midfield, wing forward, full forward or corner forward. Look at Cork. Niall McCarthy will never be mentioned in the same breath as Tony O’Sullivan or Thomas Mulcahy yet he has done Trojan work over the last few years and allowing the likes of Deane and the O’Connors to score at will. We do need to get a ball winner into the half forward line and a player who I think may have that potential is Padraig Maher from Lorrha. Not the prettiest of players he wins his fair share of ball and the first think he does is put his head down and goes for goals. Well able to mix it as well and not too easily bullied or pushed off the ball. Still young, (minor in 2007), but worth a look.

Full forward line: From what played here in 2008 I don’t think that Darragh Egan or Tommy Fitzgerald are viable options in the Tipp forwards. Willie Ryan was superb for us in 2007 and while he scored a goal in the League Final I still remain to be convinced by him. I remain to be convinced by Seamus Butler who despite numerous chances failed to put a good 70 minutes performance together. We saw when he came on in the All-Ireland Semi-Final the problems that Webster can cause setting up a goal, however his poor control came back to haunt us when he failed to properly control the rebound from Seamus Callinan’s shot late in the game. I don’t think that he is an option to start but certainly for the last 15 minutes he is a decent option, only if the ball is played into him, (look at the damage he caused to Sullivan in the Cork game), not like when he came on against Waterford and everyone took potshots from out the field and watched them sail wide as Webster stood on the edge of the square screaming for the ball knowing that he had the beatings of Declan Prendergast. Both Lar Corbett and Eoin Kelly had superb 2008’s, with both being nominated for All-stars. Personally I think Lar Corbett should be put at full forward and left there. I know both he and Pa Bourke did not have the best of County Finals for Thurles recently. Another player who I am sure will be highlighted by the media in the next few weeks will be Eoin Brislane after his display in the County Final, powerfully built, superbly talented, scorer of 1-5 in the County Final, holder of 8 County Senior hurling medals and still only 27! However consistency and temperament are his big problems. He was taken off in the County Semi-Final, after putting in a non-descript display and followed that up with a Man of the Match display in the County Final even though he was lucky to be on the field after a very reckless pull on the ball early in the game. He has had numerous chances on the Tipp team before, (came on in the 2003 League Final), and never cemented a starting place. Another player who I think is worth a look again is Danny O’Hanlon of Carrick Swans. 4 years a County U21, powerfully built, well able to win the ball on the edge of the square and knows where the goal is. Was hampered last year with a hand injury. Should be brought onto the panel at the start of the year and given a chance.

I am sure there are other players out there who are worth a look and hopefully they will get their chance in the Waterford Crystal Tournament and early games in the league.


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Sheedy’s approach to the 2009 league is going to be interesting. With Tipp having to play in the Munster Quarter-Final does he go out and try to win it and gain the momentum which served us so well last year or does he use it to blood players and keep our powder dry for the Championship. If he gets it wrong it could have a serious effect on the team. He could not be faulted for what he did last year set up the spine of the team strong; Curran/Fanning full back, O’Mahony centre back and Eoin Kelly in the forwards played most games and then switching and trying new players with more experienced guys beside them. Personally I would be happy to get to a League Semi-Final and leave the League with a settled team requiring some minor tweaking facing into the Championship.
With Tipp playing Championship in early May against Cork, there is a school of thought that we would be better off losing to Cork and taking the scenic route to an All-Ireland Semi-Final. I firmly do not agree with this. While the club sides in Tipp are well used to losing and still going on and winning the County Final, once Tipp lose in the Championship they seem to go flat and the same zip just is not there in subsequent games, witness 2006 and 2007 early losses left us in no position to seriously challenge at the business end of the Championship. We need to be winning the Munster Championship and arriving in Croke Park in an All-Ireland Semi-Final as Munster Champions with a bit of momentum and confidence behind us.
That is why at home in Thurles against Cork we have to win, we have beaten them the last two times we met, both home and away, so this Cork team should not hold any fears for Tipp. This group of Tipp players have played and beaten Cork regularly at minor, U21 and senior grades and we should be confident, go out and win the game.
Next year is crucial for Sheedy. In 2008 he brought us from a low base up to a level where we were able to compete but we still are a bit off wining the All-Ireland. While a Munster crown will be great again next year the pressure will be on Sheedy to at least get to an All-Ireland Final. With Waterford’s implosion on All-Ireland Final day Tipp are now firmly in the bracket of second tier counties, along with Cork, Waterford and possibly Galway, who will be expected to compete with and beat Kilkenny, this will bring extra pressure on Sheedy that was not there in 2008. How he is able to cope with both the increased media and Tipp fans expectations could define the year ahead. We as Tipp fans will have to be patient and realistic; Kilkenny are going for four in a row and have some of the best players in the country and going on 2008 we are not even closer to their level yet. It took Nicky English 3 years to win our last All-Ireland. Liam Sheedy is in the middle year of his 3 year term and can hopefully build on what was achieved last year.
While Sheedy did very well to get the team to where they finished last year he still has a number of issues to resolve for 2009;

1) Find a ball winning, scoring half forward line, (easier said than done!)
2) No more backs being forced to play in the forwards, John Carroll, Diarmaid Fitzgerald and Hugh Moloney last year.
3) Play the best players in their correct positions. Don’t move players just to accommodate others.
4) Be clinical. If the veterans are not performing up to scratch don’t baulk; sub them or don’t start them.
5) Break the Croke Park hoodo, (the Quarter-Final victory over Offaly in 2003 was our last win in Croke Park)
6) Have a game plan and stick to it. In the Munster Final, all Tipp’s scores came from inside the 45m line. Compare this to the All-Ireland Semi-Final when shots were been taken from 70 yards+.
7) Up all aspects of our game to be able to compete and out hurl Kilkenny. They utterly demolished all that was put before them in this year’s Championship.
8) Use the League to find 4-5 players to get us to that level.

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So hopefully September 2009 will see us in Croke Park in the first Sunday in September and maybe winning our 26th All-Ireland!!

Knocknagow
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Waterford 1-20 Tipperary 1-18 All-Ireland Semi Final (17/08/08) report

