A good workout and opening two points secured by Tipperary hurlers ahead of Tribesmen visit

Tipperary supporters were full of smiles leaving Parnell Park last Saturday afternoon after the blue and gold-clad side accounted for a jittery Dublin side. Afterward, Liam Cahill chatted outside the dressing room where he explained that he was pleased with the performance: “Happy enough with the win, what did we get: 2-27, nice scoring on a February day I suppose,” he said.

“All in all a good workout, we came up for the two points and we will drive on now to Galway in Thurles next Sunday,” the Ballingarry native said. A number of the younger players that won All-Ireland titles at U20 and U21 level under Cahill are now well into their twenties and hurling now at senior level. Some, like Craig Morgan and Gearoid O'Connor, played very well on Sunday and showed their manager what they can do.

Liam Cahill said he was pleased with their application: “The whole idea of it is to get as many of our panel proper exposure. Today was good to get the newer faces integrated with the more established players so all in all, we will try our best to do that for the rest of the league and keep our focus on trying to pick up points, winning matches along the way.”

The performances of the younger cohort pleased the manager as he looked towards a strong league campaign: “That is all about giving them exposure. The year didn't end the way we wanted last year after our early start, but last year was massively beneficial. Hopefully, they will go on to be better and stronger as the year goes on. It is very much a work in progress.”

The two new Tipperary captains were revealed recently with Ronan Maher as first captain and Jake Morris as vice-captain for the season. Despite a difficult week for Jake Morris, he performed well for Tipperary picking up the player of the match whilst striking 1-4 with a goal and two points arriving in the second half to finish off Dublin.

Liam paid tribute to both, in particular Jake after the emotional turmoil of the previous week when his aunt passed away: “A tough week for Jake. I didn't realise until this morning and we sent out our condolences there to Jake and Seamus and all the Morris family.

“It was a good performance from Jake. He got a couple of vital scores especially the goal when we needed it. We fought for air there at one stage when Dublin came at us at the start of the second half and Jake got his opportunity to get our second goal. Seanie Ryan got the first and Jake is a good marksman, accustomed to putting away those chances when they arise.”

That goal sealed the win but there were nervy moments for Tipperary, especially after the break when the victors conceded a number of frees allowing their opponents back into the game. Liam Cahill said that is a part of the game you have to learn to adapt to:

“In intercounty hurling, you can’t afford to be off for a second. We discussed starting the second half as fast as we could but Dublin came out, they were a little bit late coming out, but they were well riled up and they showed that. They got the first score of the half and dictated for maybe a 15 minute period but in fairness to the lads - they figured it out,” he said.

As the second half wore on, Tipp re-established their dominance which pleased the manager: “They kept their heads. They used the ball well and capitalised on a couple of Dublin errors that hurt Dublin that bit more.”

Looking ahead to Galway Liam Cahill said it will be a fair test of where they are at: “Galway are a top team, and in the last four over the last two years. Henry Shefflin is in his third year as manager so a right good test for us down in Thurles and we are looking forward to the challenge. Hopefully, there will be a big Tipp crowd in the stands and we go to work again and see what we can learn from it. Every day is a school day.”