Tipperary Hurling Tipperary GAA Premierview

Kilkenny 2-22 Tipperary 0-23 (2009 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final) 06-09-09 Knocknagow

Kilkenny won the 2009 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final and their first four in a row with a 5 point win over Tipp this afternoon in Croke Park in front of a capacity crowd of 82,106. Neither side made any late changes before the throw in but Kilkenny made a number of positional switches the main ones being; Shefflin to full forward, Larkin to centre forward and Richie Hogan to the corner with Eddie Brennan on the wing. Despite talk of injuries to Fanning and Kerwick they both played although Kerwcik had his left knee bandaged. Tipp made a number of switches as well with Lar out centre forward, Kelly in the corner and Callanan at full forward. There was no wind and the pitch held up well considering it was pouring rain all morning and how greasy it was underfoot.
Kilkenny had the first attack of the game which resulted in a high ball into the Tipp full back line and Curran was fouled. Tipp’s first attack saw Noel McGrath pass to Festy but his effort went wide. Callanan then got done by Tyrell with a ridiculous blatant shoulder charge into his midriff and the ref laughably gave a throw in. Kilkenny then got a soft free and Shefflin opened the scoring with a free. Kilkenny had a wide. Eoin Kelly got Tipp’s first score after he was fouled and he nailed the free after 8 minutes. A high ball into Paudie Maher was missed by him and it fell to Shefflin but his weak effort and Brendan Cummins stood up well to flick the ball out for a 65 which he put wide. Kerwick then caught a great ball and was fouled with Kelly again doing the needful. The ball then broke to Callanan on the 21 and he hit it tamely wide with loads of time. A long range Conor O’Mahony free hit off Tommy Walsh but the umpire called it wide. A good pass from Conor O’Mahony pass found Lar and on the run he pointed for Tipp’s first from play after 14 minutes to leave it 3-1. Shane McGrath won the ball in midfield but Brendan Maher fumbled the ball and Eddie Brennan nipped in to point.
Shane McGrath passed to Eoin Kelly and he pointed. Tommy Walsh outlined his undoubted class with an excellent point from midfield. Conor O’Mahony was then hooked by Shefflin and the ball ran to Larkin who pointed. Eddie Brennan then nipped in for Kilkenny’s third point in a row. A long range effort from John O’Brien dropped short and McGarry cleared it after an initial fumble. Brendan Maher fouled and Shefflin scored to put Kilkenny a point ahead. A great clearance by Paudie Maher broke towards goal and PJ Ryan cleared it off Kerwick’s hurley and it was given as a 65 which Kelly pointed. Lar scored a great point on the run to level it at 6 points each. A great pass from John O’Brien found Eoin Kelly and he won a free which he pointed. Derek Lyng then scored a point but Kilkenny earned it with superb defending from Tipp giving Kilkenny not an inch of space. Richie Hogan scored his first of the day. Shane McGrath was fouled on the 65 and Eoin Kelly pointed the free.
Noel McGrath passed to Lar who was fouled and Kelly again pointed the free. Festy passed to Lar who scored sweetly on the run as Tipp went 10-8 up with 30 minutes gone. Conor O’Mahony fouled and Shefflin pointed. Callanan was again hauled to the ground and no free given by Kirwan. A high ball into the Tipp full back line broke to Richie Hogan but he hit it poorly and the ball went wide. Eddie Brennan scored a great point from the sideline to level it. Richie Hogan was blocked with his run on goals and Sefflin pointed the free. Eoin Kelly took a great pass from Woody and despite falling managed to point. Richie Power then won a free which was ridiculous as Paudie Maher was on the ground and Power pulled his faceguard, (a straight red card offence), Kirwan gave Kilkenny the free which was pointed by Shefflin. Richie Power got eh last score of the half with appoint on the run. The ref blew after 2 minutes of injury time with Kilkenny ahead 13-11.
Neither side made any change at the start of the second half. Tipp had the first chance of the half as Festy passed to John O’Brien but it tailed wide. Tipp then had a great goal chance when a superb ball from Festy in the corner found Callanan running at goals however his goal effort was tipped around the post by PJ Ryan which Eoin Kelly missed. Eoin Kelly passed to Callanan and he got his first of the game. Straight away he intercepted a Kilkenny clearance and pointed to level. Callanan passed to Shane McGrath and from a tight angle he scored a superb point. Richie Power was fouled and Shefflin pointed. Lar Corbett then made an excellent run, drew the Kilkenny backs and passed back over his shoulder to Eoin Kelly who just as he wound himself up to shoot half slipped and his shot had no power, yet fair play to Ryan he dived full length and turned it around the post for a 65 which Kelly nailed. Richie Hogan levelled matters for Kilkenny with a point.
Tipp made the first change on 47 minutes with Benny on at wing forward for John O’Brien. Lar was fouled and Kelly again pointed. Paudie Maher was frontal charged as he came out of defence with the ball, and Tipp got the free despite Shefflin’s whining to the ref that he dived. Kilkenny made their first change with Aidan Fogarty off and TJ Reid. Kerwick had a poor wide. Kikenny the brought on their captain Fennelly and took off Derek Lyng. Lar scored an excellent point. Shefflin passed to Fennelly and he pointed. In the 54th minute the game turned; as Tommy Walsh and Benny jumped for the ball Tommy flicked the back of Benny’s helmet, Benny then pulled full force across his head and rightly got his marching orders. Kilkenny made Kavanagh the spare man. To compound matters Shefflin scored the long range free. Martin Comerford replaced Richie Hogan for Kilkenny.
A high ball into Eoin Kelly saw him practically straddled by JJ Delaney who belatedly got a yellow card. Given the position Tipp were in Kelly went for goal but was saved by Ryan for a 65 which he pointed. Kelly then shrugged off the attentions of a Kilkenny back to turn twice and curl the ball superbly over the bar to put 14 man Tipp 2 up with 58 minutes gone. Shane McGrath was unlucky with along range effort. Kavanagh then fumbled a ball and quick as a flash and Callanan nipped in to point, with the help of the post, for his 3rd of the game to put Tipp 3 up with 10 minutes to go. Noel McGrath then had a wide. Reid pointed for Kilkenny. Festy had a great catch but his effort was wide. In the 62nd minute Shefflin got his first point from play. With Fanning down receiving treatment Cummins put the ball out to Noel McGrath who scored from half way.
Kilkenny then got a penalty which was not as Power was fouled well out side the square. Comerford got the ball as Conor O’Mahony slipped and passed it to Power. Shefflin buried the ball despite Cummins getting a stick to it. Kilkenny showed their class as with 60 seconds they had their second goal with Comerford goaling. Kilkenny now led 2-19 to 0-21. Tipp did not drop their heads and won a free when Shefflin was yellow carded as he hauled down Shane McGrath. Eoin Kelly made a hash of the free and it was cleared. Tipp made their second change with Willie Ryan on for Kerwick. Noel McGrath scored a point after a great Callanan pass. He went for a goal by Ryan flicked it over the bar. Tyrell scored a point from a massive distance out. Woody was fouled and as Kelly pointed the free Woody was replaced by Webster.
Tipp now had Noel McGrath operating put around midfield. Tipp were only a goal down as the game went into injury time. Larkin scored the insurance point as Fanning was too shattered to run after him. He again got the last point of the game after a Paudie Maher slip. The ref blew after 2 minutes of injury time with Kilkenny deservedly winning their 32nd All-Ireland Final on a 2-22 to 0-23 scoreline.
The Sunday Game gave PJ Ryan the Man of the Match award and he was the worthy winner pulling off saves from an Eoin Kelly 21 yard free, and Callanan, Kelly and Noel McGarth all in open play. He has taken stick in the past but by God did he prove his worth last Sunday! However mention must also be made of Tommy Walsh who was outstanding all day, not alone in winning ball, but with is deliveries and also scored a great point. For Tipp Conor O’Mahony was outstanding caught ball after ball, Paudie Maher once he settled into the game, up front Lar was superb destroying Brian Hogan in the first half. Eoin Kelly was also outstanding he should have had a saddle on him as every ball that came into him he had a Kilkenny man on his back.
Credit where credit is due Brian Cody is some manager. Kilkenny were in trouble with about 10 minutes to go as Tipp were in the ascendancy. He sent on Fennelly, Comerford and Reid and they scored 1-2 with Comerford also giving the pass to Power that led to the penalty. Kilkenny did not panic and I suppose that comes with winning so much. Kilkenny had 11 different scorers and despite some of their big names struggling; Shefflin did not score from play till the 62nd minute, Brian Hogan conceded 6 points from centre back, 3 to Lar in the first half and the same to Callanan in the second, midfield was poor and in the forwards Aidan Fogarty and Richie Hogan saw very little ball they still they ground out a result. In the last 9 minutes they outscored Tipp 2-3 to 2 points. Kilkenny won the game by denying Tipp goal scoring opportunities. Anytime a Tipp player stated a run to goals, he was stopped, the Kilkenny backs did not care if it was legal or not, they were not letting Tipp run at goals. Twice in the first half Callanan went on a run and was absolutely nailed. The fact that Kilkenny had only 5 wides emphasises how clinical they are. The Kilkenny backs despite creaking held their shape and allowed the forwards to pick off the few chances they got at the other end. In the second half when Tipp were dominating they still nicked the odd point to keep in line with Tipp. With 5 minutes to go they exploited the extra man to get the second goal and when they needed him Larkin who had been quiet all game score the last 2 insurance points to seal the win.
Liam Sheedy will be absolutely shattered and disappointed at the result. The fact that every single one of the starting 15 gave 100% out on the field and Kilkenny were stretched like never before in the last 4 years will mean absolutely nothing to him. Tipp started off nervously enough and if either Shefflin or Richie Hogan had taken either of their first half chances at goals the game could have been over way sooner.
The positives for Tipp. Despite Tipp not scoring goals they still out pointed Kilkenny; not much conciliation I know as Tipp lost! The physicality that Tipp showed, especially all 6 backs matched Kilkenny all day. Tipp upped their game another gear from the Limerick game. Tipp hassled and harried all day, any time a Kilkenny player got the ball there were a number of Tipp players swarming around him and Kilkenny had to seriously earn a lot of their scores. Despite the sending off the Tipp players never dropped the head and it was only as the game went into injury time that Kilkenny got 4 points ahead; this despite playing for the previous 15 minutes against 14 men and 12 of those playing in their first All-Ireland! Tipp had superb performances from Kelly, Lar Paudie Maher, Fanning and O’Mahony.
The negatives: To me while the sending off was critical I thought that Tipp lost the game with the third quarter. Tipp came out after the break and wiped the floor with Kilkenny for that spell, every where except on the score board. The backs especially Paudie Maher and Conor O’Mahony didn’t give Kilkenny a sniff. Tipp went in at the break 2 points down and after 52 minutes led 17-15. Tipp had 2 great goal chances in this spell that were saved and also bad wides from Kelly and Kerwick as well as a wide Kelly from a 65 after Callanan’s goal effort. If Tipp had even got 1 of those goals Kilkenny would have had to come out and pressure Tipp thus leaving space in the back line for Noel McGrath and Lar to exploit. Cody sent on 3 subs and they scored 1-2, Sheedy sent on Benny Dunne, Willie Ryan and Webster sums up the respective benches really! Despite Tipp playing superbly in the first half Kilkenny seemed to get their scores easier, with Eddie Brennan hardly doing a tap in the first half but still scored 3 points. Not only did Tipp have 9 wides to Kilkenny’s 5 they also were more score able ones. Only 5 Tipp players scored from play compared to 11 for Kilkenny. Tipp only scored 14 times from play with neither John O’Brien nor Kewrick scoring.
Another criticism that could possibly me made of Sheedy is of the subs that were sent on. We need someone to win ball in the half forward line, now Benny Dunne is not a ball winning half forward, why wasn’t Gearoid Ryan or Paul Kelly sent on or even Noel McGrath moved out. Why Willie Ryan went on I don’t know. The instant Kilkenny got their first goal Webster should have come on as route on was the only way we were going to goal as the game wore on. Strengthening the bench so that we have reliable replacements is the main improvement that has to be made for 2010.
I know there will be comment on the ref and his display. And despite some rubbish on the Sunday Game about its great that he let the game flow he missed crucial decisions in both halves which had a major effect on the game. Twice Callanan was blatantly fouled in the first half. The first one after about 5 minutes was such a blatant frontal charge it should have been a yellow card and a free for Tipp as he was clearly lifted off his feet but all Kirwan did was to throw in the ball. The second time Callanan was hauled to the ground on the 21 and the ref gave no free only waved play on! Also late on the first half Richie Power wrongly won a free while having his hands on the faceguard of Paudie Maher, Shefflin scored the free. In the second half there was no way on earth that was a penalty to Kilkenny as he was fouled well outside the square. Now I don’t have any qualms about the sending off of Benny Dunne and mention must also be made of Tommy Walsh who got up with the minimum of fuss. At the game and also on TV there were 2 previous tussles between the pair and in them Benny can be clearly seen kicking out at Tommy Walsh. Of course Tommy Walsh should not have tipped Benny’s helmet as the ball was dropping but Benny’s reaction was completly over the top. Another aspect that annoyed me was that the persistent fouling that occurred on Eoin Kelly and yet it was not until late on in the game that the ref gave a yellow card.

Brendan Cummins: Stood up tall for Shefflin’s chance in the first half and flicked it wide. Could not be faulted for the either goal. The accuracy from his puck outs was superb both long and short and hopefully Tipp can use it more often

Full back line: Paul Curran had a good game never allowed Aidan Fogarty out of his sight. Paddy Stapleton was also good on Richie Hogan who despite scoring 2 points never got into the game. Paudie Maher was absolutely outstanding after a dodgy first 5 minutes. Was targeted by Kilkenny with high balls into Shefflin early on but was immense. Withstood high ball after high ball in the second half and despite taking a very heavy shoulder to the head did not flinch. A rock on which Sheedy will build future teams

Half back line: Brendan Maher was again superb, at only 20 years of age dealt well with Eddie Brennan and was unlucky that Brennan nicked 3 first half points. Team Captain Conor O’Mahony led by example, was dominating Larkin so much that Shefflin was put out centre forward and he too was cleaned out. Unfortunately his slip allowed Comerford get a run for the penalty. Declan Fanning had a great game caught and cleared ball after ball and was a crucial cog as the Tipp half back line dominated the Kilkenny half back line for 65 minutes.

Midfield: Tipp won the midfield battle. Shane McGrath scored an outstanding point in the second half and never stopped running all game, using any ball he got very intelligently. James Woodlock also had a good game and it was noteworthy that Lyng was the first of the 4 midfielders to be taken off.

Half forward line: Seamus Callanan took a ferocious cynical frontal charge early on and was obviously winded and didn’t get going until the second half. Some of the criticism of him by Tipp fans was uncalled for considering the belts he took in the first half and playing out of position at full forward. Had a lot better second half scoring 3 points when moved back out to centre forward and while he should have buried that goal chance. Pat Kerwick worked his socks off, going back into defence and wining ball but needs to unload the ball sooner rather than running into contact and losing possession. Had a few bad wides but considering he was injured in the build up to the game and had a bandaged knee he played ok until he faded out and was replaced late on. Did pick out Callanan with a pin point pass early in the second half. John O’Brien was on Tommy Walsh and it was obviously a tactic from the Tipp management that he was to wander and pick up loose ball and make Tommy Walsh leave the half back line. Not a successful tactic as Tommy Walsh cleared an amount of ball. John O’Brien faded badly in the second half until replaced by his club mate Benny Dunne in the 47th minute.