Waterford advanced to meet Kilkenny in this years All-Ireland Final after a 2 point win over Tipperary in front of 53,635 people in Croke Park yesterday. Both teams made no late personnel changes but Waterford put Declan Prendergast to full back, Tony Brown to wing back marking Seamus Callinan and Ken McGrath at centre back. They also dropped Moloumpy to play as an extra wing back. Tipp lined out with Lar at full forward and Seamus Butler in the corner. The wind was not a factor in the game.
Waterford dominated the first 20 minutes. Conor ‘Brien fouled Eoin McGrath and Eoin Kelly pointed. A long Ken McGrath clearance found Mullane and he pointed. Conor O’Brien than picked up a yellow card for a foul on Eoin McGrath and Kelly pointed the free. Very poor play by Corcoran saw Mullane block his shot and Stephen Muloumpy nip in to point. Mullane then caught a sideline, burned Buckley for pace, and pointed on the run. Eoin McGrath then got a superb point over his shoulder to put Waterford 6-0 up after 8 points. Tipp then got their first score when Eoin Kelly was fouled and he got up and pointed the free. His Waterford namesake missed a free. A Waterford foul in midfield saw Conor O’Mahony point a long range free. He missed one on the sideline moments later after a Waterford player was blown up for overcarrying. Eoin Kelly was again fouled and he pointed the free to leave Tipp only 3 points behind. Eoin McGrath pushed it out to four. Callinan then had a weak goal effort and Hugh Moloney was unlucky in just not reaching the rebound. On 20 minutes Hugh Moloney was fouled and Eoin Kelly pointed to leave it 7-4.
A surging run by Shane McGrath saw him point. Mullane had a wide after good pressure from Corcoran. Dan then had a run at goals but great pressure from Shane Maher and a Brendan Cummins came out and cleared the danger with Shane Maher being fouled. Lar Corbett was then lucky to escape with a yellow after a challenge on Eoin Murphy. Shane McGrath was fouled and Kelly pointed the free. Lar then had a run on goals but with Declan Prendergast with both arms around him he fumbled, dropped the ball and Henessy cleared. Shane McGrath then received treatment for an injury. Corcoran fouled Mullane and Kelly pointed. Callinan, now at centre forward, had a great catch and run at goals and he pointed. Waterford’s Eoin Kelly pointed to leave them 2 up with 33 minutes gone. A great Eoin Kelly catch saw him pass to Callinan and he pointed. Eoin Kelly then a superb individual point. He broke the high ball to himself picked it up turned and pointed to make it a draw game. Dan then ran at goals and Buckley gave away a very stupid lazy free which Kelly pointed. Seamus Butler was fouled by Aidan Kearney, who was yellow carded, and Eoin Kelly pointed to level the game at 10 points each after 3 minutes of injury time.
Neither team made any changes to the start of the second half. John O’Brien had the first chance but shot ridiculously from well inside his won half. John Mullane was then lucky to stay on the field after he pulled 2 foot above the ball and caught Conor O’Brien. Conor O’Mahony was yellow carded for a foul on Eoin McGrath and Kelly pointed. Tipp made a temporary blood sub when Paddy Stapleton replaced Eamon Corcoran who got the butt of the hurley into the side of his head. A great 1-2 between Shane Maher and Woodlock saw the Burgess man point from long range. Another run from Shane McGrath saw him point to put Tipp in front. Tipp made their first change after 43 minutes when Webster replaced the very ineffective Seamus Butler and he went to the edge of the square. He made an immediate effect as the next ball into his corner he won passed to Eoin Kelly who pointed. Mullane pointed for Waterford and after a foul on Callinan Eoin Kelly pointed the free. Hugh Moloney had a wide when he shot from way out the field. Brendan Cummins made a catch under pressure.
Corcoran came back on for Paddy Stapleton. Dan was fouled and Eoin Kelly pointed. Tipp made a second change with John O’Brien off, Benny on at midfield and Woodlock to wing forward. Brick Walsh and Shane McGrath got points. A free by Conor O’Mahony eventually broke to Lar and he pointed under pressure. Waterford took off Seamus Prendergast and brought on Jack Kennedy. Moloumpy then picked up a broken ball and pointed from midfield. Shane Maher had a stupid wide. Waterford got the first goal of the game when Eoin Kelly flicked on a high ball, Cummins saved it, but Kelly outreached Curran to flick the rebound to the neat after 56 minutes. Straight away from the puck out great work from Webster saw the ball break to Callinan and he blasted the ball to the net to leave it 1-16 to 1-15. Tipp replaced Hugh Moloney with Pat Kerwick.
Straight away he broke a puck out to himself and pointed. A scramble near the Tipp goal saw the ball out for a 65 which Kelly missed. Brick Welsh and Jack Kennedy to level the game 1-17 each with 62 minutes gone. Waterford went ahead with a Kelly free after Eoin McGrath was hauled back. Tipp replaced Woodlock with Pa Bourke. Lar had a shocking wide when he ran in from the wing and blasted the ball wide with both Webster and Pa both unmarked. Tipp then had the chance to win the game when a great run by Conor O’Mahony, passed to Callinan, his shot at goals was saved and Webster from 6 yards managed to not knock in the rebound, then fumble the ball and his third effort was blocked out for a 65 which Eoin Kelly drove wide. Waterford took off John Mullane and brought in Paul Flynn. With just over a minute left Eoin Kelly pointed another Waterford free to put them 2 up. They brought on Gary Hurney for Nagle. Tipp then had a sideline cut which Corcoran put into the square, but with both Pa and Kerwick in the square the ref had blown before Kerwick goaled. Benny Dunne then narrowed the deficit to a point with a long range point a minute into injury time. Waterford’s last attack saw Eoin Kelly only 6 yards out put the ball over the bar off Cummins’s stick. Waterford took out Dan and brought on Shane O’Sullivan. Tipp had 1 final sideline cut but it was cleared by Waterford and the ref blew up after 3 minutes of injury time with Waterford winning 1-20 to 1-18.
Davy Fitz will be happy with this result. I do hope that due credit is given to Justin McCarthy as this is his team and Davy is just in the door. They had a game plan, crowd out the Tipp half forwards by putting Stephen Moloumpy back as an extra half back, thus limiting the space to the inside Tipp line of Eoin Kelly and Lar. It worked best for the first 15 minutes and by then Waterford had their tales up, a 6 point lead, and Tipp were always chasing the game. The backs tackled superbly holding Eoin Kelly and Lar to very little from open play. They exploited Eamon Corcoran’s weakness under the dropping ball. Eoin Murphy spent the afternoon fouling Eoin Kelly, with 1 arm around him or by pushing him in the back yet it was effective and he got way with it. Even though Tipp got 2 points up with 10 minutes to go they never looked like winning. Waterford also got the luck which had deserted them in previous semi finals. Tipp were through on goals 3 times and only scored once, Eoin Kelly got lucky for his goal, although he took it superbly. They also supported each other very well always the loose man there to take the pass. There were no Hail Mary shots at goals from 70+ yards like Tipp. The one aspect of Waterford’s play that is infuriating is of feigning injury Eoin Murphy did it twice yesterday, going down holding his face when he was hit around the waist and on his hand. Also Eoin Kelly did it beside the Tipp bench when he was caught in the back and went down clutching his face. However with good displays from Brick Walsh, Ken McGrath, Eoin Kelly and Eoin McGrath they now can look forward to their first final in 43 years.
Liam Sheedy will be very disappointed with a whole range of things about the game. Tipp’s slow start, panicking in the second half and shooting from way out the field, not putting the ball into Webster when he was on, the amount of silly frees and Tipp’s lack of decisiveness in front of goals. Questions must also be asked of the management. Why was Callinan not started at centre forward when he was so effective there in the Munster Final? Why was Hugh Moloney, who has played only 20 minutes for Tipp this year, parachuted in for Pat Kerwick who has not let Tipp down in both games he played to date? Why wasn’t Paddy Stapleton left on when he temporarily replaced Eamon Corcoran? Not only was Corcoran destroyed under the high ball; Jack Kennedy cleaned him for every ball when he came on. How did Eamon Buckley remain on the pitch for 70 minutes when Mullane beat him time after time and with the likes of Diarmaid Fitzgerald and Paddy Stapleton on the bench? Why was Woodlock switched to wing forward when he has been poor there all year? Why did Tipp concede so many scoreable frees when the Waterford corner backs were able to hold and pull jerseys and get away with it. Maybe some of the time spent all the fancy training Tipp were doing should have been used to show Tipp backs how to disposes their men without lazily grabbing them around the neck and fouling them. Why weren’t the puck outs varied when nothing was being won by the Tipp half forwards for the first 20 minutes? Was their too much emphasis given to fitness rather than the basic aspects of the game like holding onto possession, picking out a better placed colleague and taking easy scoring chances when they present themselves? Why did Tipp shoot so many wides from way out the field when all the scores in the Munster Final came from inside the 45? Why was this game plan abandoned when the pressure came on yesterday? Why were 3 of the forwards who did not score left on the field for so long? What was the point of bringing Paul Kelly back into the fold and then putting him doing waterboy yesterday, either bring him in as a realistic forward option or else don’t bother bringing him back.
Now don’t get me wrong I am delighted to see how far we have come from the shambles that was in place last year and all the positives that Liam Sheedy has put in place, (League and Munster crowns), but its just so disheartening to see us lose for the fourth year in a row in Croke Park. Is it a mental block about Croke Park, is it when the pressure is on in a knock out game we don’t have the players to deliver, are we lacking leadership on the field or are we just not good enough. When the pressure came on we went back to our old failings of not passing the ball to a man in a better position instead talking crazy pot shots. I still think we are a corner back, a wing back a midfielder and at least 2-3 forwards away from bridging that gap. Also the longer it goes on the older the likes of Eoin Kelly is getting. This is a sharp learning curve for Sheedy and he needs to trim a lot of fat from the panel, have a good look at the club Championship and return in 2009 learning the mistakes of yesterday. This team has shown character we were poor in the first half yet we went in level. We did not get many breaks yet we plugged away and if Callinan had got that goal that we could be preparing for an All-Ireland Final this morning.

Brendan Cummins: Pulled off a great save to smother Dan shot in the first half and was unlucky with the way the ball bounced for the Waterford goal. However he is around long enough to have varied the puck outs when none of the first 10 were being won by the Tipp half forwards. On at least 3 occasions in the first half Eamon Buckley was shouting for a short pass but he just blazed it down on top of Ken McGrath and Tony Brown who just mopped it up.

Full back line: Paul Curran gave very little away from open play to Eoin Kelly. Conor O’Brien took no crap off Eoin McGrath and stuck like glue to him, was beaten a few times but still a good year for the Eire Og man. Eamon Buckley didn’t have a good game was beaten time after time by Mullane, should have been replaced before the break.

Half back line: I must hold my hand up about Shane Maher. Yesterday he was the second best Tipp player on view. He along with Cummins stopped Dan getting in on goal and in the first half scored a point. He grew in confidence, caught and distributed a lot of ball in the second half. One of the most improved Tipp players this year. Conor O’Mahony scored Tipp’s second point of the day from a free and his surging run nearly set up a second goal from Callinan. Was quieter in the second half as the game became more fragmented. Was good in the air throughout. This game for Eamon Corcoran brought back memories of the 2005 Munster Final roasting he got from Joe Deane. He played ok in the first half most of which was spent trying to rescue Buckley. In the second he was out jumped by Jack Kennedy under every high ball.

Midfield: Woodlock saw very little of the ball and again faded out of the game after the break. Why he was put at wing forward I don’t know. His trade mark surges up the field with the ball were badly missed. Shane McGrath was the best Tipp player on view. Scored Tipp’s first point from play in the first half and got 2 more at critical times in the second half. He picked up a knock before the break and came out with his thigh very heavily strapped. However worked tirelessly in the second half but it was noticeable with his injury that both Nagle and Brick Welsh cleaned up around the middle for the last 10 minutes.

Half forward line: Again the line that was our Achilles Heel. Hugh Moloney was never at the races took some timber off Ken McGrath early on but added nothing to the forwards. Was there to win primary possession but did not win a single puck out. John O’Brien has shown why despite being on the Tipp panel for 8 years he has never been able to get an extended run. The reason is following up a great performance with one where he was completely anonymous for the 47 minutes he was on the field. All he did was just after the break shot a wide from on the sideline in his own half. Callinan got no change from Tony Brown at wing forward but the minute he went to centre forward got 2 points in the first half. Finished his goal chance well. He was unlucky with his second goal chance which if was a goal then Tipp would have won. Ended up with 1-2.

Full forward line: Eoin Kelly scored 8 points 2 from play, 1 in each half. Eoin Murphy spent the game fouling him, but Kelly got very few frees for it. 2 of the frees in the first half were for fouls on him. Will be disappointed to have missed that 65 with 5 minutes to go which would have levelled the game. Due to the poorness of the Tipp half forwards got very little possession. Lar was poor only scoring 1 point. Had a great chance right after Callinan’s goal to put the ball across the square to Webster or Pa but blazed the ball wide. Was lucky to stay on the field after his charge on Eoin Murphy at the end of the first half. Maybe should have been moved out to wing forward. Seamus Butler was very poor, won 1 free late in the first half and was luck to last until the 43rd minute.

Webster for Butler: Came on at the edge of the square and immediately won a ball and set up Eoin Kelly for a point. He should have buried the rebound from Callinan’s shot to the net but fumbled with it until his effort was smothered. Got no ball into his hand despite screaming for it all the time he was on.
Benny Dunne for John O’Brien: Came on at midfield and his surging runs led to him scoring Tipp’s last point to only put 1 in it a minute into injury time. Despite those runs could not curb the influence of Nagle and Walsh.

Pat Kerwick for Hugh Moloney: Came on at wing forward and Tony Browne broke his hurley off him off the ball. First ball into him he scored and could have been a Tipp hero when he flicked Corcoran’s sideline to the net only for it to be ruled out for a square ball. Did have 1 stupid wide when he should have put the ball into Webster.

Pa Bourke for Woodlock: On for last 10 minutes but did not touch the ball.

So for the 7th year in a row since 2001 Tipp have failed to get back to the All-Ireland Final. In truth Tipp were always struggling once Waterford got a 6 point lead after 8 minutes and Tipp had this game lost in the first half. Tipp only won 5 out of 14 first half puck outs and were incredibly luck to go in level at the break with Waterford having dominated. Callinan was the first Tipp forward to score and that was after 33 minutes. In total Eoin Kelly with 2 points, Lar a point and Callinan with 1-2 were the only Tipp starting forwards to score. Half of the forwards failed to score! We went back to the tactic of playing a back in the forwards and it badly backfired. The crazy wides that Kerwick, Shane Maher, and John O’Brien shot from out the field killed us when we had Webster standing at the edge of the square screaming for the ball. Even though Tipp got a tonic goal immediately after Waterford’s one we never built on it. We only looked to be hanging on and did not seem to have the where with all to hold on and build on the lead. With Kerwick’s point after 58 minutes we did not score until Benny Dunne’s point in the 71st minute. In the meantime Waterford scored 4 points and went from 2 down to a point up.
So 2008 ends with Tipp again not in the All-Ireland Final however the future looks bright. We have a manger who has brought this team on massively. Conor O’Mahony, Shane McGrath and Shane Maher have all established themselves and newer guys like Conor O’Brien and Seamus Callinan stepped up to the plate and delivered. It is these players with the likes of Noel McGrath and Pa Bourke that the Liam Sheedy’s Tipp team of the next 2-3 years should be built around.

