Collins laments injury blows in Munster Final defeat
Tipperary minor hurling manager Paul Collins said he was very proud of the way his players produced a never say die performance despite their extra time defeat to Limerick in the Munster final.
By Liam Hogan
The Drom & Inch clubman said that the team were handicapped by injuries throughout, but they continued to keep on coming back at Limerick who needed extra time to put his side away in the end.
“Words cannot describe it to be honest. We put so much into the game and nothing to show for it. It was really unfortunate,” said Paul who had disappointment etched all over his face.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of my players. They showed unbelievable character throughout the game. No matter what obstacle was put in their way they responded and responded again. I could not ask for anymore from anybody. It’s scant consolation when you have nothing to show for it. They did Tipperary proud today.”
The Tipperary manager looked on as his team suffered four key injuries in Sunday’s game with goalkeeper Jason O’Dwyer, full back Robert Doyle, midfielder Darragh Stakelum and forward Tony Cahill all forced to retire through injury. This was on top of losing corner back Jamie Duncan in the semi-final against Waterford.
“The early injuries were a killer,” Collins added.
“It reduced our options on the bench. We had a plan and those early substitutions had us down to three straight away. It’s part of the game unfortunately but it was a shame for the two lads, Jason and Robert, two Clonoulty men and two fantastic guys. Both lads collided but Robert carried a knock into the game”.
Apart from a positive opening six minutes, Tipp were always chasing the game, but they never faltered and even forced extra time with the help of Kenny Lee’s late point and were only a linesman’s flag away from a winning point from sub Stephen Ferncombe.
“We got a fantastic start, but our stride was broken a small bit by the injuries,” Collins continued.
“We had a fantastic third quarter. It was a shame about Limerick’s second goal towards the end, but we responded again, and I thought we had a winner from Stephen Ferncombe. He says he wasn’t over the line. There is no point in talking about it now.”
However, Limerick’s first half performance in extra time was serious and proved to be the decisive period in the end according to the Tipp boss.
“They started very well, and it took us a few minutes to get to grips with it. We coughed up some possession, but the legs were tired, and minds are tired and your talking 75 minutes into the game, seventeen-year-old boys and heavy going and again you could not ask any more. Coming into today we were down Eddie Maher, Jamie Duncan and two more in defence but it shows the strength of our panel and they came in with a fantastic shift,” said Collins.