Full forward line: Eoin Kelly was absolutely outstanding. It’s a long time since anyone scored 13 points in an All-Ireland Final and finished on a losing side. Definitely one of the greatest hurlers of this generation. In the first half scored 8 points in total; 1 65, 3 from play and 4 frees. In the second half scored 5 times; 1 65, 3 frees and a point from play. At least 3 of the frees that he scored were from times he was fouled. Had a great chance of a goal a t the start of the second half but slipped at the vital moment, (eerily reminiscent of Leahy in the 1997 All-Ireland Final). Was first to a lot of ball and was at full fitness. He led from the front and should have had a saddle on him the amount of times there was a Kilkenny back man over him when he won the ball. Noel McGrath was marked by 2 men for most of the first half anytime he got near the ball, this was a sure sign of highly worried about him the Kilkenny management were. Got a bit more space in the second half and ran 50 yards to collect a puck out from Cummins and point. Had a goal chance late on but PJ Ryan put it over the bar. Lar Corbett had another great game. Played most of the first half at centre forward and left Brian Hogan for dead scoring 3 points. Scored another point in the second half as well as giving a sublime pass to Kelly, drawing 3 players to him and passing over his shoulder to the unmarked Kelly.

Benny Dunne for John O’Brien: Came on after about 47 minutes at half forward, was sent off in the 54th minute, I hate being critical of Tipp players but it was absolutely stupid and totally uncalled for what he did and was it one of the factors that turned the game in Kilkenny’s favour at a critical stage.

Willie Ryan for Kerwick: Came on after 67 minutes in the corner and I don’t think he touched the ball.

Webster for Woodlock: Came on after 69 minutes at full forward did get a few high balls into him but never looked like getting the critical goal.

So Kilkenny march on and no doubts talks will turn to a 5 in a row! Tipp as they have shown this year are far and away ahead of the chasing pack and surely the ones primed to topple Kilkenny. Talks of Tipp will win an All-Ireland soon are of little or no conciliation to Sheedy and the team for the next few weeks. Sheedy had Tipp aimed for playing in August and September and it worked this year as Tipp have come up a gear each time. However I hope that they can be as lucky next year with injuries and loss of form. There are 2 ways to look at the loss to Kilkenny. 1 is that only for an odd ref’s decision, a slip by Kelly and a sending off we had Kilkenny. On the other hand one could say that they players gave 100%, kept the main Kilkenny players quite for 65 minutes, were leading by 2 points with 7 minutes of normal time remaining and yet ended up losing by 5. A very encouraging sign is that of how utterly devastated some of the players were at the end of the game, they were not just happy to have been in an All-Ireland Final they wanted to win it.
Tipp will now have to face into another Munster Championship with Clare, Waterford, Limerick and Cork all foaming at the mouth to knock Tipp down a peg or 2. While there was relatively little pressure on Tipp this year after what was shown against Kilkenny Tipp will now have to maintain and improve on that in order to stop Kilkenny getting the 5 in a row in 2010. Great credit is due to Sheedy for what he was done with this team. the level of confidence in the players, the way he has brought the likes on Noel McGrath, Paudie and Brendan Maher into the team, they way none of the player dropped their heads for the entire game, even after the sending off or the 2 goals conceded in a minute, Sheedy has to use this and take Tipp to the next level, as well as finding a few more players, so that in 2010 we can get back to Croke Park on All-Ireland Final day and finish the job. This year will be wasted if an All-Ireland is not won.

Tipp players of the year, (in no particular):
Paudie Maher
Noel McGrath
Lar Corbett

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Tipp v Kilkenny 2009 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final (06-09-2009) Preview Knocknagow

Tipp and Kilkenny contest the 2009 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final on Sunday the 6th September 2009 in Croke Park. Throw in is at 3.30 with Diarmaid Kirwan of Cork the ref. It is 8 years since Tipp were last at this stage and in that time they have played a remarkable 37 Championship games, 62 League games, countless trial/challenge/tournament/South East League games, tried numerous players and 5 different managers, (Nicky English, Michael Doyle, Ken Hogan, Babs Keating and Liam Sheedy), all in the effort to get back to this stage.
The last meeting between the sides in an All-Ireland Final was in 1991, (and the third last time the counties met in the Championship). Tipp struggled with the strength of Christy Heffernan in the first half and the sides were level at the break 9 points each. The turning point came with a Michael Cleary goal from a miss-hit free in the second half, which gave Tipp a cushion that Kilkenny could never breach. Pat Fox was the hero for Tipp carrying a 1 man Tipp full forward, with both Nicky English and Cormac Bonner clearly injured. Fox scored 5 points, all from play, in a Man of the Match performance as Tipp won title number 24 with a 1-16 to 0-15 win. Corner back, in his first year on the Tipp team, was current selector Mick Ryan. Tipp have a superb record against Kilkenny in All-Ireland Finals; they have met 13 times, (the 1911 meeting was not an All-Ireland Final as Limerick refused to play and the Tipp v Kilkenny game was played a GAA fundraiser), with Tipp leading by 9 wins to 4.
Tipp’s last appearance in an All-Ireland Final appearance was in 2001 when Captain Tommy Dunne leading by example from midfield as Tipp beat Galway 2-18 to 2-15. He scored 5 points and Mark O’Leary poached 2-1. Declan Ryan’s confidence and calmness from full forward settled Tipp into the game and Galway were always chasing once O’Leary got his first goal. Tipp led 1-9 to 1-7 at the break and despite surviving a few hairy second half moments held on to win. Of the current panel Brendan Cummins, Eoin and Paul Kelly and Lar Corbett all started with John O’Brien and Paul Curran as unused subs.
The 2 most recent Championship meetings between Tipp and Kilkenny were the 2002 and 2003 All-Ireland Semi-Finals and both hold painful memories for Tipp. Tipp came into the 02 Semi Final as All-Ireland Champions and despite losing the Munster Final seemed to be back on track by the time they met Kilkenny in the semi final. After a high intensity first half Tipp went in slightly disappointed to be level at 10 points each as an Eoin Kelly goal effort from a free came off the body of James McGarry and was cleared. Despite a John Carroll goal Jimmy Coogan got 1-1 to put Kilkenny in the driving seat and although Tipp got back to within a point as injury time approached Kilkenny got the crucial scores to win 1-20 to 1-16. 2003 was a totally different game. Tipp were a broken side by the time they got to Croke Park and although they held Kilkenny in the first half, going in 11-9 up at the break, Kilkenny cut loose in the second half and despite the heroics of Brendan Cummins in the Tipp goal Kilkenny won 3-18 to 0-15.
Kilkenny have only played 3 games so far in the Championship this year after getting a bye into the Leinster Semi Final. There they met Galway in Tullamore in June. Two Joe Canning goals and a Niall Healy goal put Galway 5 up but Kilkenny rallied and Galway’s frailties were once again exposed as Richie Power was able to flick home from a crowded goalmouth and an Eddie Brennan goal soon after brought Galway back into the match. Kilkenny did ride their luck at times with Tommy Walsh very lucky to stay on the field for a number of dirty blows. However with Larkin, Shefflin and Lyng powering them forward, scoring 9 points without reply, Galway crumbled and Kilkenny won 2-20 to 3-13. Next up in the Leinster Final they faced Dublin. Kilkenny claimed their 9th title of the decade. The main man for them was Martin Comerford who finished up with 2-3 in a game that Dublin never looked like winning and had to rely on Alan McCrabbe’s 12 points, mostly from frees, to make a game of it. A noteworthy aspect was that Shefflin did not score from play getting 6 frees. Final Score Kilkenny 2-17 Dublin 0-17. In their final game they faced Waterford in the All-Ireland Semi Final a game they won 2-23 to 3-15. Shane Walsh’s first half goal should have settled Waterford but Brennan and Shefflin goaled to lead 2-12 to 1-9 at the break. Waterford, with Mullane and Kelly expertly blotted out by the superb Kilkenny defence, did get a lifeline in the second half with goals from Shane Walsh and an Eoin Kelly free however Kilkenny showed their class to close out the game by picking off their points for a 5 point win. Shefflin made up for the Leinster Final with a masterful display and bagged 1-14, 1-6 from play.
Look there is no point in trying to play down how good this Kilkenny side are; they are going for their first 4 in a row, they have won a remarkable 17 games in a row since losing the 2005 All-Ireland Semi Final to Galway and Eddie Brennan, Noel Hickey, Michael Kavanagh and Henry Shefflin are all going for their 7th All-Ireland Senior Hurling medal! They have one of the best managers of all time in Brian Cody on the line for them whose ruthless streak has brought All-Ireland after All-Ireland for this bunch of players. They have some of the best hurlers of the current generation and are going into the game as red hot favourites. Not alone have they a great starting 15 but also the likes of the experienced Michael Fennelly, TJ Reid, Richie Hogan and Derek Lyng all on the bench primed and ready to come in. A lot of commentators have been saying that Kilkenny have not being up to their usual standard this year. I don’t agree with this as I feel that is because they don’t have to be and have had only to hit top gear in about 10 minutes of each of their 3 games to date in order to seal the win. Unusually they have now met four different counties in Finals in the last 4 years; Cork in 06, Limerick in 07, Waterford in 08 and now Tipp this year.
On the injury front in the week after the Limerick game a full round of club matches were played in Tipp and between; Senior, Intermediate, U 21 Hurling as well as Senior Football; 20 of the panel of 35 were in action. While both Paul Curran and Conor O’Mahony played with heavily strapped legs as precautions, touch wood, it seems all have come through ok. Performances to note were: James Woodlock getting Man of the Match in the Mid Final, Pat Kerwick scoring 5 points from play for Killenaule in the South Final with Eoin Kelly scored 1-13, 1-3 from play, and was playing very well until Killenaule put Declan Fanning back to mark him.
Yet Tipp do have some hope going into this Final. Tipp have scored 10 goals against the last 2 All-Ireland Finalists in their last 2 games and also 4 against Kilkenny in the League Final, Kilkenny have conceded 3 goals twice in their Championship games this year. Tipp have players who have played in All-Ireland Minor, Senior and U21 finals in the past 10 years. Tipp are a confident team going into the final and are on upward trajectory since Liam Sheedy took over and progress has been visible every game this year. From looking at the video of the Limerick game I think that Sheedy may have been preparing Tipp all year to be ready in August and September. In the semi the work rate was superb; the backs hassled in bunches, 3 of the goals came from putting pressure on Limerick players and forcing them into mistakes. Even during the last 15 minutes with the game comfortably won the Tipp forwards never took the easy point option and always looked to get goals, (which goes some way to explain why Tipp’s point tally was fairly low in a game that they dominated after 20 minutes). The backs always supported each other, very few Hail Mary clearances, the man under pressure passed to a better placed colleague, the half backs if they didn’t catch the ball clean shouldered/hassled the Limerick man until he dropped/poorly cleared the ball. Now of course the big caveat is how poor Limerick were on the day but Tipp can only beat what’s put out in front of them.
Tipp have to play with the same intensity that they played with at the start of the League Final. However Kilkenny will be ready and will not allow Tipp to settle. In the Limerick game it took Tipp about 15 minutes to settle in as Tipp missed a lot of easy scoring chances in the first quarter. Look to the last 2 Finals; Kilkenny blew both Limerick and Waterford away by clinically exploiting their weaknesses; (Seamus Hickey and Declan Prendergast), in the first 10 minutes; building up a lead and comfortably controlling the game until the end. If Tipp let Kilkenny dictate the pace of the game for the first quarter we will be well beaten. Tipp have to take the game to Kilkenny get a strangle hold on the game and make Kilkenny come out and play. Tipp need to keep John O’Brien doing what he is doing all year; winning dirty ball out the field and delivering great ball into the inside line. I do believe that the one line of the pitch that Tipp have the advantage is in the full forward line as Michael Kavanagh struggled in the League Final, and should have got a straight red for a pull across John O’Brien’s head after persistent fouling. Of course the big problem is getting the ball into this area and I cannot see the Kilkenny half backs leaving their full back line and PJ Ryan exposed.
Despite a lot of Goebell’s esque whining from former Kilkenny players in the media and on tv/radio in recent weeks, (Christy Heffernan on radio and DJ Carey recently in the Examiner to name but a few were particularly cringe worthy examples), this Kilkenny team has taken physicality in hurling to a new level and YES they do play dirty at times; flicking of the hurley when in possession (Eddie Brennan), throwing the hurley (Tommy Walsh), leaning on top of the man with one arm/elbow to catch a high ball uncontested, (Michael Kavanagh) and a new trick from the last day of leaning into the man’s arm to get him booked and get a free, (Eoin Larkin). Don’t get me wrong I would love if Tipp were able to play like that and get away with it. But it is up to the ref and his team of officials to see that this doesn’t happen however I don’t expect Kirwan to clamp down on it in the Final. These are all things that happen and will happen again in the Final, Sheedy knows this and the players know this having been fully exposed to it in the League Final. There is no point in Tipp fans complaining about this after the Final. IT IS going to happen and our players are going have to be man enough to stand up to these type of tactics and drive at Kilkenny like we did for the start of the League Final and force them into turning over possession and making mistakes that can be capitalised on.
Injuries permitting I expect that Tipp will pick the same team that beat Limerick. Brendan Cummins is by far the most experienced player having played in 2 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Finals, 1997, (with Liam Sheedy and Mick Ryan), and 2001. Bar having to go off injured for the last 10 minutes of the Cork game has had a great year saving Tipp against Clare with a save in the dying minutes. His calmness and experience will be crucial both in the build up and on the pitch. I would have no fears for Paudie Maher as he has won Man Of the Match for his 2 previous All-Ireland Final’s all of them at full back; 2006 Minor and last years U21, I am sure he would love a third one! The backs had a lot solider look in the Limerick game. With Paddy Stapleton doing a good man marking job on Shaughnessy he will probably pick up Eddie Brennan. Paul Curran had a good game and got the poor display of the Munster Final out of his system. Of the half back line the one I was most worried about beforehand was Declan Fanning but he had a stormer the last day as had Brendan Maher. They along with Conor O’Mahony cleaned the Limerick half forward line. The one improvement that I would like to see from them and the Tipp backs in general is there is no point just catching the ball and driving it down the field, if Tipp do that they will be hockied, every ball won has to be played intelligently into the forward line.
While a certain amount of criticism has been levelled at the Tipp midfield on watching the Limerick game again very little play came their way. James Woodlock did have a good first half but faded and Shane McGrath was more restrained than normal and no lung bursting runs into enemy territory. Neither of them scored from play and both had bad wides when shooting from long range. I would fully expect that both of them will up their game for the Final and be back to their best.
All the Tipp forwards are scoring and scoring well from play. They are also interchangeable and they should continue this in the Final. Yes I know that we don’t have a ball winning centre forward but we have the next best thing a point scoring, goal creating one. Callanan was quiet against Limerick he does need to get on the ball more and run at the Kilkenny defence as his speed will trouble the Kilkenny backs, witness the first Waterford goal in the semi final; a drive through the heart of the Kilkenny backs, good pass and Walsh was on hand to goal. Both Kerwick and John O’Brien need to do exactly as they have done until now, win ball out the field and use it well by either delivering it into the full forward line or taking their own chances. If they can get on the ball enough then Kilkenny will have to bring out their wing backs, leaving space for the Tipp full forward line to exploit and score. I would be worried for Noel McGrath in the Final. He has been Tipp’s best forward to date, however Kilkenny have a habit of keeping the opposition’s main threat away from the ball. In the Semi Final John Mullane got very little ball and when he got it he was closed down straight away. It is up to the 2 experienced men Eoin and Lar to produce in the Final. While Lar did score 3-1 he had a poor game in general, with his touch off in the first half. He needs to lead from the front, winning ball and scoring. While Eoin Kelly got the first Tipp goal, (in the process becoming the highest scoring Munster hurler in Championship of all time, overtaking Christy Ring, and third overall behind Shefflin and Eddie Keher), he didn’t trouble the umpires from play. Yes he played well and only missed a single free but again he like Lar has to step up to the plate in the frantic first 15 minutes of the Final. With one of Kilkenny’s strongest lines being their half back line marking our weakest, the half forward line, we have to try and keep the ball out of this area as much as possible by short puck outs, intelligent passing and getting the ball directly into the Tipp full forward line.
Of the subs I expect the same few subs to be introduced unless through injury. Conor O’Brien and Shane Maher as options for the backs. Benny Dunne and Gearoid Ryan for midfield with Webster, (he caused a lot of trouble for Kilkenny in the League Final), and Paul Kelly for the forwards. Unfortunately Kilkenny have the best subs to bring on.
How do I see the game going? Well going by all know logic Kilkenny will win and win well; they have the best hurlers, more experience, the better subs, are going for 4 in a row, used to beating Tipp recently and up against a team 12 of whom have never played in an All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final before! If some of their players have an off day then the likes of Martin Comerford/Eoin Larkin step into the breach and deliver. They have been in this situation before when Cork denied them a 3 in a row in 2004 and will want to atone for that. They have the experienced players to stop the Tipp forwards; JJ Delaney, Tommy Walsh and Jackie Tyrell. They have the ability to blow teams away with short goal scoring bursts and have a great tactician on the line in Brian Cody who would love nothing more than the crown the 4 in a row by beating Tipp.
However I do see a chink of light for Tipp; historically Tipp have a very good record against Kilkenny in All-Ireland Senior Finals, Kilkenny are overwhelming favourites, and there is a massive weight of expectation both from the media and the public to win this 4 in a row. Kilkenny have not come up a team like Tipp in a while with 6 scoring forwards, a running midfield, backs who can mix the finer arts of defence with physicality if required, (Fanning, O’Mahony and Curran). For Tipp to win the 6 backs will have to stick like limpets to their men, they have to do this without leaving the likes of Shefflin or Brennan a sight of goal. It will be interesting to see if Sheedy goes man for man with the Kilkenny forwards or let the Tipp players stick to their positions. Hopefully he goes man for man. Next the Tipp backs have to use the ball that they do get intelligently. The Tipp midfield have to run at the Kilkenny backs drawing men/frees and hopefully releasing the ball to Callanan/Noel McGrath to score.
The Tipp forwards cannot be as wasteful as in the Semi-Final and not be shooting from wild positions. Puck outs will also be crucial with Cummins having to vary them by picking out the 2 McGrath’s or John O’Brien to avoid the Kilkenny half back line getting on top and when Cummins does go long for the puck outs the Tipp half forwards have to win the ball. Tipp have to physically stand up to Kilkenny as in the first half of the League Final, close the Kilkenny backs down, close down/hurry their clearances, not allow the likes of Tommy Walsh to float passes gently into Shefflin’s hand on the run. Tipp need to concentrate for 70 minutes, close every Kilkenny player in possession down, take every single chance that comes the forwards way, get good quality ball into the full forward line who will be able to take the ball at speed and running into space, not let Kilkenny get a stranglehold on the game, not let Kilkenny build up a lead or let Kilkenny impose their game plan on Tipp.
I have no doubt that Liam Sheedy, Mick Ryan, Eamon O’Shea and all the backroom team will have this Tipp side primed and rearing to go by 3.30 on Sunday the 6th September. Tipp have to forget about all this talk about this being a good year in getting to the Final, about how they are a coming team, forget all about that; THIS is the year they are in the Final, who knows what will happen in future years. 2009 is the year to win Liam McCarthy.