Tipp player of the year:
1. Shane McGrath.
2. Conor O’Mahony.
3. Seamus Callinan.


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Tipperary v Waterford (17/08/08) Preview

Tipp and Waterford contest the second of this years All-Ireland Hurling Semi Finals on Sunday in Croke Park at 3.30 for the right to face Kilkenny in the final. The game will be referred by Diarmaid Kirwan of Cork and is live on RTE. Neither team have had much luck in recent All-Ireland Semi Finals. Waterford have to go back to 1963 when they won their last one, since then they have lost in 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Tipp’s record is not much better as they have lost the last 2. The last semi final that Tipp played was in 2003 when we were hammered by Kilkenny 3-18 to 0-15, Tipp were 2 points up at the break but collapsed totally in the second half and only for the heroics of Brendan Cummins in goals the score would have been much worse. Tipp also lost the 2002 Semi Final to Kilkenny the sides were level at the break but a Jimmy Coogan goal meant Kilkenny won 1-20 to 1-16. So the last All-Ireland Semi Final Tipp won was the replayed game against Wexford in 2001.
The sides met twice in 2006. In the Munster Championship Tipp won 3-14 to 1-12 over a half hearted Waterford. Tipp had Diarmaid Fitzgerald at full forward and got goals from Eoin Kelly, 2, and 1 from Lar. However things were different when the sides met in Croke Park later on in the summer in the All-Ireland Quarter Final. Waterford won 1-22 to 3-13. Tipp started off well and great goals from John Carroll and Eoin Kelly, from a 21 yard free, saw Tipp go in at the break a point down 2-6 to 0-13. Man of the Match Dan Shanahan got a Waterford goal and despite another John Carroll goal Waterford held on for a 3 point win. Waterford also won in 2004 with a 4-10 to 3-12. Worryingly this was the day that Dan Shanahan twice drifted into full forward and goaled with Corcoran marking him. Waterford also won the 2002 Munster Final against Tipp, (2-23 to 3-12), which means that Tipp have only won 1 of the last 4 Championship meetings between the sides.
Waterford have played 4 games in this years Championship. In the Munster Quarter Final they lost 2-26 to 0-23 to Clare. Waterford, mainly through Mullane who finished with 8 points, had 1 good spell where they got 6 unanswered points in the first half but without Eoin Kelly, Ken McGrath, Eoin Murphy and Paul Flynn they never got going and were comprehensively beaten. In the aftermath Justin McCarthy walked and Davy Fitz took over with Peter Queally as selector. Next up they faced Antrim and won well, 6-18 to 0-15, Mullane 2-2 and Eoin Kelly 2-3 were the top scorers. They next accounted for Offaly 2-18 to 0-18. Eoin Kelly at full forward was on fire and helped himself to 2-13. Despite this it took until the last 5 minutes to seal the game. They then beat Wexford in Thurles in the Quarter Final 2-19 to 3-15. They were poor enough in the first half and it took a goal from a free by Eoin Kelly just before the break to give them a 1-10 to 1-6 lead. They were caught at the start of the second half, conceded 2 goals and looked in trouble as Wexford led 3-9 to 1-11. However Dan Shanahan drifted in to full forward and caught a miss hit John Mullane point effort and goaled. The sides were nip and tuck until Damien Fitzhenry drove a 21 yard free over the bar and Waterford held out to win by a point. Mullane scored 3 points, Eoin McGrath 4, Dan Shanahan 1-1 and Eoin Kelly 1-8.
Waterford’s season is definitely on an upward spiral. They were poor against Clare and struggled for large spells against Antrim however they have ran up very impressive score lines against both Offaly and Wexford. The full forward line of McGrath, Kelly and Mullane were on fire scoring 2-16 and 1-15 in the last 2 games. Also worryingly for Tipp is that the second half of the match last Sunday saw Dan Shanahan begin to get some of his form of 2007 ghosting inside to goal, winning primary possession from puck outs and making a few surging runs. However their Achilles Heel is their defence. Ken McGrath may be an outstanding hurler but he is not a full back. He was well beaten by the Wexford full forward Stephen Banville who is a very limited player, (no offence intended), in the first half. When the ball was played out low in front of Banville he was well able to get turn and use it. When Wexford hit in Hail Mary high balls in the second half McGrath easily won them. Both corner backs were poor. Would the Kilkenny backs have allowed Stephen Doyle to waltz in for those 2 goals? I don’t think so. While Tony Browne won a lot of ball at centre back he more or less played as a sweeper and did not mark his man. Considering how much the Tipp half forwards scored from play v Clare there is no way he can afford to do this on Sunday. Also at 35 years of age the Tipp centre forward should run him all over the field. Both wing backs in the Wexford game were replaced after been given the run around. While Davy Fitz came in with much fan fare he has not had any time to try out new players and they still have the same 18-20 players that have lost the last 2 All-Ireland Semi Finals.
An interesting aspect of the game which the media will play to death in the next few days is the Davy Fitzgerald angle. Despite all the praise of his managerial career to date I remain to be convinced of his management credentials. He got a lot of praise for winning the Fitz with LIT twice, however considering the quality of players at his disposal; including Eoin Kelly, Shane McGrath, Conor O’Mahony, Kieran Murphy and Joe Canning it would not have taken much to turn them into winners. I also saw him as manager of the Clare U21’s when they lost to Tipp in 2003 and the less said about his childish antics on the line that night the better. He was over Eire Og Nenagh this year and they lost their first 3 Championship games until he “left” to take up the Waterford job. However all the words emanating from the Waterford camp is that they are delighted with him. Another interesting aspect is that their trainer is Bertie Sherlock of Toomevara who has coached a lot of Tipp club sides. Worryingly for Liam Sheedy between both Sherlock and Davy they will have coached/managed a lot of this Tipp side.
Update on the Tipp panel and injuries: Darragh Hickey left the Tipp panel after the Munster Final and he was been replaced by Paul Kelly who has been training for the last few weeks. He now plays his club hurling with James Stephens and has been monitored by the Tipp management. While there are many varying opinions about the merits of bringing in a player at this late stage of the year, without him hurling in any game for Tipp so far this year. If Paul Kelly keeps his head down and produces the hurling that he is capable of then he will be an addition to the panel. Conor O’Mahony broke a bone in his hand towards the end of the Munster Final but should be ok. Paul Curran also went off with a shoulder injury, missed a club game with Mullinahone but is back training. Lar Corbett injured his heel in the aftermath of the Munster Final but should be ok, despite missing the last few games for Sars. The following players got injured on club duty; Gerry Kennedy, Shane McGrath (hamstring), Paddy Stapleton (knee injury) and Paul Ormonde. On the positive side Pa Bourke only got a month ban for being sent off for Sars, Diarmaid Fitzgerald put in 2 great displays for Roscrea after being out injured and Brendan Cummins won the Puck Fada for the third year in a row. Liam Sheedy said in an interview last week that all the players are back training and available for selection.
Most players have played 2-3 games with their clubs and also Seamus Callinan, Pa Bourke and Thomas Stapleton were instrumental in Tipp regaining the Munster U21 crown, (19th in total). The latter 2 were impressive as Tipp struggled to a point win over Limerick in the semi final. However all 3 were superb as Tipp beat Clare by a point in the high pressure atmosphere of Ennis on the 30th July by 1-16 to 2-12. Seamus Callinan who despite picking up a hip injury won man of the match with a fine display and scored 1-4, Pa Bourke was ice cool from frees and score 6 points including 2 critical 65’s while Thomas Stapleton was part of a half back line that totally dominated the second half. All in all the Tipp players and management will be glad to have club and U21 games out of the way and have 2 weeks to concentrate on the Waterford match.
Further detailed analysis of the Clare victory does not make for comfortable Tipp reading. In total Clare had 19 points, 16 wides and 6 balls that fell into Brendan Cummins’s hand. This represents 41 scoring chances! Tipp had 23 scores and 9 wides that means that Clare created 8 more chances than us! Other worrying aspects were that Tipp only got 2 scoreable frees in the whole game and Eoin Kelly scored both. There are 2 ways of looking at that, the Clare backs did not foul or the Tipp forwards did not get out to win enough ball to be fouled. Of the 21 points Tipp got none came from outside the 45 yard line this was as a result of the crisp short passes that Tipp were playing which meant that there were no chances ballooned wides from 90 yards like in previous years. Tipp however did struggle in the second half when they let Clare back into the game and Clare scored 6 points in a row in 14 minutes and also the last 6 Clare scores came from frees and Tipp players got 2 needless yellow cards. While Tipp were well ahead when this happened they have to learn to close games out better. Tipp also won only one third of their own puck outs. So despite the Tipp half forwards scoring 2-8 their job of winning primary possession still leaves a lot to be desired. On the positive they only allowed Clare scored 10 points from play and in all 22 players have played Championship hurling in 2008.
Well despite a number of Tipp players having All-Ireland medals for a lot of the Waterford players this is their third All-Ireland Semi Final in a row. Tipp of course did beat Waterford in the in the League Quarter Final and while it may not have any affect on the outcome of Sundays game I was impressed with the way that some of the newer Tipp players noticeable; Ryan O’Dwyer, Shane McGrath and Eamon Buckley stood up to off the ball provocation from Ken McGrath, Eoin McGrath and John Mullane. The long break since the Munster Final will be a worry for Tipp as will the experience of playing in an All-Ireland Semi Final. Tipp need to get a good start. For Tipp to win, they need to isolate the Waterford full back line, put low ball into the inside line, turn and go towards goal and also at the same time keeping the ball away from the inside Waterford line. Easier said than done! However Tipp also have to get the ball into Callinan. He showed in both the Munster Senior and U21 Finals that he is not afraid to win his own ball and once he gets it he is well able to use it. A lot will depend on what type of ball the Tipp backs win. When they have time to pick out the man Tipp profited in the Munster Final. Tipp will also have to keep the ball away from Dan Shanahan. In recent years against Tipp he has been quiet for long spells and then nipped in to score goals. His recent return to form will worry the Tipp half backline.
The Tipp team was announced last night and is as follows:
Brendan Cummins.
Eamonn Buckley, Paul Curran and Conor O'Brien.
Eamon Corcoran, Conor O'Mahony and Shane Maher.
James Woodlock and Shane McGrath.
Seamus Callinan, Hugh Moloney and John O'Brien.
Eoin Kelly (captain), Seamus Butler and Lar Corbett.
The team has one change from the side that won the Munster Final. Despite impressing when introduced as a sub against Cork and a good start in the Munster Final, Pat Kerwick is replaced by Hugh Moloney. This is his first Championship start since playing at midfield for Tipp against Wexford in last years Quarter Final loss. He has only played about 20 minutes of hurling with Tipp this year v Galway in the League before going off injured. While he did impress when he came on as a sub in the Munster Final scoring a good point, I hope it’s not a return to the bad days when Tipp played backs as forwards. The other change sees Seamus Butler going to full forward with Lar into the corner. I cannot see them starting like that and I would worry for Tipp if Lar is kept in the corner way from the play. I imagine there will be a lot of switching before and during the game for the Tipp forwards, likewise with Waterford. He needs to be central and his speed will trouble Ken McGrath. Waterford have left Ken McGrath at full back and Tony Browne at centre back.
How do I see this match going? I do think that Tipp will win. Waterford with this same group of players have been here 5 times and not got past this stage. They were hot favourites against Limerick last year and were blown away. There is speculation that Waterford will put Brian Phelan full back and Ken McGrath to centre back however it will be just before throw in before we know the exact positions. This level of uncertainty is not helpful going into an All-Ireland Semi Final. An area that will be crucial will be the subs. Tipp have experienced Championship players like Declan Fanning, Benny Dunne, Diarmaid Fitzgerald, Michael Webster and Paul Kelly who are all chomping at the bit to come on, I don’t think the Waterford bench has the same calibre of players; Paul Flynn being the exception. The Tipp backs will have to crowd out the Waterford forwards. Waterford will have noticed that in the Munster Final when the game came disjointed in the second half Clare notched up points from out the field. The Tipp full back line will have to stick like glue to their men and follow them where ever they go as they can do damage if they get the ball they have got 10 goals in their last 3 games. The Tipp half forwards will have to up their work rate and cut off the source of supply into them. Tipp also need to exploit the Waterford backs. If Waterford play Ken McGrath at full back and Tony Browne at centre back then Tipp need to isolate and leave space around Lar with Callinan taking Tony Browne on a tour of Croke Park. If the Tipp backs can break even I do believe that our midfield and forwards will have enough to take us to our first All-Ireland Final since 2001. There seems to be steel, determination and a focus with this Tipp side that has been sadly missing since 2001. Tipp by 4 points.


