Nowlan Park no longer a wasteland for Tipperary hurlers' hopes

A rare and relished win at Nowlan Park sees management and players take early encouragement from the league. The O’Loughlin Road venue has so often been a wasteland for Tipperary hopes, a place of pain where the losing stats mounted during the Cody era especially.

How pleasant then, for once, to be able to delight in a Tipperary success, one borne out of first half dominance, albeit against a misfiring opponent. The second half threatened to balance the scales but, happily, there was enough resilience to see it out, with half of the interval advantage still intact.

It’s a sweet one. This fixture has been something of a touchstone over the years, an acid test when it came to assessing our whereabouts in the hurling universe. Kilkenny may not be top cats at the moment but any fixture between the counties always carries that element of added value.

For Liam Cahill and company then, this was the first real examination of his new regime, a first glimpse at how his mix of young and old would perform in testing circumstances. In that context, the win will have given early validation of the winter work.

It was a strange first half, very stop-start and error-ridden. We had an early scare when corner forward, Billy Drennan, skipped past Michael Breen and set up Walter Walsh for a clear goal chance. Goalie, Barry Hogan, did well to block the initial shot but the danger remained when Walsh regained possession before he fired over instead of under. It was a let-off.

Before long Paddy Cadell and Cathal Barrett were on the sideline with knee and shoulder damage respectively. The Brackens’ man seemed to fall awkwardly after being tackled, while Barrett crashed into colleague Ronan Maher. Scans during the week will determine the nature of the injuries – and the recuperation needed. It was quite an attritional half, though there was little fluency in the hurling.

After twenty minutes it was 0-5 to 0-2 for the wind-backed visitors. Eoghan Connolly had replaced Cathal Barrett and one timely foul on Martin Keoghan prevented a goal opening. Almost immediately Dan McCormack sent Conor Bowe away but the shot was turned over by goalie, Aidan Tallis.

The play was very faulty but in the final ten minutes of the period Tipperary’s previous edge now became emphatic. Forde was the main shooter from play and frees and now he delivered the first major when Callanan sent him through for a decisive finish against an absent defence.

We created several goal chances, with Jake Morris mis-hitting an earlier effort after a fine run through. Close to the interval, Morris finally delivered when pouncing on another save off Conor Bowe.

In the lead-up to that score Noel McGrath set the move in motion when he intercepted a short clearance aimed at Padraig Walsh. That little cameo summed up much of Kilkenny’s opening half. They were dreadful, very un-Kilkenny-like.

Their fans were left wincing at the short puck outs, the receivers looking unsure of the next move, passes going astray, possession being turned over. It was nightmare stuff from Kilkenny and Tipperary took advantage to take a lead of a dozen points to the dressing room at half-time.

Those of us with memories were taking nothing for granted at half-time. Too often Tipperary have squandered such leads and there was, inevitably, going to be some kickback from the locals once action resumed.

And there was a fightback, bolstered by some impactful substitutions, like Donnelly and Blanchfield, but it never stretched to the extent of outright crisis for Tipperary.

Early in the second half we had a few wides, which were irritating. For once Noel McGrath took a wrong option and even Jason Forde’s radar blinked. These could have been costly, especially when a mistake by Johnny Ryan led to another Walter Walsh chance, which the defence thankfully snuffed out.

An early goal for Kilkenny would have reopened the game so it was important for Tipperary to keep the scoreboard ticking over, which they did thanks mainly to Jason Forde. Barry Hogan kept out a John Donnelly drive and it was into the final quarter when Martin Keoghan finally raised a green flag after good approach work by Billy Ryan.

At its height the fightback brought the lead down to just four points, but Tipperary held their collective nerve to see it out. A Forde sideline cut and a follow-up point on an intercepted puckout were big items in stalling Kilkenny’s push.

In the end a great upfield sortie by Johnny Ryan led to Mark Kehoe hitting the final point and Tipperary were six-up at the long whistle.

It was a victory for energy and enterprise as much as hurling nuance. There were bighearted displays all over, with players relishing the battle. There were plenty of mistakes too from both sides, but perhaps that’s to be expected in a February league outing.

I liked the leadership shown by the senior players on the team such as Jason Forde, Noel McGrath and Seamus Callanan. Forde was immense. A past tendency of the Silvermines man has been to drift out of the action following a few plays, but on Sunday he played from the front, hungry for possession, putting his hand up all the time and taking responsibility. It’s what we expect from such a seasoned player with such incredible talent.

Noel McGrath too was a central orchestrator of Tipperary’s game, showing why he’s the captain of the side. Seamie Callanan also put himself about to great effect and the collective example of these lads must have offered great encouragement to the newcomers. Indeed, Dan McCormack can be listed in that regard also as one who put in a massive shift.

Of the newcomers, Alan Tynan was impressive, certainly the best I’ve seen from him, being heavily involved in the action and showing attitude and aptitude in equal measure. Johnny Ryan made one mistake but otherwise made a really fine input to the win, his combativeness a major asset. Enda Heffernan too was heavily involved and on a lot of ball.

There were some mistakes, which is part of the learning curve here, but overall, the impression is very positive. Eoghan Connolly did well on his introduction and Conor Bowe looked a real threat, so Liam Cahill is developing options.

Kilkenny never like losing to Tipperary and they certainly were most uncomfortable with that first half. I thought Billy Ryan was one of their best on the starting team, and in Billy Drennan they seem to have a real find. When the Ballyhale contingent return they’ll be a different animal entirely.

Meanwhile, there will be a re-match at Semple Stadium on this Sunday in aid of the Dillon Quirke Foundation. The cause is admirable and close to all Tipperary hearts, so it deserves maximum support. Even people not able to attend have the opportunity to give online backing.

From a hurling perspective you’d expect a lively game but without the intensity of league or championship. It’s another opportunity for the respective managements to trial players, with a large number of substitutes allowed. It’s definitely worth a visit on an otherwise hurling-free weekend.

Finally, some afterthoughts on the Harty final. The afterglow is certainly warming everybody hereabouts with sheer delight at the outcome. Thurles and the surrounding parishes won’t share that glee, though as eight-time winners in the past, I’m sure they’ll sportingly acknowledge the Cashel excitement at a first-ever win. The CBS will be there again but it might be more difficult for the Community School to produce a successor.

In a one-point decision there are always individual items that can be isolated in a game as a match-winner or match-loser. On reflection a few little cameos stick out with added importance in Cashel’s success.

At a key stage in the second half the Cashel defence, for once, seemed to be opening up for Moycarkey’s Joe Egan, a fine player. However, Shane Buckley gets back and athletically stretches full length to flick the ball away and avert danger.

Near the end the Thurles defence seem to have matters in hand. However, Oisin O’Donoghue executes a marvellous blockdown, Ronan Connolly picks up the breaking ball and feeds Adam Daly for probably the best point of the day.

Later still, Ger O’Dwyer tries to come out with possession but is surrounded by Thurles players. Quick thinking, he sends a huge, looping hand pass down the wing for a David McGrath lead point.

Tactically Cashel got their ducks in a row too. Despite the threat of the CBS attack they decided not to play a sweeper, reckoning that whatever advantage such a tactic might give them would be offset by CBS number six, Jim Ryan, an outstanding hurler, playing a like role and spraying perfect deliveries to the Thurles forwards. It worked.
On such margins are titles won.

P.S. A question for the pub quizzers: What manager had a 100 percent record against Brian Cody? Answer: Colm Bonnar – one game, one win. Lies, damned lies and statistics. Indeed.