Another frustrating second half collapse against Limerick by Tipp hurlers

It was a good first half from Tipperary but come the final whistle last Saturday night, it was the same old story as Limerick’s third quarter domination put Tipperary firmly back in their place after what had been a very positive league campaign.

That is the biggest worry for Tipperary after the game and even at half time with a four point lead after playing some really good hurling, as a Tipp supporter, you simply couldn’t get carried away given the recent history in this fixture; and that is what transpired with the theme becoming far too obvious and consistent from a Tipperary viewpoint.

Despite the second half quickly getting away from Tipp, large credit has to be paid to the players and management for the manner in which they dominated the first half, using the ball incredibly well with a workrate and accuracy of ball use to match, but when Limerick filtered back in the second half and choked up the middle third, Tipperary had no out ball from the restarts with the short puckouts not working for the Cahill’s men.

Another concern was the way in which Limerick denied Tipp any real clear cut goal chances which was a big feature of Tipperary’s league group campaign - scoring 14 goals in five league matches - and that was a big disappointment for Liam Cahill come the aftermath of the game in Limerick.

“That’s something to work on, we were well into the 20-point bracket as well tonight, but when you play the likes of Limerick you need to be putting on three or four goal opportunities and maybe converting two or three minimum to ring up that point tally that you might be lacking,” Cahill admitted.

“Tonight I don’t think we created any real clear cut goal chance and that would be a worry and concern for me alright tonight.

“It’s a major worry but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed.

“We’ve a good, intelligent group of players and they will be quick to self-assess themselves and put this thing right and make it better for when we need it at the end of April come Ennis,” he said.

Prior to the game many a Tipp supporter would have highlighted the fact that this is a relatively new team coming up against the best team in the country and a positive performance would have been welcomed in sizing up how far away the team is from challenging for titles again, but the manner of the second half loss yet again is what is most frustrating for supporters.

However, all the build up in recent months and preparations have all been to arrive in Ennis on April 23rd in the best possible position to come away with a win, and that is something Cahill remarked upon once the dust had settled from talking about the game in Limerick and he will be hoping that some personnel will be coming back into the fold down the tracks to bolster options ahead of the Cusack Park showdown.

“I’ll be looking to make sure that we arrive in Ennis on April 23 right. Tonight was a very physical game, so we’ll have to make sure that everyone recovers well from that.

“We really only have eight or nine proper sessions between now and Ennis so we need to get at least two or three really good hurling sessions into us, and make sure that our hurling is right and that some of the things that let us down tonight are corrected and we can look forward to going onto Ennis.

“The injured players Seamie Callanan and Cathal Barrett are coming back, but whether they will be back in time for Ennis I’m not sure. They’re still a little behind the timeframe but we’re working hard to get back.

“Niall O’Meara is starting to get a block of training together, and hopefully Niall will be able to get involved in contact training fairly soon, and maybe have a chance of putting his hand up for a place in the panel come April.”