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Tipperary 2-21 Clare 0-19 (Munster Senior Hurling Final 2008) 13/07/08

Tipp won their 37th Munster Senior Hurling crown today with an eight point win over Clare this afternoon in the Gaelic Grounds Limerick in front of a near capacity crowd of 48,076. The day got off to a bad start when the Tipp minors lost their Munster crown by a point to Cork. The game was played in ideal conditions with little or no breeze and on a very good pitch. Conor O’Mahony passed a late fitness test and lined out at centre back for Tipp while Clare made a whole host of positional switches with Jonathon Clancy playing on the wing, Gilligan at full and Tony Griffin in the corner being marked by Conor O’Brien.
Clare had the first attack of the game but Tony Griffin put it wide, from the resultant puck out Woodlock won the ball ran and scored. Kerwick had a wide before Conor O’Brien was harshly adjudged to have fouled but Mark Flaherty put the free wide. Shane McGrath found Lar who pointed and in the fifth minute Tipp went 3-0 up when a Conor O’Mahony clearance was caught by Kelly and he expertly put it over the bar. Clare came back into the game with a Flaherty free after a Shane Maher foul. A great block by Butler resulted in John O’Brien putting over an exquisite ball from the sideline. Tony Carmody then had a shocking wide. Conor O’Brien fouled Griffin and Flaherty pointed the free. Gilligan missed the target from straight in front of the posts and unmarked. Clare got back level with 2 long range points the first from Colin Lynch and the second from Tony Carmody.
A good run saw Shane McGrath point and he was involved again when Clancy shoulder him into the face and was yellow carded. Conor O’Mahony put the free into the space in front of the Clare goal; it broke to John O’Brien who passed to Lar who got his first of the day. Both sides then had a host of wides with Callinan unlucky after he hit the post with his effort after Clare goalie Philip Brennan messed up. A long Brendan Cummins puck out found Pat Kerwick and he got his first of the day to 7-4 ahead. Shane McGrath fouled Diarmaid McMahon and Mark Flaherty point the free. Gilligan had a wide before a great interception from Callinan on Frank Lohan saw him point for Tipp’s 8th point of the game. Conor O’Mahony’s long range free found Lar who passed to John O’Brien who pointed. Lar then had his run to goal impeded and Kelly pointed the free. Clare made their first change of the game with Mark Falherty being replaced on the edge of the square by Declan O’Rourke.
Then in the 26th minute a long ball was played into Eoin Kelly who despite being fouled held off his man and let Callinan run to goals and he expertly beat Brennan at his near post, Tipp 1-10 Clare 0-5. Tipp then nearly closed out the game when another Callinan goal shot beat Brennan but Lohan was there to flick it away and Lar missed the goal from the rebound about 6 yards out. Paul Curran who was struggling with a shoulder injury for the past 10 minutes was replaced by last year’s All-Star full back after 29 minutes. Conor O’Mahony then won a great free in the corner after a great block on a Clare point effort. Fanning made a great block to stop a certain Clare goal but Clancy was on hand to flick over the point. Tipp got the last score of the half when Shane McGrath found Kelly who pointed. Gilligan had another wide before Brendan Cummins made a great save after a ball into the Tipp defence was pounced on by Carmody and Cummins flicked the shot away with his foot. After 2 minutes of injury time the ref blew up with Tipp ahead 1-11 to 0-6.
Neither team made changes for the start of the second half. Tipp got the first score when Butler found his club mate Callinan and he pointed. Clare had a wide and then Eoin Kelly showed his class when under pressure on the sideline he put a cross field to Shane McGrath who pointed. Carmody pointed for Clare and then Eoin Kelly won the ball in front of goal was thrown to the ground and he got up and pointed the free, so Tipp lead 1-14 to 0-7 after 40 minutes of play. Conor Plunkett was replaced by Gary O’Connell. Clare then had a goal chance when a run in along the endline saw the ball fall to Carmody who missed the goal chance. Lare found Eoin Kelly who pointed. Eoin Kelly passed to John O’Brien who had 2 efforts after his initial effort was blocked and he pointed to make it 1-16 to 0-7 after 44 minutes.
Clare then made a scoring burst. Callinan had a wide. Colin Lynch got another long range point. Shane McGrath was yellow carded for a foul and Gilligan pointed the free. Tipp made their second change with Kerwick being replaced by Webster who went to the edge of the square. Gilligan got a point from play. Seamus Butler was then replaced by Hugh Moloney who went centre forward with Callinan going to the wing. Corcoran got a ball in acres of space and went for his score which he missed. Colin Lynch got his third point from play. Gilligan got another point after Conor O’Mahony dropped the ball and was the clearly held as he went after the ball! Jonathon Clancy got another Clare point to make it 1-16 to 0-14 after 57 minutes.
Tipp now had not scored in 14 minutes and looked in trouble as the Clare crowd got going however on the puck out John O’Brien caught the ball ran 30 yards and blasted to the Clare net. Straight away he took a ball from Kelly and slotted over the bar to make it 2-17 to 0-14 and Tipp had got over Clare’s revival. Declan O’Rourke was replaced by Fergal Lynch. Gilligan got a Clare free before Callinan got a good point. Clare took off the ineffective Tony Griffin and brought on Barry Nugent. A long ball into the corner was won by Webster who passed to Hugh Moloney who pointed. Nugent was fouled and Gilligan pointed the free.
With 62 minutes gone Shane McGrath scored an exquisite sideline cut. Clare took off Diarmaid McMahon and put on Martin Murphy. Webster got to the ball held off his man and on the 14 yard line practically on the sideline he put the ball over the bar. Conor O’Mahony was fouled for a pull on Gilligan who pointed the free. A Clare goal effort saw Brendan Cummins save the ball was not cleared and Corcoran was yellow carded for hauling down Colin Lynch which resulted in a 21 yard free for Clare. Gilligan’s effort was tipped over the bar by Brendan Cummins for the last score of the game. Callinan had the last chance of the game but the ball went wide. After 4 minutes of injury time the ref blew up and Tipp won 2-21 to 0-19. Eoin Kelly and Paul Ormonde lifted the cup.
Mike McNamara will not be happy with many aspects of Clare’s game. 10 first half wides most of them in scorable positions and also about 4-5 ball dropped into Brendan Cummins’ hand really killed what ever hope Clare had of winning the game. This is an old habit which they suffered at the end of Ger Loughnane’s reign. The had a good spell in the second half when they scored 7 points in 14 minutes but that was wiped out in a minute by John O’Brien’s 1-1. His big name players were poor; Tony Griffin was smothered out of the game by Conor O’Brien and Tony Carmody had some shocking wides. Frank Lohan struggled on Lar Corbett and stood in front of Brennan for both Tipp goals instead of going out and trying to stop the oncoming Tipp forward. The occasion did seem to get to some of the younger Clare players and it was left up to the likes of Colin Lynch who worked tirelessly throughout. While Gilligan did score 8 points his misses in the first half were very costly. Mike McNamara was too slow in moving Gerry Quinn centre back and Gilligan to centre forward. Jonathon Clancy was probably the hardest working forward but time and time they dropped the ball short or into Cummins’s hands and they needed goals to win, see the Limerick game, they never threatened the Tipp goals until well into the second half. 3 of the starting forwards were taken off and Declan O’Rourke was brought on and taken off again. While they still are in the quarter finals they have a lot of work to do if they are to threaten to win an All-Ireland.
Liam Sheedy will be overjoyed with this win. Unlike the Cork game Tipp took the game to Clare led pretty much from start to finish except for when levelled after about 10 minutes at 4 points each. Tipp eased into the lead with 3 points and in truth once Callinan goaled it was going to be a massive mountain for Clare to recover. Also Tipp got the first 2 scores of the second half to put even more pressure on Clare and even when Clare had their good spell and got the game back to 5 points there was no panic from Tipp and John O’ Brien’s goal pretty much sealed the win. Again it was the spine of the team that stood up and were counted Cummins, O’Mahony, McGrath and Callinan all contributed handsomely to the Tipp win.
Aspects of the game that will please Sheedy will include; the first 8 Tipp points were scored by 7 different players, 2 midfielders and all the forwards bar Butler Thankfully this has taken a lot of the scoring pressure off Kelly. 8 players scored in total. Tipp only scored 2 points from frees, 1 sideline cut this means that Tipp got 20 scores from play. There was very even scoring spread among the forwards. The much maligned Tipp half forward line scored 2-8 and only 1 of them was taken off! Probably the most pleasing aspect was the amount of Tipp scores that came from the half forwards wining puck outs, turning and scoring, Kerwick did it as also did John O’Brien for his goal. He gambled big time in replacing 2 of them and it paid off in spades. Despite losing one of our best players in Paul Curran; Declan Fanning settled into the game.
Tipp never allowed Clare time or space to let the game develop into a hard hitting physical game that they wanted and the amount of short passes to men in space was a joy to watch. Clare also failed to score a goal. Tipp conceded 3 in the League Final and now in 2 Championship games have only conceded 1. Tipp had 3 goal chances and took 2 of them the second came at a crucial stage of the game. The work rate will also please, Fanning diving full length to stop a goal effort after being introduced, Butler setting up John O’Brien after blocking down a Clare clearance.
Sheedy will not be pleased to have allowed Clare to have that period of dominance in the second half with Gerry Quinn at centre back and Gilligan at centre forward Clare had a 14 minute spell where they hit 7 points without reply. Also the amount of frees that Clare scored will have to be cut down. Tipp also had 3 yellow cards 2 of which were needlessly picked up. Clare scored 19 points on another day when Tipp might not get goals this may have been crucial. Sheedy brought on Webster with 20 minutes to go yet only 3 balls were played into him and none of them at the edge of the square. Tipp will have to cut out the aimless balls which was played at times into the full forward line. It was obvious that Lar did his best work when the ball was played in front of him rather than 50-50 balls high into the full forward line. Tipp seemed to struggle to close the game out and the last 5-10 minutes were very disjointed. However the positives far outweigh the negatives!