Can Tipp do it? Well that is the $64,000 question!

Final Verdict;

Head says Kilkenny by 5+ points.

Heart says Tipp by 2 after a nail biting excruciatingly nervous last 5 minutes!

Tiobraid Árann Abu!




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Tipperary 6-19 Limerick 2-7 (2009 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Semi-Final) 16-08-09 Knocknagow

Tipp qualified for the 2009 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final against Kilkenny on the 6th September with a 24 point win over Limerick this afternoon in Croke Park in front of a good crowd of 43,808. Limerick were the only side to make a change before the throw in with Niall Moran replacing his brother Ollie in the half forward line. Tipp lined out as selected and probably played with the advantage of a very swirling wind in the first half.
Limerick had the first attack of the game which resulted in a ball running into Cummins’s hands which he cleared. Great work by Seamus Callanan set up Eoin Kelly but his shot trailed wide in the swirling wind. Noel McGrath had a second Tipp wide with a sideline. Great work out the field saw Seamus Hickey lose the ball and quick as a flash John O’Brien drove the ball in from midfield to Eoin Kelly and with Lucey dawdling he buried to the net after 5 minutes. Gavin O’Mahony had Limerick’s first wide before John O’Brien got Tipp’s first point from distance. James Ryan had a poor wide before David Breen got Limerick’s first and best point from a narrow angle on the sideline. Both Niall Moran Festy and Donal O’Grady had wides. Tipp then had a goal chance until Eoin and Noel McGrath got in each others way and the chance was lost. A neat clearance from Paddy Stapleton found Festy and he got his first of the day. Straight away a bad clearance from Paddy Stapleton found Gavin O’Mahony and he scored from midfield. Woody then had a poor wide with a shot from midfield.
Poor play from Hickey allowed Lar to get the ball; he set off on a run and put a great ball across the square to Noel McGrath who flicked to the net with Callanan also on hand. Tipp now led 2-2 to 0-2 after 16 minutes. Callanan had a wide before Tipp finished the game with a another goal a minute later/ a stumble from Foley allowed Festy to gather he ran and buried under the legs Murray; 3-2 to 0-2. Gavin O’Mahony and Moran had wides. Tipp then got 3 frees. Fanning was fouled and Conor O’Mahony got his first of the day from his own 65. John O’Brien was fouled and Eoin Kelly got his first of the day. Seamus Hickey fouled and got a yellow card for mouthing and Conor O’Mahony got his second with a monster free. Tipp now led 3-6 to 0-2 after 26 minutes. Gavin O’Mahony got a Limerick point. But straight from the short puck out the ball went to Fanning who found Noel McGrath for his first point of the day. Noel McGrath then passed to Callanan and he pointed. Moran had a Limerick wide but then pointed and ridiculously was straight away replaced by James O’Brien. Woody was fouled and Eoin Kelly missed the free. Shaughnessy put an easy chance wide, (summing up Limerick’s day) and the ref blew after 1 minute of injury time with Tipp 13 points ahead; 3-8 to 0-4.
Limerick then came out for the second half and replaced the rest of their half forward line with Browne and James Ryan gone and Ollie Moran and Brian O’Sullivan on. They continued on the same vein with 2 wides. Woody found Callanan and he pointed. John O’Brien was fouled and Eoin Kelly pointed. A superb shoulder by Conor O’Mahony on Ollie Moran stopped a Limerick attack and the ball was cleared and clinically pointed by Festy. Shaughnessy was fouled and he went from goals from the free which Brendan Maher saved but his clearance came off Paudie Maher for a 65 which Gavin O’Mahony missed. Festy set up Callanan for another point. James O’Brien Limerick had a wide. Noel McGrath set up Festy with a great cross field pass despite 2 Limerick lads on him. Tipp now led 3-13 to 0-4.
Limerick got a bit of a lifeline in the 48th minute when Conor O’Mahony’s clearance was blocked and Breen got through on goals. Paddy Stapleton got the ball and ref very, very harshly adjudged him to have fouled. The ball should also have been thrown in with some Limerick afters. Limerick brought up Murray and he goaled. Gavin O’Mahony had a bad wide from a free. Tipp did not panic and scored a free from Eon Kelly after Lar was fouled. Hickey was fouled and Shaughnessy came out the field and scored. Paudie McNamara then had a goal chance but his weak goal effort was batted away by Cummins. Poor play in the middle of the field allowed Brian O’Sullivan acres of time and he buried the ball in the corner with all the Tipp players backing off. 3-14 to 2-4 with 54 minutes gone.
Tipp made their first change straight away with Shane McGrath being replaced by Benny Dunne. Festy had a wide. Tipp then put in the boot again when on 57 minutes great build up play from Benny found Noel McGrath and he showed superb awareness to pass to Lar who easily buried past Murray; 4-14 to 2-4. Limerick brought on Mike O’Brien and took off McNamara. Limerick got a free but Shaughnessy made a hames of it and the ball was cleared to Eoin Kelly, on the ground he half rose it and Noel McGrath was in like a shot produced an absolute brilliant piece of skill flick the ball over the bar under pressure. With 10 minutes to go Lar got his second goal. A Conor O’Mahony free was dropped by Mike O’Riordan and like a flash Noel McGrath was onto the ball and passed to Lar who buried the ball past Murray; 5-15 to 2-5. Limerick took off Lucey and brought on Stephen Walsh. Tipp made 2 changes with Geraoid Ryan on and Woodlock off and they had to make another change as Festy came off injured and was replaced by Webster who went to full forward.
Reale dirtily pulled across Lar’s legs and Eoin Kely pointed. Ollie fouled Benny Dunne and Eoin Kelly got the free. Lar on the run got his first point of the day after a great pass from Benny Dunne; 5-18 to 2-5. Tipp replaced Eoin Kelly, (to a standing ovation), and his brother came on. Seamus Hickey got a point for Limerick. Tipp got their 6th goal with great flicks from Paul Kelly to Callanan to Webster who showed great awareness to pass to the unmarked Lar on the edge of the square who got his hat-trick. 63 minutes gone Tipp 6-18 Limerick 2-6. Tipp’s last change was team captain Willie Ryan replacing Lar. Brian O’Sullivan got Limerick last point. Tipp captain Conor O’Mahony got his third long range point with the last score of the game from a 65. Tipp had another goal chance in injury time but Webster fumbled and the chance was cleared. The ref blew after 1 minute of injury time with Tipp wining by a massive 24 points; 6-19 to 2-7. The Sunday Game rightly gave Man of the Match to Noel McGrath.
Justin McCarthy will not be happy with this result. Limerick came into the game as underdogs with the bookies and in truth the game was all but over after the second Tipp goal after 16 minutes. The game was all over the place with neither team grabbing it by the scruff of the neck and it was not until the first goal that a pattern emerged. Limerick started with a ridiculous game plan of pull in an extra man back in defence and it meant that Paul Curran cleared ball after ball and was able to help Maher on the edge of the square. Again the Limerick forwards failed dismally; the starting half forward line were all replaced by the start of the second half, with Niall Moran bizarrely straight after he scored a point. Only 2 of the starting 6 forwards scored from play in the first half, none of them in the second half. They only scored 9 times and after 45 minutes they had only 4 points but 13 wides! Again Shaughnessy did nothing and was held totally by Paddy Stapleton. While Gavin O’Mahony did score a point from play he was a complete disaster from frees and was replaced in the second half by Shaughnessy. By the time Limerick went back 15 v 15 it was all over. Basic handling errors by Seamus Hickey cost Limerick 2 goals in the first half as well as Mark Foley’s fumble allowing Festy to gather and goal. Mark O’Riordan dropped the ball in square in the second half and Tipp goaled. Their first touch was off and in truth if the Tipp shooting had been a bit better in the first half Tipp would have won by more. The amount of Hail Mary shots for points that went wide in the first 20 minutes, both from frees and from plays, for Limerick ruined any slight chance of them actually being in the game at half time and had a demoralising effect on players and fans alike.
I felt sorry for Brian Murray as the only goal he could have got near was Festy’s the rest were all from 5 yards by an unmarked Tipp player. He was offered no protection by his very poor full back line. Lucey was very poor for the first 2 goals and was no where to be seen when 2 Tipp players showed up at the back post to flick Lars pass to the net for Tipp’s second goal. Seamus Hickey did keep going, scoring a point but his indiscipline cost Limerick frees and his whining got him a yellow card. Another thing that surprised me was the total lack of aggression from Limerick, they only had 2 players booked and one of them Seamus Hickey was for dissent. Now I didn’t expect them to come out ala Waterford last year but there was no thundering tackles and no putting the Tipp player in possession under pressure. In truth this shows up the abysmal standard of the “Leinster best of the rest”, (Leinster bar Kilkenny and Galway), if Limerick can beat Wexford, Laois and Dublin but then were totally taken to the cleaners by Tipp. The point should also be made about how this Limerick side were talked up by the fact that they beat 3 very weak Leinster sides when in truth their first match against Waterford is probably a harsher but fairer assessment of where they actually are at. So it’s back to the drawing board for Limerick and I wonder if Justin will be given/want a second year.
Liam Sheedy will be happy with this result. They are most definitely the Kings of Munster having beaten the 4 hurling counties all in this years Championship. Tipp came into the game as overwhelming favourites and had quite a few demons to bury having lost so many recent important games at Croke Park and by God did they bury them! I know people will say Limerick were no good but Tipp still Tipp can only beat what’s put in front of them. Again 5 of the 6 Tipp forwards scored from play in the first half, the exception being Lar and he got 3-1 in the second! Tipp scored 3-8 in the first half and 3-11 in the second, not bad for a team that falls asleep. 7 players scored. They scored 6-10 from play which is phenomenal in an All-Ireland Semi Final. The thing that impressed me today was that every time Tipp got the ball even 30 yards out from goal the first thing they did was to see could they get a goal and indeed could have had a few more in the first half as twice Tipp players got in each others way when bearing down on goals. There was also a lot of intelligent passing today. Witness Noel McGrath in the second half on the sideline about to be closed down, no panic just passes the ball to an unmarked Festy and point. Tipp also up the aggression stakes big time with both Fanning and Conor O’Mahony hitting crunching shoulders at stages in the second half which completely stopped Limerick attacks. It is good to see that the sneaky tactics of Waterford last year were headed and Tipp never backed down an inch.
However there still is a lot for Liam Sheedy to work on. Tipp conceded 2 soft goals, the second when Sullivan shot with no one within 10 yards of him. Tipp had 11 wides with a lot of wayward shooting in the first half especially from Festy. Now there was a swirling wind there into the Hill but there was no need to shoot from way out the field. Again not enough ball went into the full forward line. This line scored 5-3 from play and did not get enough ball. There is no point in taking short puck outs to just outside the 21 yard line when the player than drives it into exactly the same place where Cummins would have driven it. Tipp need to be cuter with their clearances its far better to drive the ball 30 yards into a colleague’s hand rather than 70 yards straight down the throat of an unmarked player as happened repeatedly with Geary and Foley. There still are issues with the half forward line. If Tipp are going to withdraw both Festy and John O’Brien then there is no point in any of the backs or midfield driving the ball into these positions. The ball should be going in low into Lar and Noel McGrath in the corners. The midfield was poor Shane McGrath had no surging runs through the heart of the Limerick defence and while Woody did ok in the first half he faded out. Tipp also gave away way too many frees and on another day would have been punished for this. Again of the subs only Benny Dunne made any significant contributions although considering how fractured the game had become it was a difficult game to come into. However it is great to have a game in 3 weeks time to sort out these issues rather than 6 months!

Brendan Cummins: Tipp’s record Championship appearance holder will be disappointed with the 2 goals he conceded. The first was a penalty at waist height just beside him and the second was a shot from abut 20 yards along the ground although he may have been unsighted by Paudie Maher. Scrambled one other ball to safety. Will be pleased to be back in his third All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final in 12 years.

Full back line: Paul Curran returned to corner back where has previously played and was a revelation. Was left as a free man which considering his dodgy form was silly by Limerick as they pulled an extra man out the field. When Limerick went back to 15 v 15 was very good. Will need to carry this performance into the Final. Paddy Stapleton in the other corner was only slight behind Noel McGrath in my choice for Man of the Match. In the first 20 minutes the ball came into him and Shaughnessy a lot and I don’t remember Shaughnessy using any of them as Paddy cleared ball after ball intelligently. Paudie Maher starting his first Championship match at the edge of the square and played as if he was born there. Masterful. Was on a much bigger guy, but played him superbly in just flicking the ball to his corner men every time it came towards McNamara who only got the ball into his hand once all game. Uses the ball well and had the confidence to take a few short puck-outs from Cummins and clear them.

