Hope springs eternal in Tipperary's bid for surprise victory over Limerick
Tipp can't afford to write off game as foregone conclusion
It will be a baptism of fire in the new season for Tipperary when they travel to the lion’s den of the TUS Gaelic Grounds this Sunday to take on All-Ireland champions Limerick in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship at 4pm (the game is live on RTÉ).
Tipperary are late to the party this year, with the other four teams all having played their opening game last weekend.
And despite the calibre of the opposition, who are seeking to win the MacCarthy Cup for a record fifth year in a row this season, and who are 2/7 favourites to beat a team that’s a 10/3 chance (the draw is available at 10/1), hope springs eternal for Tipperary at the dawn of a new championship campaign.
They haven’t been seen in action for five weeks, since losing the league semi-final to Clare in Portlaoise. The eight-points defeat meant that the county’s wait for a 20th National Hurling League title will be extended to a 17th year, but it was the performance that will have raised more concern than losing the game.
Apart from a brief period early in the second half, when they awoke from their slumber to cut Clare’s lead to two points, Tipp were second best for the remainder of a game in which they had four freetakers - Jason Forde, Gearoid O’Connor, Willie Connors and Sean Ryan - and struck a total of 19 wides. One of the few positives that day was the impact made by half-time substitute Sean Hayes, who found the net within a few minutes of the restart.
It was a disappointing conclusion to a league campaign that went downhill after reaching a peak with the defeat of Galway. On that occasion, seven unanswered points by the Tribesmen left Tipp just a point ahead and anxiously looking over their shoulders.
However, they showed great resolve to respond and outscore Galway by 1-3 to 0-1 in the latter stages, with Gearoid O’Connor’s penalty closing out the victory.
Limerick, meanwhile, looked destined to begin their championship campaign with a defeat when they trailed Clare by nine points after 53 minutes of last Sunday’s opening encounter in Ennis.
However, like all good teams, they found a way to win. They pulled victory out of the fire with the help of three second half goals in the space of seven minutes, even if they were fortunate that Aaron Gillane’s goal was allowed, after he appeared to be in the square before the ball arrived, while Clare goalie Eibhear Quilligan can’t have been happy with the way that Donnacha Ó Dalaigh’s shot crept past him and over the line.
There was a suggestion too that Gillane could have been in the square when Diarmuid Byrnes’ long range free went all the way to the net, although his delivery should have been defended better by the Clare rearguard.
The odds are heavily stacked against the prospect of a Tipp victory on Sunday. However, Liam Cahill and his troops will be anxious to put their best foot forward, despite the David Goliath nature of the pairing.
In the cut-throat nature of the provincial championship, they can’t afford to write off this game as a foregone conclusion that will end in a Limerick win, and then plan for a better result when they travel to Walsh Park to play Waterford on the following Saturday.
The experience offered by more mature campaigners such as captain Ronan Maher, Jason Forde, Michael Breen, Willie Connors, Mark Kehoe, Dan McCormack, Jake Morris and the McGrath brothers, Noel and John, will be crucial in the white heat of the championship.
The county has been unfortunate to lose the services of Seamus Kennedy, a strong and experienced utility player equally effective at wing back, midfield or half forward. His cruciate ligament injury means that he will have no role to play this year.
Equally important, perhaps even more so, to their chances of making an impression in this year’s championship is the extent to which less seasoned performers such as Conor Bowe, Bryan O’Mara, Gearoid O’Connor, Eoghan Connolly, Robert Byrne, Johnny Ryan, Darragh Stakelum and Alan Tynan have matured and improved.
Hopes are high that Sean Hayes and Sean Kenneally will also prove useful additions and add extra artillery to the attack.
For a time, Clare were on the cusp of causing an upset against Limerick last weekend. Tipp’s motivation now is to go one better and pull off an unlikely victory.