Brendan Cummins: Celebrated his 50th Championship game with a clean sheet and his second Munster medal. Superb under the high ball, stopped a goal bound 21 yard effort and had a superb save just before the break with his leg. Good puck outs.

Full back line: Paul Curran seemed to be suffering from the shoulder injury early on and seemed in a bit of discomfort when he went off after 29 minutes. Eamon Buckley had a good game. I am still not 100% convinced but cannot be faulted for today’s effort. Conor O’Brien was in Tony Grifin’s face all day and despite conceding an early free never gave him a look in. Griffin was taken off, did a lot of sweeping along the full back line.

Half back line: Conor O’Mahony was doubtful up until just before throw in with a shoulder injury, he had a might first half, clearing ball after ball, setting up a point for John O’Brien from a long range free and sweeping up behind the half back line. Made a great catch and was then fouled late in the first half and his reaction showed how much he wanted to win. Faded slightly in the second half when the game became disjointed and Gilligan went out centre forward but will be more than glad of his days work. Best game Shane Maher had in a long time cleared a lot of ball and worked tirelessly through out. Is improving game by game. Eamon Corcoran rolled back the years with his display, after suffering in the Cork game was back on top form.

Midfield: In general was very loose with all 4 players enjoying time on the ball. Woodlock got the first point of the day. Did a lot of work until replaced late on by Benny Dunne. Shane McGrath had another powerful display, scored a point from play in either half, set up Eoin Kelly for a point and also pointed a sweet sideline cut. Work rate is unbelievable and covers every blade of grass.

Half forward line: Best display from a Tipp half forward line since 2002. All 3 scored from play and contributed handsomely to stopping Clare getting a grip in this sector. Kerwick scored a first half point. Worked tirelessly throughout, not bad for his first Championship start. Callinan really came of age today. Scored a goal and a point in the first half, 2 second half points and was unlucky that another point effort came back off the post and that his goal effort was stopped by Frank Lohan. Faded a bit in the second half was moved to the wing and had a few wides. Not bad for a guy that was only a sub on the Tipp minor team 2 years ago and is the youngest on the panel. Took his goal superbly beating Brennan at his near post. John O’Brien won the Sunday Game Man of the Match award. Top Tipp scorer from play with 1-3. Scored a crucial goal and a point midway through the second half which killed the game off. Most impressively was his workrate, ran himself into the ground and also set up scores for better placed players. Great to see him back to his best after missing all of last year with injury.

Full forward line: Lar stared off at full forward and scored 2 points from here also was running through on goals when he was brought down. Moved out the field when Webster came on. While Seamus Butler was the only forward not to score he worked tirelessly throughout, picking out better placed team mates and caused a lot of trouble for the Clare backs as he drifted out the field time after time to win the ball. While Eoin Kelly may appeared to have had a quite game look at the statistics; he scored 4 points form play and 2 from frees, 1 of which he was fouled himself and set up 2 points. One of which he set up for Shane McGrath with a superb cross field ball when marked by 2 Clare players on the end line and the other for John O’Brien right after his goal. His point late from the 14 yard line near the sideline was worth the entrance fee alone.

Declan Fanning for Paul Curran: Came on after 29 minutes and straight away dived full length to stop a goal effort. Seemed to struggle to get into the pace of the game, but did not weaken the full back line.

Michael Webster for Pat Kerwick: Came on with 20 minutes to go at full forward and lined out at full forward. Got very little ball into that position and had to come out the field to gain possession. Still he set up points for Hugh Moloney and Eoin Kelly.

Hugh Moloney for Seamus Butler: Came on at centre forward after 53 minutes. Scored a good point and settled the Tipp half forwards down after a spell of Clare dominance. Glad to see him back after 2 shoulder injuries.

Benny Dunne for Woodlock: Came on with 5 minutes to go and was not on long enough to get involved in the play.

So Tipp are Munster Senior Hurling Champions for the first time since 2001 and get a passage directly into the All-Ireland Semi Final on the 17th August. The opposition will not be known for a few weeks yet as one more round of the qualifiers and the All-Ireland Quarter finals still have to be played. However as Munster Champions Tipp will thankfully avoid Kilkenny. The Tipp players will now have to go back to their clubs and at least 1 if not 2 more rounds of games will be played. Liam Sheedy will be keeping his fingers crossed that no injuries will be picked up and that Paul Curran will shake off his shoulder injury. He will be hoping to get those club games over and to have Tipp nice and fresh for the uncharted waters of the All-Ireland Semi-Final. His main task will also be keeping both the players and the supporter’s expectations in check. He will be happy that he has so many players fighting for starting positions. The 19 players who started today will have grounds for inclusion the next day and even the likes of Darragh Hickey, Alan Byrne and Diarmaid Fitzgerald all have previously in Championship and played well in League games this year but yet they were not included in the match day 30.
The players and management can enjoy tonight as they are worth Champions of Munster in 2008 and it was great to see a Tipp man accept that cup after losing our last 3 Munster Finals. However once they get back to training Wednesday night all thoughts of celebrations will be put to bed as Tipp begin their quest for All-Ireland Number 26. Most of this Tipp team have heaps of Munster medals but very few All-Ireland medals. This year could be the chance to rectify that. Tipp have improved game by game this year and while the five week lay off is not ideal it will hopefully give Sheedy and the selectors time to get the Tipp players right to move onto the next level, winning in Croke Park however it will be a big ask as Tipp have lost in each of the last 3 years in Croke Park in the All-Ireland Quarter Finals, (games in which the vast majority of these players have been involved in).
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2008 Munster Senior Hurling Final: Tipperary v Clare (13th July 2008) preview