Half back line: The fact that Limerick had an entire new half forward line at the start of the second half sums up their performance. Brendan Maher came in for his first Championship start at wing back and had a good game. Noting fancy just blots out his man and gets on with the game. Team Captain Conor O’Mahony totally commanded the spine of the Tipp defence, also chipped in with 3 pointed frees. Will not be pleased to have been the cause of the penalty as his clearance was charged down. Still put in 1 bone crunching tackle on Ollie Moran in the second half which sent a message to all and sundry that THIS Tipp team will not be bullied. Declan Fanning had a good game cleared a lot of ball in the first half and seems to be growing into his role game after game. His physical presence means that he is not messed with.

Midfield: Shane McGrath had a poor game. Seemed unsure when he got the ball in the first half as if he was under instructions not to run with the ball but to look up and pass. Had totally faded out by the time Benny came on. James Woodlock had a good solid first half working hard and delivering good ball until replaced by Geraoid Ryan in the second half.

Half forward line: Seamus Callanan again led the line from centre forward scoring 3 points from play, 1 in the first half and 2 in the second. Choose to wander and let Geary hold the centre a decision which looked like backfiring in the 20 minutes given the amount of ball Geary got. Still needs to work more and get involved in winning more high ball especially from puck-outs. Pat Kerwick while having a quiet game scored 1-1 in the first half, taking his goal confidently and got a further 2 points in the second half. Again choose to wander and picked up a lot of loose ball. John O’Brien after a poor display in the corresponding fixture last year upped it big time sending in a superb ball for the first Tipp goal and although he did only score a first half point was involved in a lot of the Tipp moves. The tactic of playing him loose out around the field is working very well for both Johnno and Tipp.

Full forward line: Eoin Kelly got his first ever Championship goal against Limerick absolutely burying the ball in a goal eerily reminiscent of Shefflin’s goal last Sunday. This settled the team after a scrappy first 5 minutes. Led from the front through out surely burying suggestions that he is finished. Scored 7 frees and only missed 1. Glad to see he lasted most of the game. While his lightening pace is not there he got far more ball into his hand and used it well even coming out to wing forward and setting up a point for Noel McGrath. Noel McGrath deservedly won Man of the Match scored 1-1 in the first half showing and one of the best points seen in Croke Park with his second half effort; swivelling before the Limerick backs could get near him. Showed great maturity in setting up goals 4 and 5 for Tipp; winning hard ball and passing it to the unmarked Lar. His first touch and awareness are amazingly mature for an 18 year old. A shoe in for Young Hurler of the Year. It was an unusual game for Lar Corbett in which his touch seemed off in the first half, the goal he set up was because he fumbled his first effort at a catch and went on a mazy run which burned both Geary and Reale. However he made up for it in the second half showing a goal poachers instinct from 6 yards that Gary Lineker would be proud of in the 80’s! Got on the end of 3 great passes to get a second half hat-trick as well as a point from play. On any other day this would have been a Man of the Match performance.

Benny Dunne for Shane McGrath: Came on after about 55 minutes at midfield. Got a good bit of ball and carried it well setting up a few scores late on with some great distribution.

Geraoid Ryan for Woodlock: Came on after 60 minutes at midfield. Cleared a few balls but in truth Tipp had the game well won at that stage.

Webster for Festy (injured): Came on after 60 minutes at full forward. Showed a great awareness not to catch the ball but flick it to Lar for Tipp’s last goal. Had another chance of a goal but fumbled it with the last action of the game.

Paul Kelly for Eoin Kelly: Came on after 62 minutes and was involved in the early build up to the last goal.

Willie Ryan for Lar Corbett: Came on with 5 minutes to go and I don’t think he touched the ball.

Again I have to laugh at the ridiculous criticism of this Tipp team by the commentators in the aftermath of the game. I am gone sick of them saying that Tipp have never finished off any team this year and always let teams back in. Well today they answered that criticism scoring 6 goals, scoring first and last, winning by 24 points and then the “experts” say that Limerick were no good and this game will have done nothing for Tipp who needed a hard game before facing Kilkenny in the Final. Well guys you cannot have it both ways! What I liked about Tipp today was that Tipp never let Limerick settle down they forced their game on Limerick and the fact that Limerick abandoned their game plan at half time spoke volumes for their dominance. Tipp played with aggression and made Limerick make mistakes. While the commentators are right to point out that 4 of the Tipp goals came from Limerick mistakes more importantly they should also have noted that the reason that those mistake were made was that a number of Tipp players were hassling the Limerick players; not letting them rise the ball, sticking in a hurley, flicking the ball away and then gaining possession. Hopefully the few players with knocks; Festy and Conor will be ok to line out in 3 weeks time.
Tonight is not a night to be worrying about what will happen in 3 weeks time. I, Liam Sheedy and I am sure all the players know that today’s game is done and dusted and there is no way we will get it as easy in the Final. Kilkenny will be in our faces playing on the edge of the rules but it is up to these Tipp players to stand up and say THIS year is our year to win, don’t worry about how many medals the man marking him has go out and give 100%. If they do this then they will have done Tipp proud. This Tipp panel has a good mix; we have the experienced players, Kelly, Johnno, Lar and Cummins, we have the lads in mid 20’s who have played in losing minor and U21 Finals who are bursting a gut to win an All-Ireland medal, Conor O’Mahony (i.e. now has 6 Munster medals; 2 each at Minor, U21 and Senior), Shane McGrath and Fanning. Then we have the new breed of players the 2 Mahers, Callanan and Paddy Stapleton, fearless, winners at underage and superb hurlers who God willing will be the backbone of the team for many years to come. If these hurlers are allowed to show their true worth in the Final then I have no fear for Tipp. They are a united bunch and I am sure the more experienced lads will be telling them that THIS is the year to win an All-Ireland as it could be 8 years before Tipp get back again. Let’s just enjoy being back in out first final since 2001 and say well done to Liam, Mick and Eamon and every single member of the panel of 35 who have worked like dogs and who have brought Tipp back to their rightful place after the recent horror shows in Croke Park.
So Tipp finally return to the All Ireland after a gap of 8 years. Only Brendan Cummins, Eoin Kelly and Lar Corbett have played in an All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final, (before its actually Cummins’s third as he played in 1997 as well). Both John O’Brien and Paul Curran were unused subs in that Final. Of course a good few of the younger players have played in the 2 All-Ireland minor winning teams and Liam Sheedy managed the 2006 side as well as playing in that 1997 Final. Selector Mick Ryan has won 1, 1991, and lost 1, 1997, All-Ireland Final. Hopefully the round of club games fixed for next weekend will be postponed as even the slightest knock would rule a player out of the All-Ireland Final. Tipp also need to be very smart in how they deal with the media in the next few weeks. They need to avoid the pitfalls that Limerick and Waterford had in the last 2 years and the media circus that surrounded them as the new guys in the build up to the Finals. Team captain Willie Ryan as well as the 2 most experienced guys; Cummins and Eoin Kelly should be the only players who speak to the media and open training sessions kept to the very minimum. The last thing that some of the younger players, (the 2 Maher’s and Noel McGrath), want is to be hounded by media or opening supermarkets the week before the Final. Liam Sheedy will hopefully consult with the likes of Nicky English as to how he dealt with the media before the 2001 Final. So Tipp back in the All-Ireland Final, Bring on the Cats, and remember 1991!!!!!!


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Tipperary 4-14 Waterford 2-16 {Munster Senior Hurling Final 2009} (12-07-2009) knocknagow

Tipp won the 2009 Munster Senior Hurling Final this afternoon in Thurles before a crowd of 40,430. Waterford got a boost before the game with their minors surprisingly beating Tipp by 2 points. Waterford made no changes before the game with but as usual had a host of positional switches with the main ones being Jack Kennedy to wing forward. Tipp made no late changes and lined out as selected. Tipp played with the advantage of the decent wind in the first half on what was a greasy pitch with rain just before throw in.
Waterford were first into attack with John Mullane peeling off his man on the sideline to score a good point. Padraig Maher expertly picked out Pat Kerwick and Festy opened Tipp’s account with a point. Eoin Kelly then got a goal chance but great pressure from Paddy Stapleton meant he shot wide. A blatant push by Conor O’Brien on Mullane saw Eoin Kelly point a free. Both sides then missed goal chances firstly Noel McGrath was blatantly hacked down and no free was given; the ball went down the field and Watford’s Kelly missed a goal. Conor O’Mahony then expertly disposed Mullane and was harshly penalised. Eoin Kelly expertly buried the free for the games first goal after 6 minutes as they lead by 1-2 to 0-1. Lar was then fouled but got no free; he passed to John O’Brien who put his effort wide. Pauide Maher eventually got a free after being fouled 3-4 times and from his own 65 Conor O’Mahony got his first of the year. Great pressure by the Tipp half forwards saw a Tipp free for over-carrying and Kelly pointed. Callanan was fouled and Kelly pointed, straight from the puck out Shane McGrath caught the ball and soloed and scored a cracking point to draw Tipp level after 10 minutes.
A long free from Cummins saw the ball break in front of the square, Noel McGrath pulled first time but the ball just went wide. Straight away the same thing happened but McGrath got the ball and put it over the bar. Pat Kerwick was unlucky with his pint effort going wide off the post. A dirty little flick by Eoin Kelly saw him yellow carded. Great play by Callanan saw him nearly goal but his effort was cleared poorly to Noel McGrath for his second of the day to put Tipp 0-7 to 1-2 ahead. Prendergast and Noel McGrath, sideline, both had wides. Very poor play by Curran allowed Mullane to nick the ball off him and bury it in the corner past Cummins after 23 minutes.
Tipp then got the thumb out and a great ball from Paudie Maher found John O’Brien who pointed. Tipp then goaled with Fanning fielding superbly, passing to Lar who passed across the square to Noel McGrath who despite fumbling found Callanan who goaled. Mullane responded instantly with a point from the sideline. Tipp’s Kelly had a bad wide. In the 26th minute when Callanan, despite being hatcheteted to the ground, passed to Kelly who despite having a hurley thrown at him buried the bal to the net; Tipp now lead by 5, 2-8 to 2-3 after 26 minutes. A great block by Paddy Stapleton blocked Waterford’s Eoin Kelly’s goal effort. Prendergast goal effort went tamely wide. Waterford made their first change with Jack Kennedy replaced by Dan Shanahan. A great catch from Eoin Kelly saw him point. Waterford then had 2 21 yard frees the first after Conor O’Mahony fouled and a 21 yard free was given for dissent. Cummins blocked the free from Kelly and Conor O’Mahony cleared the ball and was harshly adjudged, and yellow carded, to have fouled the Waterford player who rushed at him. Kelly took his pint with the second 21 yard free.
Padraig Maher caught another great ball but his weak effort went side after a good run. The unmarked John O’Brien expertly found Lar and he pointed on the run, Tipp now led by 6 points. As the game approached injury time a long Shane McGrath clearance found Lar on the edge of the square who easily out jumped Prendergast and scored in the corner of the net. Tipp made their first change with Paul Curran being replaced at full back by Padraig Maher with Brendan Maher coming on at wing back. Noel McGrath had the last chance of the half for Tipp but he put the ball wide. The ref played only 1 minute of injury time as Tipp went in ahead 3-10 to 2-4.
Tipp made 1 change at the start of the second half with the injured Eoin Kelly being replaced by Willie Ryan in the corner. Waterford had 2 wides with Eoin Kelly and Kearney. A poor Tipp clearance was pounced on by Mullane and he pointed. A sideline by Waterford back to the goalie was short and Lar put the ball over the bar to leave Tipp 3-11 to 2-5. Callanan had an unlucky wide. Conor O’Mahony fouled and Kelly pointed in the 41st minute Tipp got their 4th goal when Callanan got the ball and despite a filthy blow to the groin by Tony Brown, who was only yellow carded!, managed to get the ball in front of the Waterford goal, a fumble by Prendergast was pounced on by Lar who buried to the net. Eoin Kelly then got a free passed to Dan who was standing beside him, so much for having to be 10 yards away!!, who pointed. Mullane pointed again.
Waterford made a double substitution with Eoin McGrath and Richie Foley coming on for Jamie Nagle and Kevin Moran. Tipp replaced Woodlock with Benny Dunne after 45 minutes. Conor O’Mahony picked out Callanan who despite being unmarked put the ball badly wide. Benny Dunne then made a great catch and run and pointed. Mullane got a very soft free after a “foul” by Paddy Stapleton and Kelly pointed. Shane McGrath was fouled after a great run and Noel McGrath pointed the free to put Tipp 4-13 to 2-9 ahead. Maurice Shanahan came on for Prendergast and straight away he got to the end of a move but his shot was expertly blocked by the out rushing Paudie Maher. Tipp made another change with Hugh Moloney coming on at centre forward for Festy with Callanan going to full forward. Waterford’s Eoin Kelly pointed a free. John O’Brien was harshly yellow carded. Dan shot a wide straight in front of goals.
Callanan got Tipp’s last score with a great point from the sideline with 61 minutes gone after a pass from Noel McGrath to leave it 4-14 to 2-10. Mullane had a wide as did Hugh Moloney with an awful wide on the 21 yard line. Dan Shanahan’s weak goal effort was saved by Cummins and cleared. Richie Foley got a long range point and Eoin Kelly got a free to leave only 8 points in it. Moloney got a yellow card with Kelly pointing for the resultant free. Mullane pointed as well. Great play by Conor O’Mahony blocked a goal effort from Eoin McGrath. Tipp made their last change with John O’Brien coming off for Michael Webster as injury time approached; he went to the edge of the square. A great shoulder saw Tony Browne driven out over the end line and Tipp get a 65 which Noel McGrath’s effort unluckily came off the post and went wide. With the game in injury time Waterford got the final 2 points of the game with Moloumpy and Mullane capping off his Man of the Match display with the last point of the day. Benny Dunne had a great chance of a point but his effort just went wide. The ref blew up after 3 minutes of injury time gone and Tipp won by 4-14 to 2-16. John Mulane got the Sunday Game Man of the Match award.
Davy Fitzgerald will not be happy with this result. They came into this game as underdogs in the bookies and with a few injuries, got a great start had 1-2 on the board after 6 minutes yet they went until the 23rd minute before scoring again. They had at least 4 other goal chances in the first half but did not take them. At half time the game was over and despite all the whining in the media they never looked like wining the game in the second half. They needed a goal but couldn’t get it. It truth Mullane was their only consistent scoring threat throughout with 1-5, while Eoin Kelly and Moloumpy did score the less said about the efforts of Prendergast and Shanahan the better. In the backs Brick Walsh played well, with Tony Browne should have seen red for the cowardly filthy belt he drew on Callanan in the build up to the last Tipp goal. Hennessey was very poor and as to what they were doing for the 2 sidelines that Tipp scored 1-1 off only the Waterford backs know! Prendergast was at fault for at least 2 of the Tipp goals. Once Tipp went ahead and made a few positional switches there was only 1 team in this game and it was not Waterford. While Waterford did score 18 times, the same as Tipp, it was Tipp’s ability to score goals at crucial times that ultimately won this game. Both sides had about the same number of chances but the pressure that Tipp put the Waterford backs under meant they shot under pressure and missed more, compare this to Tipp where 2 of the goals came from sloppy Waterford play.
Liam Sheedy will be happy with this result. Tipp came into this game as favourites and had 2 wins under their belts yet they were under ridiculous media pressure about fading out of the last 2 games. Look Tipp won today, comfortably, yes they did let a big lead slip but Waterford never got to within a score of Tipp today. The positives: Tipp were outstanding in the first half, scoring 3-10 all bar 3 points from play. Some of the passing and score taking was superb and some of the best quality hurling I have ever seen. All the Tipp forwards had scored from play in the first half and there were 3 different goal scorers! In all 9 different players scored. Once Padraig Maher went full back Tipp were always on top. Not only has he some paw on him he oozes confidence which is scary for a 20 year old. Tipp took their goal chances today. They had 4 in the first half; Callanan had another effort which Noel McGrath pointed from. While I know that Mullane was the best player on the field Tipp still coped well with him in the second, he drifted out to the 45 to get the ball and was no threat to the Tipp goals. Tipp did not take any crap off Waterford. Jack Kennedy tried to timber into Fanning before the game but Fanning was having none of it.
Credit is also due to Tipp for not panicking when Waterford got the good start Tipp held Waterford scoreless for 17 minutes and scored 6 unanswered points. Another major positive that the spine of the backs Padraig Maher, Conor O’Mahony and Shane McGrath all played superbly well and for 70 minutes as well. Credit must also be given to Sheedy for having the confidence to put a 20 year old rookie in at full back and hauling off the 2008 All-Star nominated full back when both Conor O’Mahony and Fanning were the more natural choices. It paid off handsomely as Maher was outstanding. The workrate especially the forwards was superb Tipp won their first free when 3 of the forwards crowded out the out rushing Waterford back man and forced him to foul the ball. Lar and John O’Brien ran into the ground to win the ball back time after time.
The negatives: Tipp only scored 1-4 in the second half and of that only 1-3 was from play. 4 scores in 35 minutes of hurling is not good enough. Bar the Padraig Maher switch none of the subs really contributed. Benny Dunne did score a good point and won a few serious balls out around the middle of the filed, but Hugh Moloney shot a horrible wide while Willie Ryan did not touch the ball. Tipp gave away way too many frees, at least 3 times Conor O’Mahony gave away frees when he was on a yellow card. The half forwards won nothing in the second half and when they got the ball they did not use it well. Tipp were cruising at the break leading by 9 points and yet only won by 4 while this is a worry it really bugs me to hear the crap coming from Thomas Mulcahy and Ger Loughnane about Tipp lacking the killer instinct, despite comfortably winning the Munster Final by 4 points. Tipp also failed to get the ball into the full forward line where the likes of Lar and Noel McGrath exploited the weakness in the Waterford full backline all during the first half. Tipp had 12 wides; this is way too many, 7 of those in the first half; of the second half ones Benny Dunne and Moloney’s were the worst. Waterford scored the last 6 points with Tipp not scored from the 61st minute, however and I do think that this is important, Tipp did not collapse in the last quarter as Noel McGrath 65 went wide off the post, Moloney and Benny both had very poor wides all in the last quarter; so unlike other days we did create it was just that we did not convert them. The half forward line was very poor for most of the second half and Sheedy should consider bringing in a ball winner when this happens; Patrick Maher or else varying the puck outs.
Mention must also be made of the shocking referring performance from John Sexton. He gave very soft cards to Conor O’Mahony and John O’Brien and yet the dirtiest belt of the day Tony Brown on Callanan only got a yellow card. Callanan was also bludgeoned to the ground in the build up to Kelly’s goal and a hurley was thrown at Kelly yet no sign of any disciplinary action. In the second half he gave soft free after soft free to Waterford. Mullane had only to look at him and he got a free. John O’Brien, Fanning and Padraig Maher were all hauled to the ground at various stages during the game and he waved play on! He penalised Conor O’Mahony in the first half after he made a great hook on Mullane for lying on the ball and then in the second half Shane Sullivan did exactly the same thing and he gave a throw in. I don’t mind a ref being bad but at least be consistent to both sides; Mr Sexton was not today.

