Despite defeat by Galway, Tipperary hurlers will stay 'on the right track'

Last Saturday’s game in Limerick was only a few seconds old when Conor Stakelum, who has been one of Tipperary’s better players this season, uncharacteristically fumbled the ball and possession was lost.

Unfortunately, even with the tie still in its infancy, that proved a sign of things to come, as a Tipperary team that only performed in fits and starts and nowhere near its best bowed out of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship at the sixth staging post, the quarter-final against Galway.

Some have called it a two-point hammering and there could be no disputing the view that Galway were the better team, and that Tipp were fortunate to be within touching distance of them when the game approached the closing stages.

And yet, despite all the difficulties encountered during the seventy-plus minutes, and there were many, it spoke volumes for the team’s spirit that they were still in with a fighting chance of progressing to the last four just before Wicklow referee John Keenan brought proceedings to a halt.

By right, Galway should have won the Leinster final, had it not been for the kamikaze defending in the final seconds that presented Kilkenny’s Cillian Buckley with the opportunity to shoot the dramatic late winning goal.

But this time around, the Tribesmen were determined that there would be no late collapse.

The rousing performances that Tipperary had produced earlier in the season against Clare, Cork and Limerick were but a distant memory as they stuttered and stumbled their way through this one, with little direction, cohesiveness or flow to their play.

Admittedly, two of those games were drawn. However, even if they had lost to either Cork or Limerick, or both, the performances on those days were several notches higher than what they managed to produce at the TUS Gaelic Grounds last Saturday in front of an attendance of 34,180.

A goal nine minutes from the end by John McGrath, their saviour against Limerick, with that last-gasp equaliser from a free, closed the gap to a point and suggested that the stage was set for a late sprint for the finish line. However, they didn’t have the wherewithal to drive on and seize the initiative.

Galway’s margin of victory would have been greater had it not been for a few important interventions by Tipperary goalie Rhys Shelly, who twice denied Conor Whelan in the opening half (at the expense of a point the second time) before producing another outstanding save from Cianan Fahy in the last few minutes.

Modestly, the Moycarkey/Borris player said that his own mistake led to one of those chances; “I gave away a bad ball there,” he said when interviewed minutes after the final whistle.

Reflecting on the game, he said “We got a slow start and we didn’t take advantage of a few opportunities we had in the first half. We were very lucky to be only three points down at half-time and then they got that goal at the start of the second half.
“It wasn’t our day in front of goal and you have those days as well. We’re going in the right direction but it’s a pity we didn’t get the win”.

What was the dressing room like at half-time?

“We knew we were still in the game, and there were only three points in it, that was the only good news we had at half-time. There was no other good news in that first half.

“It just wasn’t our day, everyone in Tipperary is disappointed but we’ll be back. The support was great here today and the supporters have been great all year”.

When John McGrath got the goal it looked as if they could push on and get back into the game?

“We could have and it was a lifeline. It was sloppy from Galway, we got lucky and it got us back into it but we didn’t get the scores afterwards that we needed. Overall we weren’t the better team on the day, we didn’t perform.

“There are still a lot of positives, there’s a lot of youth in the team and also a lot of maturity. The senior players were exceptional this year, the likes of Seamus Callanan, Noel McGrath and ‘Bonner’ Maher.

“This is my first year on the panel and we learned so much from them, hopefully next year they’ll still be around.

“I’ve no doubt we will be back up in the next few years and lifting the Liam MacCarthy. We’ll keep on the right track anyway”.

Although bitterly disappointed, Tipperary manager Liam Cahill’s reaction to his side’s defeat by Limerick in the league semi-final at the same venue back in March is worth bearing in mind. On that occasion, he said “We’re under no illusions in Tipperary that this is long-term”.

Undoubtedly, progress has been made this season with a team that included several championship debutants, and those words by the Tipp boss should sustain the county’s players, management and supporters alike through a long period of reflection before next year’s national league campaign begins.