Redemption the name of the game for Tipp

By Michael Dundon

 

Redemption is foremost in the minds of Tipperary manager Liam Cahill and his under 20 hurling squad as they head to Limerick this evening for an All-Ireland semi-final with hot favourites Galway.

Following a hugely impressive win over a highly rated Limerick in the Munster semi-final, Tipperary went to Cork for the final with high hopes but a disastrous evening by the Lee for the Premier boys saw Cork claim the title with embarrassing ease as the Tipp lads slumped to a heavy defeat that left players, management and supporters stunned.

Liam Cahill remarked afterwards that he “never saw that coming”. Nor did the players or management, and that huge disappointment still hurts as they build up for the clash with Galway, an encounter they view as an ideal opportunity to make amends.

“Redemption is big on our agenda”, the former Tipp star forward told The Guardian.

“We want to show the Tipperary public that we are a good side, a lot better than they saw in Cork. Nobody was more disappointed than the players after the Cork game. Things just did not happen for us on the night. We just did not hit the standard we expect, and we have since done what we can to analyse what went wrong”, he said.

He added: “We had a lot of work to do after the Cork game. Nobody could put their finger on exactly what went wrong. This is the first time that group has failed on my watch and I have great respect for them. There were a number of areas we had to address after Cork, and the lads have rolled up their sleeves since and worked very hard. We dont want this campaign to be defined by what happened in Cork.”

 

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