Brendan Cummins: On the day in which he equalled John Doyle’s appearance record for Tipp he will not be happy to have collected his 4th Munster medal. While he will be disappointed to have conceded 2 goals, Kelly bounced the free right in front of him and he made up for it with the 21 yard free that he saved and Kelly did not have the confidence to go for goal from the second one. Again when players run short for his puck outs he should either pass to them or not put the ball into the area they came out of. Still a good day for the veteran custodian.

Full back line: Conor O’Brien came in for a lot of criticism after the Clare game he had a solid game today. He suffered as well during the first 25 minutes but was solid once he had Maher beside him. Didn’t let Kelly do much from open play. Gave away a few stupid frees. Paul Curran manned the edge of the square and got a bit of a roasting from Mullane in the first half especially gifting him the goal, was replaced just before the break. Will be very disappointed with his performance but I am sure it will spur him on for the semi-final game. Paddy Stapleton was playing in his first Munster Senior Hurling Final; while his man scored 1-5 and was Man of the Match I though he did well, never letting Mullane have a sniff of goal in the second half and driving him out the field. Also got in a great block in the first half to snuff out an Eoin Kelly goal effort.

Half back line: Padraig Maher also in his first Munster Senior Hurling Final was the best Tipp player on view and a very close second to Mullane as Man of the Match. Caught great ball at wing back and set up 2 points, to Festy and John O’Brien with great passes in the first half. He was an absolute rock at full back caught great ball and also threw his body in the way of a Maurice Shanahan goal effort late on. Superb player who oozes confidence and the team was notably far securer with him at the edge of the square. Team captain Conor O’Mahony was back to his best was harshly booked early on, but scored a monster free from his own 65. Did not fade put as was on hand as the game went into injury time to block an Eoin McGrath goal effort. His timing, sweeping and handling were superb. Declan Fanning got through an amount of work. He seemed shattered for the last 15 minutes but was still there putting his hurley in and disrupting. While still not the most comfortable at wing back will be happy to be playing after spending most of 08 on the bench.

Midfield: After being taken off early the last day Shane McGrath had a good game. While the play for long spells seemed to bypass the midfield he got the score of the game with his great catch, run and point in the first half. Got through an amount of work, and set up Lar’s goal just before the break with his clearance. James Woodlock never seemed to get into the pace and can have no complaints when he was taken off.

Half forward line: Seamus Callanan was being marked by Brick Walsh, when he was at centre forward, and while Walsh was one of the better Waterford players and dominated the second half Callanan still scored a goal in the first half and a great point from the sideline in the second as well as being crucially involved in 3 of the 4 goals! So a good day at the office. Was caught in possession a few times and could possible benefit from delivering the ball sooner. As I said above he took an awful filthy belt from Tony Browne and could possibly have been taken off after that. After 2 good games John O’Brien continued where he left off again while he only scored 1 point, he worked his socks off and even won a free back in his own half back line. Has great vision when is space and his new style of drifting out around the field suits him and Tipp well. Got harshly yellow carded late on. Pat Kerwick was on the other wing and got Tipp’s first score of the day. Unfortunately that was as good as it got for him as he had another effort go wide off the post. In fairness to him very little ball came his way; he was replaced by Moloney with 15 minutes to go.

Full forward line: Eoin Kelly was picked at no. 14 but swapped between there and the corner. Put his first effort badly wide but rolled back the years in a 3 minute first half spell when he buried a goal and then had a great catch, turn and point. Did get stupidly yellow carded. Had to go off injured with a hamstring tweak. Scored 1-1 for play and 2 frees. Not a bad half for a player that many are saying is gone! Noel McGrath started in the corner but wandered all over to get the ball was very unlucky with a goal effort in the first half as he pulled on the dropping ball. He used his superbly economical style to swing over 2 first half points. Only scored a free in the second half and did miss a 65. Suffered by the lack of decent possession going into the Tipp forwards. Still a good showing from the youngster in his first Munster Senior Final. Lar Corbett playing on his home ground had a cracker of a game scoring 1-1 in both halves to end up at Tipp top scorer with 2-2. Both of his second half scores punished silly Waterford errors. Worked superbly well but also suffered from the lack of Tipp forward possession in the second half. And only for Mullane’s one man Waterford show who could possibly have been Man of the Match.

Brendan Maher for Paul Curran: Went wing back just before the break. Tidy enough game without seeing a lot of the ball.

Willie Ryan for Eoin Kelly: Came on at half time for the injured Eoin Kelly, despite being on for half the game I don’t remember him having possession of the ball.

Benny Dunne for James Woodlock: Came on with 45 minutes gone and did score 1 good point after a good run. The loose open play suited him as he caught a good few balls but his distribution was poor at times.

Hugh Moloney for Pat Kerwick: Came on with 55 minutes gone. Had 1 glorious chance but blazed horribly wide. Not related to a centre forward and was not able to replicate his cameo of the Clare game.

Michael Webster for John O’Brien: Came on for the last few minutes at full forward, did not have enough time to contribute much.

So Tipp move on to the All-Ireland Semi Final on the 16th August where they will face one of the quarter final winners. Waterford will now have to face back into the qualifiers on the weekend of the 25th/26th July with a quarter final clash. Both sides could also meet again later on in the Championship and this was also the last game this year for both sides that had a second chance for the losers. Interestingly both counties meet again on Wednesday night in a Munster U21 Semi Final clash in Dungarvan with up to 10 of the Tipp side involved and a handful of the Waterford Senior panel involved as well. Liam Sheedy will also be worried about the next round of club games at the weekend.
While Liam Sheedy will have a lot of questions to solve before the next game; who to put full back, the make up of the forwards, he also will be worried about the above mentioned game and getting Eoin Kelly back fit he will be quietly happy with this Tipp performance. This is the first time that Tipp have put back to back Munster Titles since 1988-89 and Tipp have exorcised the demons of the last years All-Ireland Semi Final. Tipp have a confidence high scoring young team used to winning who will not fear anyone. Yes we do have things to work on, (as do every other county); but he has done all that was asked of him this year. Sheedy can now sit back and watch the qualifiers duke it out to see who we face although it does seem likely at this stage that we will face the winners of Laois, Limerick or Dublin. Advice to Liam, (not that he needs it), ignore the media for the next few weeks and concentrate on getting the team 100% ready for the All-Ireland Semi Final on the 16th August so that we can hit the ground running and that this 5 week break will not be a hindrance to us.




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Tipperary v Waterford 2009 Munster Senior Hurling Final 12-07-09 Knocknagow

Tipp and Waterford do battle in the 2009 Munster Hurling Final on Sunday in Thurles. Throw in is at 4.00, the game is live on RTE 2 with John Sexton of Cork the ref. The game will be preceded by the Minor Final between the same two sides. The last meeting between the sides was last year in the All-Ireland Semi Final. After a poor start Tipp recovered to level at 10 points each at the break. Waterford goaled through Eoin Kelly but Tipp responded likewise straight away. Tipp could not however get level with Waterford as they lost 1-20 to 1-18. The sides met twice in 2006. In the Munster Championship Tipp won 3-14 to 1-12 over a half hearted Waterford. Tipp 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. Incidentally the last Munster Final meeting between the sides was in 2002; which Waterford won, (2-23 to 3-12), which means that Tipp have only won 1 of the last 5 Championship meetings between the sides.
Waterford have played 2 Championship games to date. They started off on fire against Limerick and through Mullane lead 9-2 at the break. They were shocking in the second half as Limerick tightened up on Mullane and allowed no ball into the Waterford forwards. Waterford did not score from play in the second half and were mightily relieved to get a 1-8 to 0-11 draw. The sides replayed the evening before the Tipp v Clare game and it was a far different affair with Waterford producing a devastating last quarter to brush Limerick aside and win 0-25 to 0-17. The 2 main players for Waterford were Eoin Kelly and John Mullane. Mullane scored 6 points from play and won many of the frees from which Kelly scored his 12 points. Mullane was on fire and destroyed all the players who tried to mark him, Damien Reale, O’Riordan, Dennis Moloney and Tom Condon who tried to timber him. Waterford also had good displays from Shane O’Sullivan and Muloumpy.
Definitely out for Waterford is Ken McGrath who had a knee operation between the draw and replay. Further injury woes for Davy with the news that Gary Hurney, centre forward in the Limerick replay, broke his collarbone in training. While initially there were serious doubts about Kevin Moran, Stephen Muloumpy and Tony Browne, it now seems likely that they will play. Moran returned to training last week and Muloumpy is rated at 70% to play. While much has been made of the performances of Mullane to date there are weaknesses in this Waterford side, they were held scoreless from play in the drawn Limerick game and in truth if Limerick had a decent free taker Limerick would be in the Munster Final on Sunday. They are weak enough in the full back line with Hennessey still not too convincing in goals. However they do have some superb talent out the field, Brick Walsh is settling well into centre back, O’Sullivan and Moloumpy are a formidable midfield partnership and up front they have Mullane, Eoin Kelly, Seamus Prendergast and Dan who have all won matches against Tipp in the past. For Tipp to win we have to keep up our high scoring rate; Cork game 1-14 out of 1-19 from play, and the Clare game 3-13 put of 3-18 from play is a great return. Waterford are struggling for goals this year and Tipp will need to score a few if we are to win this game.
Tipp however are the defending Munster Champions and although Waterford did win the semi-final last year one has to wonder about the physiological effects of the subsequent mauling by Kilkenny in the Final has had on them. The replay against Limerick will have got a lot of that day out of their system and the subsequent histrionics and idiotic hysteria created by Davy in the media afterwards has kept the pressure off the players. Another interesting facet of the game is that by Sunday evening Tipp will have played the same 3 counties this year and last year in the Championship! So for this season to be classed as progress a win on Sunday would be the very, very minimum. Again there has been a lot of negative media comments about Tipp letting teams back into games/not finishing teams off while all the commentators seem to have forgotten that the worst half of hurling played by any side in this years Munster Championship was Waterford’s second half display against Limerick.
Sheedy will hopefully have had 3 weeks to work on the fitness levels of Conor O’Mahony who faded badly after the first quarter and Shane McGrath who after a storming first half faded out of the game. Both of their presences were badly missed around midfield as Colin Ryan, Donnellan and Brian O’Connell dominated this sector for most of the second half. Again when the half forwards are going well they are superb; scoring at will. However there is no way that Waterford will give them as much room as Clare did in the Semi. Remember the physical, even dirty, off the ball tactics that completely unsettled the Tipp players who stood off and took it in last year’s game. If Tipp are to win on Sunday they will have to respond in kind to that type of dirt and not let it put them off their game. Thankfully Tipp showed in the League Final that the younger players; Padraig Maher and Noel McGrath, would not allowed themselves to be intimidated by such tactics.
Since the Clare game most of the Tipp players played for their clubs and all seem to have come through uninjured. Last week Tipp played Galway in a high scoring challenge match in Thurles; which was effectively a run out for the subs with Seamus Hennessey and Hugh Moloney played at centre back and centre forward. Regulars Eoin Kelly Conor O’Mahony and James Woodlock got runs as subs. On the injury front; Eoin Kelly is still troubled with a back injury but will start and Noel McGrath had a leg injury but has brushed that off. Shane Maher has returned to training at the start of this week and Sheedy has not ruled out some involvement by him on Sunday although given his lack of match fitness he will not start. There has been some rumblings in Tipp about Hugh Moloney starting at centre forward this should not even be considered in light of what happened against the same opposition in the Semi-Final last year, although he may be an option to spring from the bench with 15 minutes to go to win a few balls from puck outs like he did against Clare the last day when introduced. Callanan is the ideal man for Brick Walsh as if Callanan is not marked he will slip in and snipe goals as he did against both Cork and Clare.

