Tribesmen to land a hammer blow in this eagerly-awaited semi-final match-up
NOBODY can accuse Tipperary manager Michael Ryan of getting ahead of himself. It’s the morning after the All-Ireland final and the scene in the foyer of the winning hotel is what you’d expect after a county lands the big one, never mind put arch rivals Kilkenny to the sword in thrilling fashion.
Fans troop to and fro, still buzzing from the post-match celebrations, and wearing the happy heads that comes with victory.
If there is one man who is able to detach himself from the emotion of it all, it’s Ryan. Experience has taught him the perils of trying to defend an All-Ireland title. So he immediately sounds a note of caution: ‘We will certainly keep our feet on the ground. We are renowned in Tipp for getting carried away with ourselves when we win — we’ll see how we get on with that.
‘The backroom team of people we have is very, very strong people, very mature people. I think we’ve learned a lot of hard lessons over the years that we need to manage victory a lot better than we have done.’
Prophetic words. And so Tipperary land back in an AllIreland semi-final with a minor crisis or two behind them. From coasting through to a National League final to being thumped out the gate by a rampant Galway. Any delusions of grandeur were further shattered when Cork ambushed the Munster champions in the first round, the fall-out from the defeat costing Tipperary an All Star corner-back in Cathal Barrett as Ryan dropped him over a breach of discipline.
It hasn’t helped that the defence as a whole has been conceding at a far higher rate than last season. The manner in which Cork’s fleetfooted attack ran at Tipperary to such rampaging effect will have been filed away by Galway manager Micheál Donoghue. The sight of Jason Flynn leaving Michael Cahill for dead one-on-one was one of the enduring images of the National League final. Conor Whelan pilfered five points from play the same day — and that was in the company of Barrett, who Tipperary regard as their best individual stopper in the full-back line. And yet Tipperary’s circumstances are such that Cahill has been recalled at corner-back in the light of the team’s frailties in the full-back line.
Tomás Hamill looked all at sea at full-back against Clare, while the switch of James Barry to the corner did the former All Star full-back no favours. Clare’s ill-judged puckout strategy and failure to hit a potent inside line with any sort of regularity was unforgivable, particularly with the likes of Shane O’Donnell doing such damage off limited ball. 18 wides meant that Tipperary were let off the hook.
It’s hard to see Galway being so accommodating. Twelve months ago, circumstances conspired against them. Losing Joe Canning was a big enough blow; the reshuffle prompted by Adrian Tuohy’s injury was arguably more costly. Johnny Coen’s switch to defence broke up a midfield partnership with David Burke that was all about chemistry and complementing each other’s strengths.
Galway won’t make the same mistake twice. Babs Keating might be right about the weight of the sliotar becoming an issue because Galway are the one team prepared to take on hurling’s 30point ceiling with regularity.
Averaging 1-29 over three Championship games to date, Tipperary’s quality all around the pitch should reduce that somewhat. But if Galway shoot 222 or threaten that 30-point barrier again, it’s hard to see them being denied a place in the final.
Joe Canning and Joseph Cooney are custom-built to hammer the hammer in the shape of the Maher brothers Ronan and Padraic. And yet it’s worth remembering that it was the pace of Conor Lehane and Luke Meade that troubled that pair most. They will relish the physical battle in a game that promises some heavyweight match-ups. Tipperary’s hopes of retaining the AllIreland for the first time since 1964-65 will depend on the numbers posted by the holy trinity of John McGrath, Seamus Callanan and John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer, who set about redefining the art of goalscoring against Dublin.
One imponderable for Galway is the impact of a fiveweek lay-off since the Leinster final. Hit the ground running and they can come out on top in what is always a ding-dong affair.
Verdict: Galway.