Tipperary must rediscover the magic formula to win All-Ireland hurling semi-final

Did Tipperary peak too soon in the senior hurling championship?

That’s one of the great imponderables ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Wexford at Croke Park (3.30).

The team breezed through their four games in the group stages in the Munster Championship, defeating Cork, Waterford, Clare and Limerick with something to spare in most of those games (they beat Cork by seven points, Waterford by 18 points, Clare by 13 and Limerick by four).

By the time June 30 arrived, the day when the provincial finals were decided, they were the only team in either Munster or Leinster with a 100 per cent record, having clocked up the sizeable tally of 8-101 in those four round robin games, which included 8-77 from play.

However there’s no escaping the fact that they’ve been distinctly off the boil in their last two matches. 

Their unbeaten record was shattered when they suffered a heavy 12-points defeat by Limerick in the Munster Final, and then they failed to convince in their quarter-final win over Laois a fortnight ago, which appeared to confirm that their momentum had stalled.

Having invested so much energy and effort, physically and mentally, into their four group games, in their bid to emerge from the province, it was perhaps understandable that they were off the pace in the Munster Final. 

Limerick were bound to have improved from the previous meeting of the teams a fortnight earlier and were enjoying the home advantage offered by the LIT Gaelic Grounds, considerations that must also be factored into the equation.

Worryingly, it was evident that Tipp were still suffering from the hangover of that chastening defeat when they donned those unfamiliar grey jerseys to face Laois. They were sluggish enough in the opening stages before hopes were raised that Jason Forde’s converted penalty, which was soon followed by Seamus Callanan’s superbly-taken goal, created by a peach of a pass from Noel McGrath, would settle them into some sort of a rhythm.

Above - Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy (right) with coach Eamon O'Shea

But that breakthrough proved a false dawn. Against the stubborn opposition mounted by Laois, they failed to rediscover the zip and zest of their performances that had lit up the provincial championship, despite winning by ten points. 

All over the pitch players looked lethargic, leggy and flat and they struggled to impose their game plan on Laois, who got back into the game with a Ross King goal. 

Too much aimless ball was directed into a forward line where the usually lethal John McGrath and John Bubbles O’Dwyer found themselves on the periphery of most of the action.

With all due respect to Laois - who, remember, played for most of the second half with 14 players after Aaron Dunphy’s dismissal -  they were suitable opposition for Tipp to re-launch their campaign; against more capable opponents they could have been staring a championship exit in the face.

Beating Dublin, winning the Joe McDonagh Cup and reaching the last eight of the championship represented significant progress for Laois hurling this year - which is in stark contrast to the depths to which their neighbours Offaly have sunk. 

At the conclusion of the quarter-final, never can a defeat have felt more like a victory, as they were generously applauded by the entire ground on their lap of honour, including by the Tipperary team, while Jack Kelly won the man of the match award.

With Laois emerging with so much credit from that game a fortnight ago, it might not have been any harm for Tipp to realise that huge improvement is needed on Sunday if they’re to qualify for their first final in three years. The performance certainly dampened expectations in a county whose team were favourites to lift the McCarthy Cup a couple of months ago.  

Wexford, who are unbeaten in this year’s championship, are a much improved team in 2019. They won their first Leinster title in 15 years by getting the better of Kilkenny in the provincial final on a day when Lee Chin, Conor McDonald and Rory O’Connor were outstanding. Their graph has steadily risen in the last few years and they won’t have any fears facing Tipperary. 

Yet, with five wins from six championship matches, Tipp are also in a much better place this season than they were last year. 

The players have bought into Liam Sheedy’s vision and strategy. There have been none of the reports of unrest or disharmony heard in previous years and all the group appear as if they’re tuned into the same frequency, even those whose discipline and commitment may have been questioned in the past. 

Form isn’t something that can be turned on and off like a tap. But if Tipp can manage to rediscover their spark and that off-the-cuff, instinctive style that illuminated their performances earlier this season there’s every reason to believe they can justify their favouritism on Sunday, and advance to an All-Ireland Final on August 18 against holders Limerick or Kilkenny.  

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