The Tipp team was named last night and is captained by Conor O’Mahony
Brendan Cummins.
Paddy Stapleton, Paul Curran and Conor O’Brien.
Declan Fanning, Conor O’Mahony and Padraic Maher.
James Woodlock and Shane McGrath.
Pat Kerwick, Seamus Callanan and John O'Brien.
Noel McGrath, Eoin Kelly and Lar Corbett.
The team shows no changes for the side that beat Clare with just a few minor positional switches in the forward line. All 6 backs will have to be on their toes on Sunday any dawdling and the likes of Eoin Kelly, John Mullane or Jack Kennedy will destroy them. Hopefully Conor O’Mahony has fully recovered from mumps and recent illnesses to be able to last the full game the last thing Tipp need is a weakness down the middle of the defence. James Woodlock played a consistent game against Clare and he along with Shane McGrath will need to keep up that workrate for the entire game. Much has been made of the Tipp forwards and their weaknesses however when they fire they are phenomenal and they will need to convert every chance on Sunday as well as cutting out some of the stupid passes that plagued the Clare win. The pressure will be on the likes of Lar, Noel McGrath and Callanan to deliver on Sunday so the likes of Eoin Kelly, nominally at the edge of the square, and Kerwick may have slightly less attention paid towards them and they could do the damage.
Sunday is a historic game for Brendan Cummins as he equals John Doyle’s record of playing 54 Championship games for Tipp. He has been very impressive so far in both Championship games; saving a penalty against Cork and making a great last minute tip over in the Clare game to seal the Tipp win. He will need to be on his toes on Sunday as well to keep the likes of Mullane and Eoin Kelly out. His puck outs will also be crucial as if/when the Tipp half forwards are struggling to win puck outs he needs to be able to vary his clearances to midfield and pick out the free Tipp man. The backs will have a serious job in trying to limit the Waterford’s from scoring. This will have to be a 2 phased operation with the Tipp half forwards limiting the space and time to the likes of Brick Walsh in delivering good ball into the Waterford forwards. One possible way to stop this could be to have John O’Brien dropping back crowding up the space as he did in the first half against Cork. The half forwards have to play for the full game Seamus Callanan needs to not only disrupt Brick Walsh he also needs to win primary possession and use it wisely. The Tipp full forward line should also go for goals. They showed against Clare that when they get a goal chance they can take them. I am sure we will see a lot of switching around in the Tipp forwards.
How do I see the game going? Sunday is again another crucial game in the development of this Tipp side. A win and Tipp are set up nicely for the Semi-Final; a loss and the possibility of a Quarter-Final against the likes of Galway or Cork in 2 weeks time. I know which route Sheedy will want! Personally I feel that Tipp have more scoring forwards and the injuries to McGrath and Hurney limit Waterford’s options. I also doubt if Muloumpy will be 100% fit and while they do have Dan to come off the bench if Tipp can keep the ball from going into Mullane and Kelly then Tipp should win by 3 points.





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Tipp 3-18 Clare 1-22 (Munster Semi Final) 21-06-09 Knockagow

Tipp advanced to their second Munster Final in a row after a 2 point win over Clare this afternoon at the Gaelic Grounds Limerick in front of a poor crowd of 20,872. Tipp played with the advantage of a decent wind in the first half. Both teams made a whole host of positional switches before the throw in the main ones being; Tipp Lar to full forward with John O’Brien on the wing and for Clare Jonathon Clancy was in midfield, Tony Griffin on the wing and Colin Ryan in the corner.
Tipp had the first attack of the game with a long clearance from Fanning was expertly fielded by John O’Brien who caught, turned and pointed on the run. A run from Noel McGrath who passed to his namesake Shane and Kerwick opened his account. Shane McGrath was then pushed over the sideline at midfield and for stupid dissension by Pat Donnellan the ball was brought forward and Eoin Kelly had no problem with the free, so Tipp had stormed into a 3 point lead after 3 minutes. Loose play by the Tipp backs allowed Jonathon Clancy to point for Clare’s opener. Straight from the puck out Noel McGrath fielded and scored his first point. A great run by Kerwick saw him put the ball wide when Lar was open in front of goals. Pressure from Clare meant that Noel McGrath had to pass back to Fanning but he scored a good point from midfield. John O’ Brien had a wide but he redeemed himself when a speculative clearance found the Clare backs dozing and allowed Lar to slip in and expertly flick the ball past a poor Brennan in a move reminisint of Pat Foxes similar effort in the 1991 Munster Final replay. Shane McGrath again found Lar and he pointed so Tipp now lead 1-6 to 0-1 after 18 minutes and looked well in control.
Clare began to find there feet and got appoint from a Colin Ryan free. Lar had a wide from out on the endline. A great pass from Lar nearly had Callanan in for a goal. Tony Griffin got a Clare point. Both Gilly and Conor O’Brien got yellow cards for a “bit of a schomozzle” but Colin Ryan pointed the free when the dust settled. John O’Brien had a poor wide. A ball dropped into Cummins’s hands and with all the time in the world he drove the ball between 2 Tipp players and Colin Ryan standing up pointed from the sideline, so Clare were now only 1-6 to 0-5 behind. Conor O’Mahony found Noel McGrath and he pointed. Shane McGrath got a great block on Colin Ryan and under pressure Ryan drove his second attempt wide. John O’Brien then found Kerwick who pointed but he was hit off the ball by McInerney on the way out which the ref ignored. Dawdling by Fanning in midfield saw him blown up for over carrying but Colin Ryan put the effort wide.
Kerwick got another Tipp point which he caught from a puck out to settle nerves. Noel McGrath then scored a great point off a sideline after pressure from John O’Brien won the sideline in the first place. Great pressure by Shane McGrath won the ball on the sideline he drove it up to Noel McGrath won passed to Callanan and despite a dirty belt across his tight by Markham he buried the ball to the net. So Tipp now lead by 11 after 28 minutes, 2-10 to 0-5. Clare however dominated the rest of the half and got 2 quick points the first from Tony Carmody and the second after a great run by Clancy. Tipp then stopped the rot when a John O’Brien pass to Noel McGrath who pointed. Gilly had a wide. Diarmaid McMahon then drifted behind Curran who again was dawdling and McMahon goaled; (it looked like a goal from where I was despite what the boys on the telly said!). Brian O’Connell then went off and was replaced by Gary O’Connell as a temporary blood sub. Conor O’Mahony then burst out with a ball but he lost possession, it was passed to McMahon and he pointed for the last score of the half as the ref blew up after 2 minutes of injury time with Tipp leading 2-11 to 1-8.
Clare had Brian O’Connell back but Tipp made 1 change with Conor O’Mahony off and Brendan Maher on on the wing, with Paudie Maher centre back. However his first involvement did not go well as despite wining the ball he gave a sloppy pass and it was picked up Tony Griffin who pointed. Both John O’Brien and Noel McGrath had wides as Tipp’s wides tally increased. Woodlock was fouled but Callanan put the free wide. A late tackle by Curran on Gilly saw him yellow carded and Ryan pointed the free to leave at 2-11 to 1-10. Quick thinking by Callanan with a sideline as he passed the ball to Noel McGrath and he pointed from a tight angle with 43 minutes gone. Barrett scored a simple Clare point.
Woodlock had a great run and flicked the ball over the bar to get his first point of the day. Brendan Maher picked out John O’Brien and he pointed. A great catch from Paddy Stapleton saw him solo out of defence and despite under severe pressure he found Lar whose cross field ball was caught by John O’Brien who easily turned his man and buried it to the net. Tipp now led by 9 points; 3-14 to 1-11 after 46 minutes. Jonathon Clancy then scored a point but picked a yellow for a very harsh pull across a Tipp player. Eoin Kelly nailed the free. Colin Ryan got another free for Clare. Pat Kerwick dropped a ball short. Clare got 2 more points from play the first from Ryan and the second from McMahon who tried to go through Curran for a goal but took his point. There was now 6 points in it with 52 minutes gone. Lar’s great run was halted and Kelly got the free. Tipp made their second change with Kerwick off and Willie Ryan on.
Colin Ryan got another Clare point. Brian O’Connell got a harsh yellow but Eoin Kelly’s point effort came back off the post and he gave away a free after a foul on Brian O’Connell. Clare took off Tony Carmody and put on Barry Nugent. Stupid overelaboration by Tipp saw Shane McGrath concede a sideline and Colin Ryan pointed it superbly. There was now only 5 in o with 10 minutes to go. Callanan did the spade work and allowed Noel McGrath to nip in and point. Gilly then went on a run, got past both Paudie Maher and Conor O’Brien but his shot was saved by Cummins and Curran saved the rebound at the expense of a 65 which Colin Ryan pointed. Both sides made a whole host of changes with Barrett coming off for Clare and Conlon going on. Tipp brought off Shane McGrath and Callanan and put on Benny Dunne and Hugh Moloney. The Clare sub Conlon score with his first possession. A high ball into the Tipp full forward line was well cleared by Stapleton.
Jonathon Clancy came off for Clare and was replaced by Gary O’Connell. With 4 minutes to go a foul by Padraig Maher saw Ryan point again. Benny Dunne then missed a great chance when unmarked. Tipp made the last change with Paul replacing Eoin Kelly. Noel McGrath drove a pointless ball into the full forward line and went wide. Willie Ryan had a bad wide. John O’Brien had a great effort but it came back off the post and Lar was unlucky as his goal effort went wide. Pressure by Clare won them a 65 which Ryan pointed. Hugh Moloney then won a free after a dirty wild swing by Markham, (should have been a red but only a free from the ref), Noel McGarth was calmness personified as he pointed from a tight angle for Tipp’s last score of the day, 3-17 to 1-21 as the game drifted injury time. Benny Dunne was pulled up for a foul on a throw in and Colin Ryan gave a great shot which was dipping under the bar until Cummins superbly flicked it over the bar for Clare’s last score of the day. The ref signalled for only 2 minutes injury time but played over 3. With Cummins’s puck out he blew up and Tipp had won by 3-18 to 1-22. Noel McGrath was voted Man of the Match by TV3 and rightly so.
Mike McNamara will not be happy with this game. While they did come in as overwhelming underdogs into this game did nothing for 20 minutes, allowed Tipp to build up a 1-6 to 1 point lead, they stood back and admired Tipp, no closing down no hassling Tipp players and no aggression. However once they got into the game they got 4 points in a row and even though Tipp went 11 points up in the first half they got 1-1 just before the break to go in only 6 points down. Similar to last year’s game it was their big players who let them down, Tony Carmody, Tony Griffin and Niall Gilligan did very little and it was left to Colin Ryan who scored 12 points, 6 from frees, and Diarmaid McMahon who got 1-2 to run at Tipp and ask serious questions of the Tipp backs. Alan Markham gave away a stupid free in injury time which put Tipp 3 up when he fouled Hugh Maloney as he was over near the corner flag and was not going to score. Gerry O’Grady kept a tight rein on Eoin Kelly and both Pat Donnellan and Brian O’Connell did well in the second half. However the closest they got to Tipp was 2 points and despite all the possession they had in the second half they did not seem likely to be able to wrestle this game away from Tipp.
While Liam Sheedy will be happy with the result he will not be too pleased with the performance. Tipp went in to the game as overwhelming favourites, built up a big lead twice in the first half and yet it took a superb full length dive from Cummins to keep Ryan’s effort out deep in injury time. Tipp got a serious kick in the pants just before the break but there was no urgency at the start of the second half and Clare were allowed pick off easy points. Tipp were hanging on by their nails as the game approached injury time.
The negatives; Tipp were 11 points up after 28 minutes and 9 points up after 46 minutes and were incapable of closing out the game and let Clare back into it. There was far too much fluting around in the first half, stupid hand passing to a player 3 yards away, players not taking their points, and general over elaboration when the players should have put the ball over the bar. Clare scored 23 times to Tipp’s 21, and for once Clare cannot whine about wides as they had only 5 to Tipp’s 13! Clare did drop far more balls into Cummins’s hands than Tipp did to Brennan. Colin Ryan when he went out around midfield scored at will in the second half and Tipp had no one to get onto him. Tipp gave away way too many frees which were punished. Tipp completely faded in the last 10 minutes, Tipp led 3-16 to 1-17 and Tipp only got 2 points with Clare getting 5 and in that time Tipp had bad wides from Benny, Willie Ryan and John O’Brien hit the post. The spine of the Tipp side Eoin Kelly, Conor O’Mahony and Shane McGrath were taken off after fading out of the game.
Onto the positives! Tipp scored 3-16 from play which is good scoring anyway day in the Championship. Tipp had 8 players who scored, 7 from play. When Tipp were in the grove, first 20 minutes they were exquisite, sweet passes, lovely first time hurling at pace which completely over whelmed the Clare backs. Tipp took their goals well. While the first and third goals could be put down to poor play by the Clare full back who allowed both Lar and Johnno acres of space, it could also be argued that Tipp exploited the rawness of the Clare full back. Tipp looked far more likely all day to get goals. Despite all the pressure that Tipp came under the players who stood up in the last 15 minutes were Cummins, Stapleton, Curran, Padraig Maher and Noel McGrath. Possibly the only positive that can be taken from Eoin Kelly’s poor performances is that the scores are far more evenly spread around the Tipp forwards. Tipp again used all 5 subs.
I was surprised by some of the switches that Sheedy made. Kerwick was wining some ball from puck outs. While we were struggling to win primary possession in the half forward line Willie Ryan was not what was needed and especially at wing forward, surely Patrick Maher was the man. While he may not score a lot we needed someone to put their paw up and win primary possession; Bonner Maher was what the Tipp game was crying out for at wing forward. Also while Hugh Moloney did win a few balls the All-Ireland Semi Final v Waterford last year proved he is not a centre forward. The Tipp forwards spent the last quarter way too far out from the goals. They should have been told to go back into the corners, when the Tipp backs came out of defence they were hitting the ball into a crowded half forward line with 5 sets of players and Clare invariably winning the loose ball. Also while Eoin Kelly was not moving well he could possibly have been left on to take the frees in the last 5 minutes, however Noel McGrath stood up and took the responsibility.

Brendan Cummins: Could not be faulted for the goal. Made 2 great saves in the second half the first from Niall Gilligan and the second from a Colin Ryan free deep injury time through a crowded goal mouth. Did give one point away when a clearance fell between two Tipp players and Colin Ryan scored a point.

Full back line: After a shaky enough game the last day Paddy Stapleton was superb today. Grew into the game as it developed. His long run and pass set up the last Tipp goal. Paul Curran had 1 slip when he allowed McMahon is behind him and he goaled. Played very well under serious aerial bombardment in the second half and his quick reflexes saved Tipp on more than 1 occasion. Conor O’Brien did some very good and bad things. Got stupidly involved with Gilly and was yellow carded a lot of the Clare second half scores came from balls into his corner. Got in his fair share of work though.

Half back line: Declan Fanning playing out of position at wing back, started well batting a lot of high ball to the midfielders and scored a great point from long range. His influence waned as the game went on and could possibly be more suited closer to his won goal. Conor O’Mahony was steady in the first quarter, but seemed to take a heavy knock and ran out of steam just before the break and allowed Clare to score the least point of the first half when he did clear the ball after gaining possession and was replaced at the break. Padraic Maher although slightly out of position at wing back was fairly quiet in the first half but was commanding in the last quarter catching and fielding ball under severe pressure. A very good reader of the game.

Midfield: Shane McGrath was superb in the first half great energy and workrate set up numerous points and the second Tipp goal with his typical hard work. Was completely anonymous after the break and it was no surprise when he was replaced. James Woodlock for once outshone Shane McGrath and produced the 70 minute game that is required at this level. Got through an amount of work in the first half and pushed on in the second scoring a point after a great run, but also could not close the space down that Colin Ryan was getting.

Half forward line: Seamus Callanan had a quiet game scored a cracking goal in the first half when he ran onto a Noel McGrath pass. Other than that was not that involved in the game. He won nothing under the dropping ball and did way too much flicking and fancy 1 hand on the hurley stuff in the first half. Will need to contribute more the next day. Was replaced by Hugh Maloney late on. Pat Kerwick in his first Championship start of the year at wing forward had a good game. Scored 3 first half points and did a lot of running back and winning possession in the Tipp half back line/midfield area. Was surprisingly taken off as although he was still winning some ball he was held scoreless in the second half. Lar Corbett while picked on the wing drifted around all the forward line.

