Tipperary football in shock after ‘bitterly disappointing result’ - first in 36 years!

All sport is result driven, a team and managers of teams are judged on what the scoreboard says at full-time. On Sunday last, at Fraher Field in Dungarvan, the Tipperary dressing room was in almost total disbelief, the county having suffered its first defeat in 12 championship games over 36 years to neighbours Waterford.

Earlier at half-time it all looked under control for Tipperary, four points up and with a gale force wind behind them for the second half, defeat against a side ranked 32nd of 32 in the Allianz League was unthinkable. That sense of shock and disbelief was almost palpable when team manager, Paul Kelly, spoke to the press afterwards. There was no hiding place from a second half collapse in which his side scored just three points in 38 minutes of wind assisted play, and in fairness the manager was not making excuses.

“It is a bitterly disappointing result,” he started. “We were in a decent position at half-time but lost a lot of control of that game in the second half. Hats off to Waterford they came out and put in a performance. We just didn’t play to the ability we have and the ability we showed in the first half. We just have to take that away and think about it,” added the Tipp manager in what is proving to be an annus horribilis of a first year in charge.

From a pinnacle of a provincial title just four years ago in 2020, Tipperary have fallen year on year since, with Waterford, very often the whipping boys of national football, making ground incrementally (on Tipperary) since, particularly last year and again in the Allianz League this year when they were unlucky not to come away from Bansha with more than a draw. The surprise element wasn’t even an available excuse for Paul Kelly after Sunday’s huge loss; many felt that this day was coming.

A hugely disappointed Tipperary manager, Paul Kelly, at Dungarvan on Sunday. Picture: Sportsfile

“We have seen Waterford over the course of the year and the lads have seen Waterford over the course of the last few years. We had a good idea based on the league how Waterford were going to set up and we did very well against that in the first half and then in the second half... we will have just to look at that,” added the Tipperary manager, before addressing what he felt might have been the reasons, particularly for that inept second half showing.

“I think we didn’t show the energy, positivity, speed and support that I would have expected given the first half. If we had shown that speed and support, and, I suppose, decision making that we showed in the first half then it would be a different game. We didn’t and we have to live with that and see what we do next. Again I’ll say to you, fair play to Waterford they played extremely well in the second half, added the Tipperary manager.

No one should blame Sunday’s defeat on a manager or players, and, to a man, each are doing their very best to promote football in a county with a strong pride in the big ball during this period of transition, something the manager hinted at on Sunday.

From the Munster winning team of 2020, of the 20 used that day only seven were involved in any way on Sunday last, undoubtedly a huge loss in four years. There were also seven players making a Munster championship debut on Sunday, the manager having used 38 different players in his nine competitive games in charge since January.

“Thinking about it, we have to be very honest in ourselves and recognise that there is a significant turnover of players, young lads who are making their debuts and I think we have 10 or 12 in the 26, nobody goes out to make mistakes. The first half is there to be proud of but the second half was very disappointing,” said Paul Kelly.

The manager’s quick analysis in the aftermath of Sunday’s serious setback identified three major elements that contributed to the defeat on the day.

“If you compare first to second half, the speed, decision-making and support play, those are the three elements that let us down in the second half,” he added.

The chickens have come home to roost now in Tipperary football, the exodus of talent - and some for lame enough reasons - plus the scarcity of underage results in recent years, makes it what it is right now. There is no place to hide when you finish 30th in the league and lose in the first round of the championship to the side who finished 32nd.

“In the league, whatever way you look at this, we had 16 or so lads who left the group before this year. There’s 12 to 16 new chaps who never played for their county before. We weren’t lazy in any shape or form. We were trawling the county and everyone had an opportunity. In the league if I look back the only game I was extremely disappointed in was the Wexford game and on another day there are different reasons for that maybe. It was a huge learning curve and hopefully we just keep learning,” reflected Paul Kelly.

When asked about the direction of the year from here on, which now means a guaranteed three games in the Tailteann Cup, when Tipperary will be the lowest ranking seed in their group of four, he answered.

“Immediately, we are leaving the lads off until the weekend of 19th April, 10-12 days. We are allowing them back to their clubs whether that be hurling or football. Let them get back and hopefully we will come back as our own community and sit down and plan for the next game in three weeks," concluded the Tipperary manager.