Sweet victory means that Tipperary hurlers are odds-on for league semi-final place
Tipp come up with the goods against Galway
Just two games in and already the league is shaping up nicely for Tipperary. The win over Dublin was desirable, but Sunday’s verdict against Galway was delightful. Different quality and different requirements, but Tipperary still came up with the answers. The storming finish was an item of particular satisfaction.
Games with Galway, whether league or championship, tend to be close-run affairs. A point or two here or there has often been the margin, though a snippet from Seamus O’Doherty in Sunday’s match programme contained a surprising statistic: from 20 previous league clashes in Thurles the Tribesmen have only two wins, 1997 and 2006.
The visitors have traditionally found it a difficult venue then and Sunday endorsed that pattern.
The trajectory of the game is easily summarised. Tipperary sparkled at the start of both halves but on each occasion there was a Galway kickback, so the final decision rested on the closing moments where the home team found the necessary gears to drive on.
It’s an aspect of our game that has often been worrisome. Even in the Munster League against Waterford back in January, we lost out in the final moments. With many games decided on the home straight, finishing strongly is an essential requirement, so that aspect of Sunday’s win was especially pleasing.
Pleasing too was the workrate and general application of the players. We won the first quarter handsomely, combining well and gradually building an advantage that stretched out to six at its peak. It would have been consolidated if Sean Ryan had goaled any of three chances. His best opportunity came when he skinned the full back, only for Darach Fahy to deny his batted effort with a great save.
Soon, though, we lost Bryan O’Mara and Jake Morris to injury and Galway gradually got a foothold in the game. By half time the margin was just three points, which seemed a disappointing return for our first half hurling.
Once more we kicked on at the start of the second half and once again Galway hit back. Three points on the trot from Mark Kehoe and two from Gearoid O’Connor had the margin out to eight within ten minutes of resuming. However, there was bound to be some retaliation from Galway.
It came with worrying impact from a Tipperary perspective. We went seventeen minutes without a flag, shooting wides and dropping ball into the goalie’s hand. Meanwhile, with Evan Niland becoming more prominent Galway chipped away at the lead, landing seven on the spin.
A Conor Bowe point from distance halted the slide and the remaining ten minutes or so became hectic. Twice Galway equalised, though they never led and for once Tipperary found the accelerator when it mattered. A Seamus Kennedy point was a big score and Gearoid O’Connor tacked on a further pair before Niland cut the advantage to just two entering additional time.
The coup de grace came with O’Connor’s penalty goal three minutes into add-on time after Conor Stakelum was grounded by Sean Linnane. The safe, conservative option would have been to take a point but O’Connor is in that mood at present.
It was a sweet win and hugely significant in the context of the league table, where Tipperary now look odds-on to make the semis. Qualification for the top section next year also looks assured.
Great credit goes to the defence, which for a second game didn’t spill a goal. Indeed, Barry Hogan didn’t have a shot to save. The nearest threat came from an Evan Niland drive that flashed wide across the goal.
Craig Morgan sustained recent impressions with another excellent performance; Ronan Maher and Conor Bowe were also outstanding. Michael Breen’s head-to-head with Conor Whelan was fascinating. The Galway man got free for a few first half points but thereafter was well restrained. He failed to score in the second half so Breen takes the honours in that clash.
Robert Byrne was again very assured, though discipline needs to be tighter. Aggression is all very fine, even necessary, but it needs to be controlled and Robert is living on the edge, being lucky to escape sanction for a frontal on Niland.
Overall, the report card on the defence offers high grades all round, which is rich praise against an attack that contained the likes of Conor Whelan, Evan Niland, Tom Monaghan and Jason Flynn.
Willie Connors was our leading light at midfield with another influential display. The game bypassed Seamus Kennedy in the first half; his best contributions came at the climax near the end.
Clocking up 1-26 in winter hurling is sharp shooting for any attack. Gearoid O’Connor was the standout man of the match with 1-14, including 0-4 from open play. He really is developing into a powerhouse at this stage and we can only wish that it continues. In those photos of the presentation afterwards he made Ronan Maher look small!
Seanie Ryan didn’t score but he always seems on the cusp of delivering several flags. He could have hit three goals in the first quarter alone. Sometimes his option-taking isn’t the best but if he can settle to this level of game the potential seems huge.
Sean Kenneally too showed lots to admire, winning some key possession, laying off and getting on the scoresheet. He’s new to this level but the signs are hugely encouraging. Alan Tynan had a relatively quiet outing and John McGrath had a mixed day; he was at his best probably in the final hectic phase.
In attack Mark Kehoe did best of the replacements – he was unlucky that Padraic Mannion executed a marvellous block on one goal-bound effort. Good to see Conor Stakelum back after injury and winning that late penalty.
Overall, a day of quiet satisfaction for Tipperary. It’s only the league and it’s only February but already the team has left a mark on the competition. There’s a break now before Westmeath come to town the following weekend – time to take stock, address injury worries and refocus for the remainder of the league and, more importantly, the championship that follows quickly on its heels.
Elsewhere, off the field, GAA topics are getting plenty of airtime with Donal Og, the Rebel Ranter, off-loading another spiel on Saturday evening against Croke Park. Everyone, it seems, is to blame for Cork’s financial woes, except Rebel-land itself.
Anyway, the bigger issue around hurling was a topic on Sunday night’s programme, when Liam Sheedy was one of the contributors. The discussion was a bit rambling, I thought, with not much by way of solutions on offer.
Liam essentially did a re-run of an Irish Examiner piece he put his name to last year, taking the travails of Portroe club as an example, though I’m not sure what relevance that had to the bigger problem of hurling in counties like Louth.
The failure to spread the hurling gospel beyond the traditional strongholds is a big issue, much bigger than critics of Croke Park seem to acknowledge. The elephant in the room, which nobody references, is the dual mandate. The GAA is trying to foster and nurture two very different and competing field games. The result: one of the games becomes predominant in most counties and the other plays second fiddle in the shadows.
You have a core of traditional hurling counties and everywhere else football dominates, in some cases to the virtual exclusion of hurling. Trying to change that reality is a mammoth task. Proposing things like a festival of hurling is all very dandy but it won’t do much for hurling in Louth or Leitrim.
Expect to hear more from the Rebel Ranter on the issue – and more in this corner too as the debate intensifies.