Full forward line: John O’Brien was returned to the edge of the square but started out the field. Got through an amount of work in the first half got the first point of the game, sent in the ball that Lar goaled from his own half back line. Scored a point in the first half and 1-1 in the second. He did shoot a few silly wides over his shoulder when he should have been looking to pass the ball. His goal was well taken and when he got the ball there was only 1 thought on his mind. Will be happy with his contribution today. Noel McGrath, the youngest man on the field, was also the best. Scored 3 points from play and a sideline in the first half and they 2 points from play and 2 points from play as well as the crucial insurance free from a tight angle late on. Worked his socks off and takes responsibility when the pressure is on. Well able to either take his own score or pass if that is the best option. Eoin Kelly scored 3 frees and was the only forward not to score from play, had another off the post. Came off to be replaced by his brother. While he did not have a good game it should be noted that he was on the best Clare man marker in Gerry O’Grady and got very little ball into his corner.

Brendan Maher for Conor O’Mahony: Came on at half time and went wing back. His first contribution was to pass straight to Tiny Griffin who pointed. Did not see much of the ball and was not as calm and assured as he was against Cork.

Willie Ryan for Pat Kerwick: Came on at corner forward with 7 minutes to go. Had 1 chance of a point and missed it.

Benny Dunne for Shane McGrath: came on with 7 minutes to go. Got a lovely pass of the ball and drove it wide as well with Tipp under severe pressure.

Hugh Maloney for Seamus Callanan: Came on at centre forward and caught a few puck outs. Was hacked won by Markham to win the last Tipp free. Not a centre forward though.

Paul Kelly for Eoin Kelly: Came on as the game approached injury time don’t think he got a touch of the ball.

So Tipp advance to the Munster Final in Thurles, while Clare have to try and regroup in the qualifiers where they have been drawn to play Galway in Ennis. Given the manner in which John Mullane and Waterford performed on Saturday this Munster Final is sure to be eagerly anticipated. Tipp still do have serious questions; how to cope with numerous fade out, how to develop the killer mentality to put teams away, how to stop conceding stupid frees and letting teams back into it. Yet despite all this Tipp ARE in the Munster Final, it is at home, and we do owe Waterford for what happened in Semi Final last year. We have played poorly yet we are heading into the Munster Final as defending Champions against a Waterford team that also has some serious question marks hanging over them. Most players now have club Championship games next week and Sheedy will be hoping they come through those game ok as well as giving some of the injured players for today game time. Sheedy will have some serious decisions to make over the next 3 weeks about which team to start, their positions and also the tactics to stop Waterford, and in particular Mullane, hurling. So bring the 2009 Munster Senior Hurling Final on!!!!!!!!

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Tipp v Clare (21-06-09) Knocknagow

Tipp and Clare do battle in the second Munster Senior Hurling Semi-Final on Sunday in the Gaelic Grounds Limerick. The ref is James Owens from Wexford and throw in is at 4.00 with the game being shown live on TV3. The winners will advance to the Munster Final on the 12th July in Thurles. The second last meeting, and the last Semi-Final meeting, was in 2005 also in Limerick which Tipp won 2-14 to 0-14. The game turned on a 3 minute spell in the first half when full forward Michael Webster passed to Lar who goaled, Lar returned the compliment to Webster minutes later and the Loughmore man 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. Last year the sides met in the Munster Final. In the first half Callanan set off on a run and buried the ball to the net setting Tipp up with a 1-11 to 0-6 point lead. Tipp appeared to be cruising after the break as they lead 1-16 to 0-7, Clare then scored 7 points in a row before their potential fight back was nipped in the bud with a clinical goal from John O’Brien as Tipp won 2-21 to 0-19 and regained the Munster title for the first time since 2001.
Since that game last year Clare have lost 3 of their better players both Colin Lynch and Frank Lohan have retired while Gerry Quinn had a falling out with Mike McNamara and left the panel. Clare’s league form was appalling and they only drew with Dublin. However as Cork showed talks about infighting are often put aside once the Championship starts. Clare showed in 2003 and in the first round against Waterford last year that they are not be underestimated when they are written off in the media. In recent weeks they have played both Waterford and Wexford in challenge games. On the injury front regular full back Conor Cooney is out injured and is replaced by debutant James McInerney. 2 other debutants start with Colin Ryan at wing forward and David Barrett at full forward. They are sure to make many positional switches on the day as they have Jonathon Clancy listed at corner forward but he will surely line out at midfield.
In the aftermath of the Cork game there was some serious brownnosing of the Cork team and their performance by the national media and most of the coverage skimmed over the fact that Tipp actually won the game! Tipp won the game by scoring 1-14 from play but yet there were some serious deficiencies shown up on the day. Both corner backs looked dodgy and unsure and the Tipp half forwards which had dominated the much vaunted Cork half back line in the fits half were completely out of the game after the break. The Tipp tactic of dragging the Cork backs all over the place worked a treat in the first half as the likes of Lar, John O’Brien, Callanan and Noel McGrath all scored at will, with serious workrate out of John O’Brien and Lar Corbett. Cork carried out some surgery at the break and completely closed out this area but it is a sign of the maturity of this Tipp team that they were able to get 3 of the last 4 scores of the game to kill the game. Captain Conor O’Mahony and Shane McGrath will have had a further 3 weeks to recover from the mumps, Eoin Kelly a further 3 weeks training and the debutants Paddy Stapleton, Paudie Maher and Noel McGrath will have got over their nerves.
Since the Cork game 9 of the Tipp senior panel, (Michael Cahill was out with a hamstring injury), have been involved in the U21’s extra time win over Cork in the Munster Quarter Final only 3 days after the senior win. Tipp appeared disjointed in the first half but superb displays from Padraig and Padraic Maher as well as Brendan Maher, Seamus Callanan, Noel McGrath, Thomas Stapleton and Gearoid Ryan helped Tipp to a hard fought 3 points win. On the injury front Brendan Maher became the fourth Tipp player this year to break his thumb when he damaged it in that U21 game and is now out for up to 2 months. Shane Maher recovered from the hamstring injury which disrupted the latter stages of his League campaign and played with his club 2 weeks ago but damaged the hamstring again and now is a long term injury. Michael Cahill is also out with a hamstring injury. Neither Conor O’Mahony nor Lar Corbett played with their clubs recently but are expected to be available as is Shane McGrath who went in goals for the second half of Ballinahinch’s recent game. He along with a number of other players were affected by a bug immediately after the Cork game. On the positive front Hugh Moloney came through Nenagh’s recent win over Toome where Willie Ryan also played the full game. Tipp also played a high scoring match last Friday night against Offaly in Nenagh, which ended in a draw; Tipp 3-18 Offaly 2-21. It was pretty much the Tipp second strength with Conor O’Mahony the only definitive starter who played. Lar Corbett did come on for 15 minutes and scored 2-1.

The Tipp team was named last night and is captained by Conor O’Mahony
Brendan Cummins.
Paddy Stapleton, Paul Curran and Conor O’Brien.
Declan Fanning, Conor O’Mahony and Padraic Maher.
James Woodlock and Shane McGrath.
Lar Corbett, Seamus Callanan and Pat Kerwick.
Noel McGrath, John O'Brien and Eoin Kelly.
The team shows just the one change from the side that overcame Cork 3 weeks ago. Pat Kerwick is named at wing forward with Michael Webster losing out. The 2 positional switches are captain Conor O’Mahony going to centre back, (with Padraic Maher going to wing back), and John O’Brien going to full forward. Given the injuries to both the Mahers it is no surprise that there are not any changes in the backs. Hugh Moloney and Thomas Stapleton must now be the first choice subs for the backs with Benny Dunne surely to feature in midfield once the play is fractured like he profited in the Cork game. Kerwick must be more than pleased to get back in as he missed most of the League with a thumb injury. I am sure that the selectors picked him with one eye on the fact that Alan Markham is picked in the Clare half back line and also given his ability to win ball in the air from puck outs, an area with which we struggled severely against Cork.
John O’Brien did his best hurling at the edge of the square during the League and given that Clare have a debutant here maybe a few early balls into him could have a major baring on this game. However Tipp will lose out on all the tracking back that he did the last day and Kerwick will have to put in the same work rate if Tipp are to prosper on Sunday. The Tipp backs also need to bet good ball into the full forward line and especially Eoin Kelly now that Webster is not on the edge of the square to take knocks intelligent ball will have to go into that line. I expect that there will be much switching around in the Tipp forwards with McGrath and Lar to be in the half forward line at some stage and Kelly to go to the edge of the square on occasions. The backs have to stay tight and not concede as many frees as they did the last day as well as delivering good ball into the forwards and not skying Hail Mary balls up into the clouds.
How do I see the game going? Sunday is a crucial game in the development of this Tipp side. We were the favourites going into the Cork game and despite a serious second half wobble we won the game, scoring 3 of the last 4 points, all from play. Against Clare we will go in again as favourites and a win would put us into a Munster Final in Thurles, (due to the GAA’s 125 celebrations the Munster Hurling Final has been fixed for Thurles irrespective of the teams in it.) Neither side will want to lose this game as well as a Munster Final appearance at stake they will also want to avoid the qualifiers where at present Cork, Offaly and the losers of Galway v Kilkenny and Limerick v Waterford are already. Tipp need to get a good start and not fade out for long spells of the game like what happened against Cork in the second half. I do believe that Tipp have the better scoring forwards and if Tipp put up a high score the Clare forwards will struggle to match that tally. The Tipp backs will be under pressure and scrutiny after some slackness against Cork. However I feel that Tipp will have too much firepower and will win by 5 points.



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Tipp 1-19 Cork 0-19 (31-05-09) Knocknagow

Tipp overcame Cork in sweltering hot conditions, (up to 25 degrees), in Thurles this afternoon in front of 35,103 spectators in the Munster Senior Hurling Quarter Final. Tipp played with the aid of a slight wind in the first half and made a number of positional switches before the game with Captain Conor O’Mahony resuming his place at centre back, Padraic Maher going wing back and Noel McGrath and Lar Corbett swapping in the forwards. Cork lined out as selected.
Straight from the throw in Tipp were on the attack with a Conor O Mahony clearance finding Eoin Kelly who rolled back the years to dodge past his man and put the ball over the bar after only 16 seconds. Cork equalised with Ben O’Connor pointing a free on the sideline. The next ball into Kelly he was clearly fouled by his man; Kelly pointed the free from just outside the 45. Fanning passed the ball to Lar and he put the ball wide from an acute angle. Ben O’Connor pointed to level matters. Noel McGrath picked up the loose ball passed to Callanan and he pointed. Ben O’Connor had a point after a pass from Kieran Murphy pass. Lar then got around his man and was blocked up by Cadogen. Fanning found John O’Brien whose shot went wide. Noel McGrath then had a wide after Paudie Maher clearance. A Woodlock solo came up short when his flick went into Cusack’s hand. Ben put a free wide and Eoin Kelly had a bad wide.
Cork then had to make their first change when Shane O’Neill took a heavy belt n the head from Webster and was replaced by Shane Murphy. In the 18th minute a Niall McCarthy point put Cork ahead 4-3. Callanan pointed from out the field to level and then he set up Noel McGrath who got a monster point from halfway. Aisaike was fouled and Ben pointed the free. Shane McGrath cut a sweet sideline over the bar. He then found John O’Brien who pointed and John O’Brien returned the complement to Shane who scored on the run and Tipp lead 8-5 with 24 minutes gone. Great pressure by Kelly saw him win the ball off Cadogen he was fouled and the ref called it back despite Kelly being through on goals. Kelly pointed the free. Paddy Stapleton fouled and Ben pointed the free. Eoin Kelly’s point effort was blocked. Lar then from a puck out caught and pointed from out the sideline. A high ball into the Cork goal saw the ball break to Webster, he passed to Noel McGrath and he pointed on the second attempt.
Noel McGrath pointed to put Tipp 6 up. Tom Kenny soloed along the sideline and pointed. Lar caught a great ball from a Brendan Cummins puck out and pointed. Cummins came out and passed low to Conor O’Brien he missed the ball and had to haul Kieran Murphy down and Ben pointed. A silly foul by Paudie Maher on Timmy McCarthy saw him yellow carded and Ben pointed. The ref blew up after 2 minutes of injury time with Tipp ahead 13 points to 9.
Neither side made any changes at the start of the second half although Tom Kenny and John Gardiner swapped positions. 32 seconds in Tipp goaled. Great pressure by Webster saw him break the ball to Lar and in a flash he flicked the ball to Callanan who from 14 yards gave Cusack no chance. Eoin Kelly then got his leg heavily strapped. Sean Og found his baby brother and he pointed for his first of the day. In the 38th minute Lar found Callanan and he pointed; 1-14 to 0-10 to Tipp. Cork came back into the game and pointed through a Ben O’Connor free. Aisaike then made a great catch and passed to Horgan who from 14 yards out missed the goal well straight away he also missed point. Cork then got a penalty when Timmy McCarthy was fouled, Paddy Stapleton was yellow carded and Pat Horgan surprisingly took the penalty he blasted straight at Cummins and it hit his head, out for a 65 which Ben put wide.
Cork replaced the ineffective Niall McCarthy with Pa Cronin. Webster was then hauled to the ground and got no free and then Cusack threw his hurley into the crowd. Callanan’s effort dropped short. In the 45th minute Gardiner got a great point from long range. Webster was hauled down again but it was he who was yellow carded. Pa Cronin pointed to bring Cork back to within 4. Fluting about by Callanan let in Ben O’Connor for a point. Cork then took off the ineffective Timmy McCarthy and brought on Cathal Naughton with Tipp putting on Pat Kerwick for Webster with John O’Brien going full forward. A poor clearance from Paudie Maher fell to Pa Cronin who pointed.
Tipp took off Conor O’Mahony and put Paudie Maher centre back and Brendan Maher coming in for his first Championship game. Eoin Kelly got a free 55 yards out and pointed in the 54th minute to restore Tipp’s goal lead. Paddy Stapleton fouled and Ben pointed the free. A shoot by Jerry O’Connor was scrambled by Cummins for a 65 which Ben pointed to leave only the minimum in it with 13 minutes to go. Cork brought on Paudie O’Sullivan with Kieran Murphy coming off. Aisaike O’Halpin got a ball and gave a stupid handpass Cummins fumbled the ball and then took an elbow the head which split it open and he had to be replaced with Portroe’s coming in for his first Championship game. Gardiner had a wide before Tipp brought on Gearoid Ryan for Noel McGrath, Cork; Fintan O’Leary for Pat Horgan and Tipp Benny Dunne Dunne for Woodlock after the 66th minute.
Shane McGrath’s run was illegally stopped and Eoin Kelly pointed to put Tipp 1-16 to 0-17. Kerwick caught and his shot just fell short. Paudie Maher caught a great ball and was fouled head high and thrown to the ground. Paul Kelly came on for Callanan. Tipp upped the ante again when Lar found Benny who coolly slotted the ball over the bar. Gardiner pointed a Cork free. Lar was yellow carded but Ben passed to Jerry O’Connor and he drove it wide. With 2 minutes to go Shane McGrath took a pass from pointed. As Injury time approached Ben got Cork’s last score from a free. Kerwick got Tipp’s first wide of the game and then great work initially from Eoin Kelly eventually set up Lar and he got the last score of the game. The ref blew up on the puck out after 3 minutes of injury time and Tipp had won by 1-19 to 0-19. The Sunday Game surprisingly gave the Man of the Match to the Cork full back Cadogan.
Dennis Walsh will not be too happy that Cork lost this game. They lost it due to their bad first half; their woeful forwards, (both corner forwards and the 2 McCarthy’s were taken off after all played poorly), Ben O’Connor and the very limited Aisaike were there only scoring threats all through the game and the complete inability of their forwards to take any of the 3 great goal chances that they got in the second half. Walsh’s slackness on the line in not spotting that Gardiner was gone with cramp and could not mark Benny Dunne when he should have switched someone out the field and put Gardiner in at corner forward allowed Benny to score 2 points that sealed the game for Tipp. Again like last year it was left to one of the new players to take a crucial penalty. Patrick Horgan had just missed a great goal and point chance and then a minute later he was taking a penalty. Where were the more experienced players like Ben O’Connor?
And yet Cork could have won the game. They drove 13 wides in total and dropped a few into Cummins hands, Ben O’Connor was wide from 2 65’s and another free. Once they switched Tom Kenny and John Gardiner they were far more assured in the second half. Personally I feel the tactic of playing Aisaike at full forward backfired as any time Sean Og got the ball he always picked him out meaning that Ben O’Connor rarely benefited from the kind of passes Sean Og normally feeds him. Still this game will have brought Cork on and if they can avoid a few of the big guns in the qualifiers they may yet play a part in the destination of the Liam McCarthy this year.
Sheedy will be very happy to have come through this game as Tipp were under enormous pressure due to being such hot favourites and Cork came out to banish all the strike talk. The negatives Tipp scored a goal and point at the start of the second half, 38th minute; it was the 54th minute before we scored again from a free and not until the 67th minute before we scored a point from play! That kind of scoring drought; 30 minutes, will not win an All-Ireland. The starting forwards only scored 2 points from play in he second half. Now I know that the sweltering conditions played a factor but the Tipp faded drastically out of the game in the second half and allowed Cork to dominate. Noel McGrath, Lar and Callanan were superb in the first half but faded out of the game. We conceded way too many frees and a penalty. Ben O’Connor ended the game with way too many points scored from frees. Also 5 yellow cards in a match that was not obviously dirty will be a worry. Tipp need to be cuter/sneakier in the fouling see Kilkenny.
Yet despite all that we are in a Munster Semi Final. How many times since 2002 would we have lost a game like that? Yes we let Cork back into it but we scored 3 of the last 4 points, all of them from play. There was no panic, lads not bollicking each other, no whining to the ref, like Ronan Curran, no sneaky play, like Cusack throwing Webster’s hurley into the Terrace, they just put the head down and got the insurances scores. Paul Curran was my Man of the Match as he allowed Aisake very little room. Declan Fanning was targeted by the Cork puck outs in the first half and played superbly. We scored 1-14 from play and had only 5 wides, (1 in the second half!), which given what Cork scored from frees and the heat out there was superb play. 5 of the forwards had all scored from play in the first half and 7 players in total scored. For me the highlight of the game was after 16 second when the ball came into Kelly and he jinked and pointed thus dispelling all the talks of him never hurling again that went around during the winter. Another high light was the way that the younger players coped; Paudie Maher struggled on Ben O’Connor but as the game approached injury time he caught a great ball, was fouled and lifted the siege, Noel McGrath scored 3 great first half points and Brendan Maher came on and did ok. 3 lads today were starting their first Senior Championship game; Paddy Stapleton, Paudie Maher and Noel McGrath while both Darren Gleeson and Brendan Maher came on for their first taste of Championship action.