Tipp and Clare will contest the 2008 Munster Senior Hurling Final on Sunday 13th July in the Gaelic Grounds Limerick. The game starts at 4 o’clock, is live on RTE 2 and the referee is Diarmaid Kirwan from Cork. Tipp will also have the minors involved v Cork. This is the first Championship meeting between the sides since the 2005 Munster Semi Final which Tipp won 2-14 to 0-14. The game turned on a 3 minute spell in the first half when Webster at full forward passed to Lar who goaled, Lar returned the compliment to Webster minutes later and he goaled. Tipp lead 2-7 to 0-7 at the break. Tipp kept pointing away in the second half, mainly through Eoin Kelly as Tipp recorded a 2-14 to 0-14 win. The last meeting in the Munster Final was in 1997 when Clare won 1-18 to 0-18 and the last Munster Final between the sides in Limerick was in 1993 when Tipp won 3-27 to 2-12.
Tipp have a very poor return from Munster Finals this decade. Reaching the Munster Finals in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006 and have only 1 win in 2001 over Limerick; 2-16 to 1-17. Tipp lost to Waterford 2-23 to 3-12 in 2002 and to Cork in both 2005; 1-21 to 1-16, and 2006; 2-14 to 1-14. This is Clare’s first Munster Final appearance since 1999 when they lost 1-15 to 0-14 by Cork and the last final they won was the year before in 1998 when they beat Waterford after a replay 2-16 to 0-10. Clare’s last Championship win over Tipp was in Cork in 2003 which Clare won 2-17 to 0-14. This was Michael Doyle’s first game in charge. Tipp were without the services of Philip Maher who had damaged his cruciate ligament in the League Final 2 weeks previous and were never in contention as Clare dominated from the first whistle and ran out easy winners.
Clare have qualified for this game by winning 2 Championship games. In the Munster Quarter Final they beat reigning Munster Champions Waterford 2-26 to 0-23 and they a few weeks ago they beat last years All-Ireland Finalists 4-12 to 1-16. They were underdogs in the game against Waterford and started brightly with Mark Flaherty scoring a goal after 16 minutes and despite Waterford dominating; scoring 6 points in a row; Clare surged close to half time to go ahead 1-12 to 0-12. Clare’s second goal from Gilligan and the subbing of Dan Shanahan signalled the end of the game as a contest and with Mark Flaherty, Tony Griffin and Diarmaid McMahon all playing superbly Clare won 2-26 to 0-23. In the Semi Final they were also underdogs against Limerick and the early loss of Tony Griffin with a hamstring injury combined with early Limerick points meant they looked in trouble. However a fortuitous goal when a long Pat Vaughan clearance went all the way to the net and a second goal from Jonathon Clancy left Clare 2-7 to 0-6 ahead at the break. Limerick did pull a goal back through Ollie Moran but 2 Clare goals, the first after shocking Limerick defending and the second from Diarmaid McMahon finished the game.
The Clare forwards were very impressive against Waterford scoring 2-15 from play while there were some concerns that they conceded 23 points to a less than fully interested Waterford team. In the Limerick game it was the backs that impressed with the full back line of Pat Vaughan, Frank Lohan and Gerry O’Grady completely snuffing out the Limerick full forward line. They will have serious concerns about the forwards though as despite the half forward line impressing the full forward line failed to get into the game, not helped by the early loss of Tony Griffin with injury. While a lot has been made in the media that the Clare goals resulted from Limerick mistakes, Clare still had to finish off the chances and 6 goals in 2 Championship games is impressive. They have varied their game plan to date, they took their points to beat Waterford and it was the 4 goals that beat Limerick in very windy conditions. Clare have experienced campaigners; Frank Lohan, Colin Lynch and Niall Gilligan all have All-Ireland medals while the likes of Gerry Quinn, Gerry O’Grady and Diarmaid McMahon have been around for a while.
Since the Cork game the Tipp players have gone back to their clubs and most have played at least 2 if not three games. This has had its disadvantages as a whole host of player have got injured or picked up knocks, both Shane McGrath, (head), and Conor O’Mahony, (shoulder), picked up knocks with their clubs last Sunday week in the North Tipp Intermediate Hurling Championship. Eoin Kelly picked up an ankle injury with Mullianhone, Declan Fanning missed a club game and Eamon Corcoran missed Brackens match with an injury. On a positive note Hugh Moloney has recovered from both his shoulder injuries and is taking a full part in training.
A couple of aspects of Tipp’s play in the Semi-Final win over Cork were particularly noteworthy. Firstly was the strength of the Tipp players. Early in the first half Lar Corbett, (not noted as one of the more physical Tipp players), shouldered Sean Og O’Hailpin over the line and won a sideline ball and also late in the game Webster hit Sean Og with another shoulder which sent him reeling. This controlled aggression is a new and very pleasing aspect of Liam Sheedy’s side. Secondly was the fitness of the Tipp players; this is in part due to the work being done by the coach Eamon O’Shea and also Cian O’Neill. In the last 12 minutes of the first half Tipp scored 1-3, (Cork didn’t score), with 10 minutes of the second half to go the sides were level at 1-12. Tipp scored 6 of the last 7 points. Not alone on the score board did Tipp dominate but players along the spine of the team O’Mahony, Shane McGrath, Callinan, Lar and Webster had time on the ball and used it expertly. Thirdly was the manner in which Tipp won. Last year when we beat Cork we were clinging on by our fingernails. This year once we got ahead with an Eoin Kelly free with 10 minutes to go we powered ahead picking off points and stopping Cork from scoring goals. This domination of such an experienced Cork side is the reason Tipp turned a 7 point deficit into a 6 point win.
The Tipp team was announced last night and is as follows:
Brendan Cummins.
Eamonn Buckley, Paul Curran and Conor O'Brien.
Eamon Corcoran, Conor O'Mahony and Shane Maher.
James Woodlock and Shane McGrath.
Pat Kerwick, Seamus Callinan and John O'Brien.
Eoin Kelly (captain), Lar Corbett and Seamus Butler.
The side shows only 2 changes from the team that beat Cork. Not surprising really that they are in the half forward line with Seamus Butler moved into the corner in place of Willie Ryan and John O’Brien replacing him in the half forward line and Pat Kerwick, who performed well when introduced against Cork, replacing Ryan O’Dwyer. While Conor O’Mahony is named he will have to undergo a late fitness test and if is not fit to start then it is more than likely that last years All-Star full back Declan Fanning will line out in his place. Only 4 of this team have Munster medals after starting the 2001 Munster Final: Cummins, Corcoran, Lar and Eoin Kelly with Curran and John O’Brien as subs that day. The Clare team shows only 1 change with Gerry Quinn replacing the suspended Brendan Bugler at corner back. This will nearly strengthen the Clare side as Quinn is a seasoned campaigner and has played against Tipp on a number of occasions. Tony Griffin despite coming off early against Limerick with hamstring injury has been passed fit to start at centre forward.
As expected the Tipp side from 1 to 9 is unchanged, assuming that Conor O’Mahony starts, and this is no surprise as once they got on top of Cork after 20 minutes they performed excellently. While the loss of Conor O’Mahony would be a serious blow to Tipp, him starting not 100% and going off after 20 minutes would be even worse. Fanning has played centre back before and he will not let Tipp down if he starts. Sunday will be a different challenge with the bigger more physical challenge of Clare very different for the lighter Cork forwards and I am sure that Mike Mac will have noticed that playing the extra man out the field caused Tipp serious problems and that the Clare goal came when Cork ran straight at the Tipp goal. In the League game in Ennis Clare’s physical approach caused the Tipp inside back line problems. It will also be interesting to see what Clare do with Jonathon Clancy will he be left to roam the pitch like against Limerick and if so who will Tipp use to follow him. Midfield sees the 2 best performers of the year go head to head in Shane McGrath v Brian O’Connell. Woodlock was replaced the last day and knows that another similar first half will see him replaced by Benny Dunne. Woodlock needs to get the ball in hand and run towards goals before laying off the ball to a better placed colleague.
Again with Tipp serious questions remain about the half forward line. They are lucky that they are not up against the legendary Clare half back line of Doyle, McMahon and Daly or it would be a no contest! While Callinan had a great second half against Cork he was poor in the first half. It is interesting that Tipp have gone for a tall physical half forward line with all 3 players over 6 foot. We know what to expect from John O’Brien 2-3 points however his work rate needs to improve and John please pass the ball every so often! Kerwick gets his chance to impress from the off and will have to be on his toes against the Clare half backs. Butler is lucky to get a second chance after playing so poorly the last day it was probably 50/50 between him and Willie Ryan as how was to start. Butler needs to produce like he did v Limerick in Thurles last year. Again our 2 main scoring threats are closest to goal with Lar and Eoin Kelly on the inside line. Again Sheedy should no be ***aid to move Kelly out the field if no ball is going in to him.
Defeat on Sunday will be a serious blow for Tipp as it will be a fourth Munster Final loss this decade and for most of this team a third loss, 05, 06 and 08. Tipp are favourites for this game but should be wary of Clare. While Clare were underdogs in both of their Championship games to date they went out with a game plan, stuck to it and won. They are a strong physical team and used this to great effect. The prize on Sunday is great not alone being crowned Munster Champions but also a direct spot into the All-Ireland Semi-Final and avoid the likes of Cork, Galway or Waterford in the quarter finals. Both sides are used to this pitch having played there in front of big crowds in the last few months. Although recent bad weather and the playing of the Limerick v Offaly qualifier game on Saturday evening may affect the pitch especially come the second half on Sunday.
How will Sundays game go? Well a lot for Tipp will depend if Conor O’Mahony is 100% fit. If he is then Tipp have a good spine of players up to midfield on the top of their game, Curran, O’Mahony and McGrath. It showed against Cork that when these players dominate and get time to deliver the ball that Lar and Eoin Kelly will get the ball that they want and be able to turn take on their men and score. We need to get ball into Lar early and low so that he can run out the field, bringing Frank Lohan with him like he did to great effect against Sullivan. Tipp also have a good range of subs to bring in; Fanning and Diarmaid Fitzgerald in the backs, Benny in midfield and of course Webster at full forward should be used for the last 20 minutes, high balls in and let Kelly and Lar feed off them. Other subs include Willie Ryan, Ryan O’Dwyer, Darragh Hickey and Pa Bourke. If Tipp keep the game open, get good possession and spread the ball to the corners for Butler Lar and Kelly to turn and run at the Clare defence then Tipp will win. However if Clare keep it tight give no time to the Tipp backs to clear then Clare will win. I think Tipp should have slightly more experience in the tank and should come out by 2-3 points after a close tense game.
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Cork 1-13 Tipperary 1-19 (08-06-08) Knocknagow