Brendan Cummins: Kept a clean sheet, superbly saved a penalty which hit the top of his head, he fumbled a few balls after that probably was slightly concussed and was replaced after an elbow to the head. Again his puck outs were poor. In the first half Lar was catching and scoring from them but in the second he put every single one over to the New Stand side despite Noel McGrath running into space time after time. Came off with 10 minutes to go injured and was replaced by Darren Gleeson.

Full back Line: Paul Curran was my Man of the Match. Didn’t let Aisaike get the ball into his hand in the first half. O’Halpin did get a few more chances in the second half but only scored a single point. Both corner backs were dodgy throughout Conor O’Brien was yellow carded after he allowed a clearance from Cummins under his legs and had to haul Murphy down. Paddy Stapleton was also yellow carded for the foul on Timmy McCarthy that lead up to the penalty. Both will have to up their game for the next day.

Half back line: Considering Conor O’Mahony is still recovering from mumps he did superbly well to last until the 54th minute. Not unduly trouble by the limited Niall McCarthy was not at his usual commanding self but did well until replaced. Declan Fanning was targeted in the first half by the Cork puck outs and coped superbly batting them down to either of the 2 midfielders or clearing them himself. Faded more out of it in the second half. Paudie Maher was obviously not suited to wing back and improved drastically when he went in centre back. Allowed Ben O’Connor way too much room. Still was superb when switched to No. 6 catching and clearing when Tipp were under pressure during Cork’s second half charge.

Midfield: Both players worked superbly in the first half covering every blade of grass and were shattered by half time. Again Woodlock started off well carrying ball out of defence but faded badly out of the game until replaced by Benny Dunne. Shane McGrath had a powerful first half scoring a great sideline point and another from play as well as setting up John O’Brien. Again once Gardiner switched to midfield did not see much of the ball after the break.

Half forward line: Callanan had a great first 40 minutes scoring 2 first half points, a great goal and a point in the second half, however once the rearranged Cork half backs got into stride never looked threatening in the latter stages of the game even when moved inside. Was caught once in the second half when instead of shooting he flicked the ball around and Cork went away with it before Ben O’Connor pointed. Replaced by Paul Kelly late on. Lar scored 2 points in the first half and gave a sweet pass to Callanan for the Tipp goal and while quiet for a lot of the second half got stuck in on Ronan Curran in injury time and got the insurance point deep in injury time. John O’Brien scored 1 point in the first half, and worked his socks off harrying and hassling as far back as the half back line. I have never seen him working or covering as much ground in a Tipp jersey as he did in the first half. Again was stuck by the forward malaise in the second half and finished the game at the edge of the square.

Full forward line: Webster was on the edge of the square and while he was the only Tipp forward not to score; set up Noel McGrath for first half point and was instrumental in the goal. Seemed to loose the head and was yellow carded and taken off after Cadagan best Diarmaid O’Sullivan impression in hauling him to the ground twice in the second half and he got no frees. Still worth his place on the team. Eoin Kelly started off superbly scoring a point after 16 seconds and winning a free soon after. Scored 5 points in total 4 from frees. Still seems to be off the pace and while he got a lot of ball into his corner unless it was right to him he did not seem up to game pace to get it. Still despite having a heavily strapped thigh at the start of the second half was involved in the build up to Lar’s insurance point. Was calm and assured on the frees especially in the second half when we struggled for scores. Noel McGrath had a powerful first half calm and assured scoring 3 points from play and setting up a few more. His point from half way was the pick of the bunch. Drifted around the field and Cummins should have picked him out far more times in the second half, faded out of the game and was replaced by Gearoid Ryan.

Pat Kerwick for Michael Webster in the 50th minute: Webster was beginning to loose the head at this stage. Kerwick came on at wing forward and won a few balls and despite not scoring steadied the ship.

Brendan Maher for Conor O’Mahony in the 54th minute: Went wing back. Not much play seemed to come his way.

Darren Gleeson for Brendan Cummins (injured) in the 59th minute: 10 minutes left in a tight Munster Championship game with your team under severe pressure is probably not the best time for a goalkeeper to make his debut! Still the Portroe man will be happy; he caught a few high balls and his long clearances and frees were a great asset in the final few minutes of the game.

Geariod Ryan for Noel McGrath in the 63rd minute: The Templederry man came on at wing forward and again due to the fractured nature of the game did not see much of the ball.

Benny Dunne for James Woodlock in the 66th minute: Came on at midfield but with John Gardiner gone from cramp had free reign to slot over 2 crucial points from exactly the same position. The open and fractured play suited him. 2 touches 2 points not a bad return!

Paul Kelly for Seamus Callanan in the 67th minute: Came on the forwards; did not have time to touch the ball.

So Tipp march on to a Munster Semi-Final against Clare in Limerick on the 21st June. Again as Sheedy noted after the game we are now at exactly the same spot as where we started last year! He has an anxious week with 10 of the Senior panel in action Wednesday night v Cork in the U21’s and all players out next Sunday with their clubs in Championship action. He also has some serious questions to ponder before the Clare game; will Shane Maher come in and who will be dropped for him, will he reshuffle and drop one of the corner backs, will he put Fanning back at full back and Curran in the corner, will he play Paudie Maher as centre back where he obviously thrives, or will he give the 6 backs another crack, the million dollar question is again the half forward line who to start there, did Kerwick or indeed Benny Dunne do enough to claim a starting place, is Webster still to start at full forward, how does he get the team to play consistently for 70 minutes and not having massive fadeouts which will be punished further down the road. Still a win is a win and there have been way too many days recently where we would not have pulled this one out of the bag. So onto Limerick in 3 weeks time hopefully with a fully fit panel raring for action!




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Tipperary v Cork Quarter Final Munster Hurling Championship (31-05-09) Knocknagow

Tipp and Cork start the 2009 Munster Senior Hurling Championship with this quarter Final game in Thurles on Sunday. The game starts at 4.00 and extra time will be played in the event of a draw. The winners move on to meet Clare in the Semi-Final. The game is live on RTE 2 and is referred by Brian Kelly of Westmeath. This is the third year in a row that the sides have clashed and Tipp are going for 3 in a row victories. In 2007 they met in the qualifiers on a wet and miserable Saturday evening; Cork dominated early on and led 6 points to 1 at the quarter hour mark. Willie Ryan goaled when he collected a pass from Webster. 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. The sides met last year in the Munster Semi-Final in Cork with Tipp winning 1-19 to 1-13. Cork dominated and went 7 points up midway through the first half their goal coming from Ben O’Connor. However Cork then wilted and when Eoin Kelly expertly goaled the game turned in Tipp’s favour. Cork led 1-8 to 1-7 at the break. Tipp with Conor O’Mahony superb at centre back dominated the second half once Paudie O’Sullivan’s weak penalty was saved by Cummins and further points from Kelly, Lar, Corcoran, Webster and Callanan sealed the win.
Cork are now on their third manager of the year and are just after their second consecutive winter of striking! After shamefully shafting Gerald McCarthy over the winter John Considine took temporary charge and when Donal O’Grady refused the job former Cork stalwart Denis Walsh took over the poisoned chalice. As a form guide their League campaign is meaningless as they only have played the last 2 games with Walsh in charge, they were slaughtered 27 points by Kilkenny and they lost by 4 points to Waterford in the last game. Of worse news was that Brian Murphy, Joe Deane and Diarmaid O’Sullivan have retired while corner back Chris Murphy has withdrawn from the panel. The retirement of Brian Murphy will no doubt please Eoin Kelly as he always struggled on him. Sullivan was badly beaten at full back in most games last year and with no hurling done this year was in no position to man the number 3 jersey for the Championship. Deane was only given a bit part last year and has called time on an illustrious career. Whatever about the rights and wrong of the strike the Cork management have had no time to try new players in vital positions that they have been struggling for in recent years; goalie, full back, wing back and a few forwards. However it is Tipp who have been in the spot light since the League Final and the fact that nothing has been recently spoken about Cork makes me very nervous indeed. While very little has been spoken about them in the media they have played and beaten Dublin, Limerick and Wexford in challenge matches in recent weeks and possibly the most noteworthy element was Aisake O’Halipin at full forward.
Cork named their team on Tuesday night and only corner back Conor O’Sullivan was involved in the League game between the sides. Outside the full back and full forward lines they are very experienced. Conor O’Sullivan comes in at corner back and Aisike O’Halpin comes in at full forward for their debuts. Eoin Cadogen takes over at full back and O’Halpin is flanked by Kieran Murphy and Pat Horgan. Again Tipp need to keep the ball away from the Cork half back line while the Tipp half back line will have to keep the 2 McCarthy’s and Ben quiet.
Since that League Final Tipp played Limerick in a challenge game on the 5th of May winning a high scoring game 2-21 to 1-22, which was noteworthy for the return of Eoin Kelly from injury who set up a goal and scored a point. Further fall out from the League Final resulted in both Hugh Moloney and Eddie Brennan receiving month bans, with Kavanagh’s pull across John O’Brien’s head going unpunished. Tipp were due to play Kilkenny 2 weeks ago in a challenge game in Grangemockler but it was cancelled due to the weather. Most of the panel have played at least 2 games with their clubs since the League Final with the vast majority of the injured/ill players taking part. Hugh Moloney’s bizarre suspension, (it runs from the date of the hearing not the game!), from the League Final rules him out of the match on Sunday. On the injury front Shane Maher’s hamstring injury that has dogged him for the last few months means he is unable to line out. While both Willie Ryan and Pat Kerwick both played for their clubs in recent weeks their lack of game time in the League negates against them starting on Sunday.

The Tipp team was picked tonight after training and is captained by Conor O’Mahony:
Brendan Cummins.
Paddy Stapleton, Paul Curran and Conor O’Brien.
Declan Fanning, Padraic Maher and Conor O’Mahony.
James Woodlock and Shane McGrath.
Lar Corbett, Seamus Callanan and John O'Brien.
Noel McGrath, Michael Webster and Eoin Kelly.
The team shows 2 changes from the side that started the League Final. 1 is inforced with the injury to Shane Maher ruling him out. He is replaced by team captain Conor O’Mahony at wing back surprisingly! Declan Fanning returns to the half back line where he lined out during all of the 2005 Championship campaign. He has stated in interviews that he prefers playing in the half back line however his best performances for Tipp have been at the edge of the square. Padraic comes in for his first Championship start and is listed at centre back although he and Conor will surely swap before throw in. The other change sees Eoin Kelly return to his usual berth at corner forward. I would not be worried about his lack of games this year. Remember 2006 he had not played in a long time and scored 10 points from play in the first round against Limerick.
Tipp have 3 players starting their first game on Sunday Paddy Stapleton, (came on as a blood sub against Waterford in the semi last year), starts at corner back, Padraic Maher is listed at centre back and Noel McGrath is at corner forward. A sure sign Tipp are moving in the right direction with so many U21’s starting and 10 in all on the panel. The full back in picked itself and Curran will have be on top of his game to make sure and certain that Aisike gets no ball into his hand or is allowed to settle. Both corner men will have to stick to glue to their men. I have worries about the half back line. Conor O’Mahony is still recovering from mumps and with the hot day forecast I would be worried that he would have the stamina to cope with the physical approach of the 2 McCartheys. Padraic Maher needs to carry his superb League form on to Sunday and has definitely showed to date that he is up to the task at hand. Woodlock is surprisingly moved out from the half forward line where he impressed during the League. He needs to produce a full 70 minute game and not fade out like previous years to take some of the pressure off Shane McGrath who was our best player last year. Sheedy has gone for a tall half forward line and they need to at least break even on puck outs to stifle Cork from setting up attacks and also to set Kelly and McGrath up for scores. Lar showed how good he can play here during the League Final although his goal threat is reduced so far away from goal. John O’Brien needs to produce it for Tipp on Sunday. Full forward line sees the return of Eoin Kelly he has said in interviews that he likes playing beside Webster. Webster gets his first Championship start in a while and he will need to break the ball to the 2 lads either side to do the scoring. McGrath has impressed greatly in the League Final with his maturity and composure, he needs to carry that forward again on Sunday.
How do I see this game going? Well Tipp are in the unusual position of going in as favourites, at home, against a Cork side with no form this year; to me it has all the haul marks of the 1990 Munster Final and we all know what happened that day!!! As the Tipp footballers showed last Sunday League form means nothing in the Munster Championship. Tipp have to attack from the off don’t let Cork settle, get good ball into the forwards and don’t let Cork settle into their game plan. Tipp will win this game if enough ball gets into the full forward line. Webster needs to stand at the edge of the square and either catch the ball or break it to either of the corner men to take their scores. Tipp will have to keep the ball away from the Cork half backs and not let them dominate and get time to pick out the Cork forwards. Tipp need to show the same work ethic that was displayed in the League Final, get in Corks faces and take the scoring chances when they present themselves. Given the weather forecast fitness will play a major part on Sunday hopefully Tipp will have the edge here. I expect this to be a tight dour game with Tipp coming out by a single score.