Tipp will contest their third Munster Final in four years after a six point win over Cork in the Munster Semi-Final in Pairc Ui Chaiomh in front of 42,823 this afternoon. Both sides lined out as selected and no positional switches took place although the Cork midfielders swapped jersey numbers prior to throw in. The wind was not a factor. Pretty much after the throw in Cork pulled corner forward Cathal Naughton out to play as a third midfielder and Tipp left Eamon Buckley in his position.
Tipp got the first score when after 10 seconds Lar, despite being fouled by Sullivan, got the ball to Shane McGrath and he put it over. Sloppy play by Buckley saw the ball break to Naughton and he levelled it. A short puck out by Cummins to Shane McGrath and he returned the favour to Lar who pointed. Cork then took over Ben O’Connor had a chance but put a free wide. Shane McGrath hurried his shot and put it wide. Corcoran then failed to hold a puck out the ball broke to Ben O’Connor and at full pelt he got through the Tipp defence for the first goal of the game after 8 minutes. Conor O’Mahony then had a long range free that came off the post and was cleared. The twins then teamed up and jerry pointed. Cork were now in control and Cathal Naughton then pointed after a poor puck out and Cork lead 1-3 to 0-2. Both Shane McGrath and Lar had wides one of which came from a great shoulder by Lar which won a sideline. The O’Connors then both pointed the first after poor play from Ryan O’Dwyer and the second after a Conor O’Mahony foul. Cork now lead 1-5 to 0-2.
Willie Ryan got his first of the game to stop the rot with a good point which he made himself after a block on Curran. Lar followed up with a point soon after but then Woodlock had a wide. Paudi O’Sullivan got his first Championship point after a lot of scrambling in the Tipp square. Then both Callinan and Kelly had wides. Naughton pointed, and then Sean Og sauntered up the field to point to put Cork 7 ahead; 1-8 to 0-4. Tipp dominated the rest of the half. Lar played the ball to Callinan he picked out Kelly at the edge of the square despite being tightly marked by Brian Murphy he turned and blasted to the corner of the net, Tipp were now 1-8 to 1-4 behind with 24 minutes gone. Both Conor O’Brien and Cathal Naughton picked up yellow cards. Gardiner put a 65 wide. Tipp then had wides through Willie Ryan, Butler and Woodlock. Tipp made their first change of the game with Ryan O’Dwyer being replaced by Pat Kerwick. Another ball into Kelly saw him solo and blast but Cusack flicked away his effort away. Callinan then was fouled and Kelly pointed for Tipp’s first score from a placed ball. Pat Kerwock then announced himself to Cork with a great point when running along the sideline for his first Championship point. Tipp then completed the scoring when Lar found himself in acres of space and pointed to leave the half time score 1-8 to 1-7 in Cork’s favour after 37 minutes of play. Cronin was yellow carded after a high challenge on Conor O’Mahony.
Neither side made a change after the break. Cork started on the attack when Naughton’s goal effort was put over the bar by Curran after Naughton skinned Corcoran. Callinan got his first point. Pa Cronin then had another goal effort but it was flicked away by Cummins and away past Sullivan as well. Timmy MaCarthey, Shane McGrath, Sean Og and Gardiner all had wides before Cork were thrown a chance to when Pa Cronin was up-ended up Curran, in the 42nd minute who was yellow carded. Surprisingly it was the debutant Paudi O’Sullivan who stepped up to take the penalty. His shot was expertly flicked away by Cummins and the after some great defending the ball was put wide again by Cronin. Tipp made the second change when Benny Dunne was brought on for Woodlock in midfield. Shane McGrath was fouled and Kelly pointed from the 65 to level it at 1-9 each.
Both sides then made changes with Tipp replacing Butler with Michael Webster and Cork brought on Niall McCarthy and Kieran Murphy and took off Kevin Canty and Timmy McCarthy. Ben O’Connor and Tom Kenny to put Cork 2 ahead. Tom Kenny had a wised and then Cummins put the puck out short but it was intercepted and put wide by Cronin. Lar Corbett then got through on goals but was hauled down Brian Murphy who was yellow carded and Kelly pointed the free. Tipp made their fourth change with John O’Brien replacing his club mate Willie Ryan in the corner. Cork put on Brian Corry for Pa Cronin. A high ball into Webster was broken to Eoin Kelly who pointed to level the game.
Ben O’Connor pointed a 21 yard free after a foul in the Tipp full back line. However the momentum was now with Tipp and Tipp were back level after a good ball from Conor O’Mahony was caught and pointed by Webster to level. The next high bal into the square saw Sullivan haul Webster to the ground despite his protestations and then saw some typical gamesmanship from Cusack as he hid the sliothars from Kelly. Kelly pointed the free to put Tipp 1-13 to 1-12 ahead with 10 minutes to go. Callinan then got a good point after the ball was broken by Kelly. Good play by Webster put pressure on Brain Murphy he conceded a sideline which Corcoran expertly cut over the bar and then raced back to his position to clear the puck out. Eoin Kelly then pointed as Tipp turned the screw.
Benny Dunne then clattered into Ben O’Connor and got yellow carded for it, but Ben missed the free. Lar got another Tipp point before Brain Corry got Cork’s last score. Cork brought on Joe Deane and Pa Horgan for Paudi O’Sullivan and Niall McCarthy. Diarmaid O’Sullivan then got yellow carded after a sneaking trip on Lar. Kelly did the needful from the resultant free to put 5 between the sides. Cork were now panicking and going for goals and Corcoran cleared the lines. Callinan got the last point of the day as 3 minutes of injury time was announced. Conor O’Mahony was yellow carded when stopped a charge on the Cork goal. Tipp made their last change with Darragh Egan replacing Callinan. Joe Deane had the last chance of the game but is was blocked and cleared out. After 38 minutes the ref blew up and Tipp had won 1-19 to 1-13.
Gerald McCarthy will not be happy with the standard of his teams effort. After 24 minutes they had 1-8 on the board and lead by 7 points. After 73 minutes they had only 5 more points 4 of these from play, so in the last 49 minutes they only score 4 points from play. This shocking enditement of Cork’s bad performance is backed up by the fact that all 5 changes were made in the forwards. 4 were taken off and Niall McCarthy bizarrely brought on and then taken off again. The full forward line was wiped out. Cork had 8 wides in the second half mostly from way out and the short passing game seemed to be abandoned with no visible alternative. While Naughton started off well once Tipp went man on man he did very little. While Timmy McCarthy was not up to his usual self he still was causing Corcoran trouble and it was noticeable that Corcoran improved drastically when he went off. How the management stayed looking at Sullivan for so long when he was clearly injured and being cleaned out is amazing. He conceded 3 points to Lar in the first half and Lar set up a Shane McGrath point. In the second half Webster scored a point off him, set up Kelly and won a free off him. That is 7 points he conceded! The other puzzling decision was letting the debutant Pauidi O’Sullivan take the crucial penalty, why didn’t either his brother or Ben O’Connor both vastly more experienced players take it. It showed as the effort was weak and well saved by Cummins. On a more worrying level for Cork it is now 5 games since they last won a Championship game, lost to Tip last year in Thurles, failed to beat Waterford twice in the All-Ireland Quarter Final and now losing to Tipp today. One has to ask have we seen the beginning of the end of such great players as the Joe Deane, the O’Connors and the McCarthy’s, hopefully not. While their defence is solid enough, (with the exception of Sullivan), they are struggling in the front 6. They head into the qualifiers with serious problems, but may still have a kick in them in the quarter finals.
So in the 78th Championship meeting of the sides Tipp have won their first Championship game v Cork in Cork since 1923. This is a very significant victory for Sheedy and Tipp. They was serious amounts of pooh written all week about 85 years since last Tipp win in Cork over Cork Tipp have peaked too soon done way more training than other teams, will be burnt out, not fresh enough, blah, blah, blah. The importance of this game was signified by the vast Tipp crowd at the game and the reaction of Sheedy to the final whistle. Yes there are some serious problems for Tipp to be solved , 9 first half wides, the panic and lack of game plan to cope with Naughton going out a third midfielder, the half forward line is still far from the finished article and the fact that Tipp only won 9 out of 25 of their own puck outs! Still its better to have these problems before a Munster Final rather than the qualifiers. If Naughton had been closed down earlier the game would have been over well before the end. The effect of the third midfielder was that Cusack had even more targets for his short puck outs. Thankfully for Tipp Curran did not yield an inch to Cronin on the edge of the square.
Now for the positives! 8 players scored, (7 from play), Tipp scored 1-13 from play, only had 1 wide and scored 12 points in the second half, (while Cork only scored 5 times in the last 49 minutes Tipp scored 16 time s1-15), the subs produced the goods; Kerwick disrupted Gardiner and scored a good point and Webster caused Sullivan all sorts of trouble. Again most importantly was the way Tipp blocked chased, harried and generally disrupted Corks short passing game. Willie Ryan’s point came from him blocking a Curran clearance. Conor O’Mahony set up a point with a block on a Cork forward. Tipp also never panicked even when Cork went 7 ahead and just kept plugging away and scored 1-4 in the last 11 minutes of the first half. Tipp’s big name players produced the goods despite being under severe pressure Cummins blocked the penalty and 2 other goal efforts, Corcoran was been given the run around by Naughton and Corcoran but stuck to his guns scored a peach of a sideline and finished strongly, Eoin Kelly got the ball only 4 time sin the first half as he was being expertly marked by Brian Murphy, he fumbled the first, put the second wide and goaled the third! The newer players came good, Callinan was quiet in the first half but scored 3 excellent second half points off Curran, Kerwick scored a good point and Conor O’Brien was tight. Another aspect that will have pleased Sheedy is that 20 players got game time this along with more club games for Diarmaid Fitzgerald and Hugh Moloney will give him more grey hairs before the Munster Final.

Brendan Cummins: Could do nothing about the goal, even though he got a touch to it. Blocked the penalty and cleared it out the sideline. Made 2 other excellent saves and commanded his area well when coming out for balls. Great to see him back to his best after last year. Messed up a few short puck outs which could be punished the next day.

Full backline: Curran was immense. Saved a goal effort at the start of the second half, used his experience to drag down and concede the penalty for his foul on Cronin. Never let Cronin get a sniff of the ball when he stood on the edge of the square. Once Buckley went out to Naughton the Tipp backs tightened up. Settling into the Tipp set up well. Conor O’Brien was the new boy in the Tipp back line and I though Cork would test him but he didn’t let Sullivan have a sniff of the ball.

Half back line: Cork targeted Shane Maher early on. He took a bit of time to settle but caught 1 great ball over his man’s head and from then on never looked back. Still a bit slow with his clearances but a good days work from the Burgess man. Rumours all week were that Corcoran was struggling with an ankle injury and he did not seem 100%, however it is a sign of the guy that he finished the game superbly, scoring a sideline, blocking Cork attacks and back in the Tip square late on to repel Cork goal efforts. Conor O’Mahony was deservedly voted the RTE Man of the Match and showed why Liam Sheedy has built this defence around him. Like all the Tipp players took a bit of time to settle but once he got on top I don’t think Kevin Canty, or any of the other Cork players tried at centre forward got a look in. Was immense in the second half, breaking up Cork attacks and driving Tipp forward.

Midfield: Shane McGrath stared off well with a point after 10 seconds. Hit a few wides when putting the ball into the full forward line was a better option. As busy as always and caused Cork endless trouble. James Woodlock was quiet, he also hit a few wides when the pass was the better option. Did not carry as much ball as in the League Final, maybe on instructions of the management? Replaced by Benny Dunne.

Half forward line: Tipp survived here without prospering. Callinan scored 3 excellent second half points after a quiet first half although he did set up Kelly’s goal in the first. More importantly he did not let Curran did not dominate this sector. Seamus Butler and Ryan O’Dwyer very quiet, neither scored and got very little ball and Sean Og and Gardiner were Cork’s 2 best players. However both the Tipp players had great workrate and blocked and harried until they were called ashore.

Full forward line: Willie Ryan got very little ball. Took his point well in the first half but was starved of decent ball. Eoin Kelly was again expertly marked by Brian Murphy. Got very little ball in the first half, but did much better with the breaking ball off Webster, scored 1-2 from play, and 5 from frees. Worked and worked and never let his head drop, really leading this team by example. Lar played Sullivan expertly got 3 first half points off him and set up Shane McGrath for another, and if he had been steadier would have had 2 more. His coming out the field left the room for Kelly to create his goal. Scored a point in the second half. Tipp should have exploited his pace more.

Subs: Pat Kerwick for Ryan O’Dwyer: Came on with about 5 minutes to go in the first half and scored a great point pretty much with his first touch in Championship. It was noticeable that Gardiner was not as commanding when he came on. Caught a few puck outs and was harshly pulled up for over carrying.

Benny Dunne for James Woodlock: Came on just after the break. Play bypassed him a lot, made himself available for passes and got yellow carded for a charge on Ben O’Connor.

Michael Webster for Seamus Butler: Came on at the edge of the square to renew acquaintance with Sullivan. Won a free, should have won another soon after, broke a ball to Kelly who pointed and scored a point after a great catch. Great to see the big man have such a good cameo.

John O’Brien for Willie Ryan: Came in with time nearly up at corner forward.

Darragh Egan for Seamus Callinan: Came on just as the game was over, didn’t get a touch.

So Tipp are back in the Muster Final on the 13th July. Sheedy can sit back and enjoy Clare Limerick match in Thurles! However he will have a lot of sleepness nights after today’s game, how will he keep the payers fresh, reel in fans expectations, keep the media at bay, praying that no players get injured in club games coming up, (especially considering there are a few local derby games coming up!!!), will the same 15 start definitely Kerwick and Webster improved matters greatly when introduced and of course who will play in the half forward line! Sheedy needs to emphasise that nothing is won and will have to work hard so that Tipp don’t gift the opposition a 7 point start in the Munster Final as it may not be as easy to pull back. Again it remains to be seen if this long break will suit Tipp. However that is all for the next few weeks the Tipp players can enjoy tonight and the next few days before getting ready to try and capture Tipp first Munster Senior Hurling title since 2001.


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Cork v Tipperary (08/05/08) Preview Knocknagow
Tipp and Cork meet in the Munster semi final on next Sunday in Pairc Ui Chaiomh, throw in at 2.15 and the ref is Barry Kelly of Westmeath. The game will be preceded by the intermediate game between the same sides. The winners will meet the winners of the Limerick v Clare game in the Munster Final on the 13th July. The game is live on RTE 2. This is the first meeting in the Munster Championship in Pairc Ui Chaiomh since the 2005 Munster Final which Cork won 1-21 to 1-16. Tipp were roasted in the first half and the placing of Eamon Corcoran out of position at corner back did not help as Cork; through a Joe Deane goal lead 1-13 to 0-5 at the break after a woefully inept Tipp performance. Tipp pointed there way back into the game and with 7 minutes to go got a scrambled goal through Tommy Dunne, reduced the lead 4 but Cork ran out winners despite a few last minute Tipp goal efforts. In the 2006 Munster Final an early Lar Corbett goal settled Tipp but goals from Deane and Ben O’Connor left Cork level 2-6 to 1-9 at the break. Cork got their noses in front and held out for a 2-14 to 1-14 win. Cork also won the 2000 Munster Final and the 1992 Munster Semi Final so 1991 Munster Final replayed epic was the last time Tipp beat Cork in the Munster Championship. Of course Tipp did shock Cork in the final round of the qualifiers last year in Thurles. Cork dominated the start of the game and lead 6 points to 1 at the quarter hour mark. Tipp then got a goal when Willie Ryan collected a pass from Webster and goaled. Cork lead 12 to 1-8 at the break. In the second half Willie Ryan again goaled and Tipp went 6 points up. With Fanning and Corcoran immense Tipp withstood a late Cork charge and picked off enough late points through Darragh Egan and John Carroll to win by 2-16 to 1-18.
What should be remembered about last years game was that Tipp did not have Eoin Kelly, started with 2 Championship debutants Darragh Hickey and Alan Byrne, had serious internals problems with the management and yet managed to produce their best performance of the year scoring 2-13 from play and giving Cork their second Championship loss of the year. Ultimately it did not get better for either side as Cork lost to Waterford after a rip roaring All-Ireland Quarter Final and Tipp flopped against Wexford in the other Quarter Final. A couple of things from that game which may be relevant for Sunday are that, Benny Dunne operating at centre forward gave Ronan Curran a torrid time of it, with no Eoin Kelly to bail them out the rest of the forwards upped their game and Willie Ryan scored 2 goals, with Seamus Butler and Darragh Hickey also contributing vital scores.
So far this year Tipp have only been beaten once, in their second game of the year a challenge to Wexford. Since then Tipp went through the Waterford Crystal unbeaten and also won the League unbeaten. They beat Waterford, Kilkenny and Galway in the last 3 games to win their 19th League crown. This game was on the 20th of April and since then most players have been heavily involved in club Championship games and Tipp have also played 2 challenge games in the mean time, with a weakened Tipp side beating a weakened Galway side on the 5th of May in Nenagh 1-15 to 1-12. Not much to say about the game only that both Declan Fanning and Benny Dunne impressed. The following Sunday evening Tipp beat Limerick 2-18 to 2-12 after a niggly game in Dundrum with Seamus Callinan impressing at centre forward. On the injury front Diarmaid Fitzgerald seems to have recovered from a virus and Hugh Moloney who suffered a damaged shoulder against Galway in the League damaged the other shoulder in a club game with Nenagh; both these players are back training but may not have had enough games time to warrant a starting jersey. Eamon Corcoran, Ryan O’Dwyer, Lar Corbett and Willie Ryan all picked up knocks in recent club games but should be ok for Sunday.
There were a lot of pluses from the League Final win, once Tipp got the lead early in the second half they maintained it despite Galway coming back into the game, Tipp scored 3-18, and the workrate and attitude of the players was immense. However Tipp conceded 19 scores and to do so against Cork would not be good enough. There is a lot of crap been written about Tipp and how like 2001 this year is shaping up with Tipp winning the League. However I think this is seriously misleading. In ‘01 Tipp had Nicky English in his 3rd year in charge and each year had seen progression from the last. ‘01 also had a far settled team, with a target man at the edge of the square, Declan Ryan, and scoring wing forwards in Brian O’Meara, Lar and Mark O’Leary. This year it is different we have a rookie manager, (remember he was playing club hurling this time last year), while we have a number of players with All-Ireland medals we lack a Declan Ryan style figure to hold the forwards together and be used as a target man. Also this Cork side is vastly experienced with many of them with 3 All-Ireland Senior medals and a serious point to prove.
The Tipp team was announced last night and is as follows:
Brendan Cummins.
Eamonn Buckley, Paul Curran and Conor O'Brien.
Eamon Corcoran, Conor O'Mahony and Shane Maher.
James Woodlock and Shane McGrath.
Seamus Butler, Seamus Callinan and Ryan O'Dwyer.
Eoin Kelly (captain), Lar Corbett and Willie Ryan.
The side shows only 1 change from the team that won the League Final with Seamus Callinan replacing Benny Dunne. Callinan starts at centre forward with Woodlock returning to midfield and Ryan O’Dwyer going out to the wing. Interestingly only 6 of this side started the game less than 12 months ago v Cork! Given the lack of games and injuries to Hugh Moloney and Diarmaid Fitzgerald the backs pick themselves as these are the men in possession, with Annacarthy’s Conor O’Brien starting his first Championship game. It will be interesting to see how the Cork full forwards line out as Pa Cronin had good success off Buckley at the start of last years game. James Woodlock returns to his best position and it was noticeable that he played a lot when moved to the middle of the field in the League Final. As has been the case for the past number of years the problem area of the half forward line sees more changes. Seamus Callinan gets his first Championship start. To be honest I am surprised he is starting as in the Tipp games to date he has done his best work coming in with 20 minutes to go when the marking has got slack and rifled over a few points. I thought that Dwyer would be centre with Kerwick and Butler on either side. However Sheedy is the man watching them in training for the past months so he is in the best position to judge. The full forward line is again our main threat as it was Willie Ryan whose 2 goals got us over the line against Cork last year and with Eoin Kelly returning to form during the League if they get enough ball they will do damage. Hopefully Lar’s injuries have cleared up as he will need to be on top of his game to keep out of the clutches of Sullivan.
The Cork team was picked last Tuesday night and they have a number of players with little Championship experience. Pauidi O’Sullivan, Pa Cronin and Cathal Naughton form a very raw full forward line. The Tipp full back line will have to exploit there rawness by giving them no time on the ball and keeping them under severe pressure for the whole game. I would not be surprised if both sides make a number of changes before throw in. There will definitely be a few positional switches.
For Tipp to win they have to keep the ball away from Cork’s big players, Diarmaid Sullivan, (no pun intended!!), the Cork half backline and the O’Connor’s. This is much easier said than done. Tipp will also have to take the goal opportunities that come their way, as happened in the League Final. The bulk of this Tipp side have played and lost to Cork in 2 recent Munster Finals and hopefully this will be used as a motivational tool. A lot of pressure will rest on the Tipp half forward line. As I said above I am surprised that Seamus Callinan was not left on the bench and sprung with 20 minutes to go. Our half forwards are small and not great at winning primary possession and if Tipp don’t break even here we are in trouble. They have to win ball, stop the Cork backs coming out and passing the ball onto the forwards, hassle and harry them at every opportunity, get a few scores and let the ball into the full forward line where our principal scoring threats in Kelly and Lar are. Again Cummins will have to vary his puck outs, going long as he did to great effect in the League Final or short to Woodlock and McGrath. A lot will also depend on Shane McGrath he has been Tipp’s best player of the year so far and both he and Woodlock need to win and use primary possession quickly and wisely. Cork do have the likes of Niall McCarthy and Joe Deane to bring in if things get tough whereas we will be struggling especially in the forwards as for the backs Fanning and Diarmaid Fitz are great back up to have, for the forwards the likes of Pat Kerwick, Tommy Fitzgerald and Michael Webster will not strike fear into the Cork players if they come off the bench. Although considering how Benny Dunne gave Ronan Curran the run about last year he may be an option as well.
So how do I see this game going? Well Tipp have lost 5 out of the last 6 games to Cork and have not won beaten Cork in Cork since 1923. Cork will be well up for this game and very anxious to put the shenanigans of the “strike” behind them. Cork are always dangerous and giving that they showed nothing in the league Tipp don’t know what to expect. Crucially the strongest Cork line is the half back line of Sean Og, Curran and captain Gardiner which will be marking Tipp’s weakest line of half forward. This I believe will be the crucial aspect of the game. If Cork get on top here they will cut off the supply into the Tipp inside line and also put the Tipp full back line under pressure. Tipp also have a green rookie manager in Sheedy up against Gerald McCarthy who has been around the block a fair few times and will want a Cork win to get revenge for last year and set them up to stop Kilkenny winning a 3 in a row. The younger Tipp players will have no fear of Cork having beaten them at minor and U21 age groups regularly over the last few years. The setting of Pairc Ui Chaoimh may be a new experience for a number of them but it should not have a big bearing on the game. Unfortunately I think that this Tipp side is still a bit too young and green and the experience of intense Championship game will sneak a tight game for Cork with them pulling away in the last 5-10 minutes to win by 3 points.