Tipp captain Aishling Moloney is helped off the pitch by the medical staff, watched by manager Declan Carr.

Carr tries to find the positives from tough experience

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By Thomas Conway

TIPPERARY v WESTMEATH

Banagher

Saturday 12th June

Throw-in @ 1.30pm (E.T. & Pens)

From a Tipperary perspective, only one game matters now; a high-stakes relegation bout against Westmeath.

On the face of it, Tipp might appear to be in the worst possible position going into this game – with two of their most talented footballers unlikely to feature due to injuries, and confidence levels in the doldrums following three heavy defeats.

However, manager Declan Carr doesn’t see it that way. His appraisal of Tipp’s performance last Saturday evening was surprisingly positive, focusing on effort and endeavour, rather than the end result.

“My immediate reaction – I suppose I’ll have to go back and watch it, but I’m very, very pleased,” Carr began.

“On the back of two defeats, we might have come in with morale down, but certainly, from a pride point of view, everything I would expect from the girls they gave, and they would have restored the pride of the jersey that they wear. So for me, the scoreboard is not fully reflective of the effort that they put in, so I’m very pleased.”

The scoreboard will always be the ultimate arbiter of events on the field, but technical and tactical details now determine much of what happens between the white lines. Even in the aftermath of this latest defeat, Carr had already turned his attention to the more positive dimensions of the Tipperary performance, emphasising a number of key stats and data-points which illustrated his side’s ability to compete with Dublin.

“I suppose, we’ll sit back and reflect on the stats, but we forced them to kick the ball into our goalkeeper’s hands six times I believe – which they haven’t done with very many other teams. And that was down to the pressure of the defence that we had put on.

“I think we turned them over thirteen or fourteen times in the first-half, so that for me is another good statistic. Look, they are All-Ireland champions, they are supreme, but we competed with them on certain aspects of the game equally, and if not better in some cases,” Carr said.

The strength of this Tipperary team lies in the collective, but arguably the most consequential elements of Saturday’s game were the injuries sustained by captain Aishling Moloney, and Emma Morrissey with both ruled out for the medium term with knee and leg injuries respectively.

Tipp Ladies Team Announced

The Tipperary Ladies Football team to play Westmeath in their Lidl NFL Division 1 Relegation Play Off on Saturday June 12t at 1.30pm in St. Rynagh’s, Banagher has been announced as follows;

1. Lauren Fitzpatrick (Ballymacarbry)

2. Lucy Spillane (Fethard)

3. Maria Curley (Templemore)

4. Emma Cronin (Moyle Rovers)

5. Laura Dillon (Ardfinnan)

6. Caitlyn Kennedy (Aherlow)

7. Elaine Kelly (Cappawhite)

8. Anna Rose Kennedy (Aherlow)

9. Elaine Fitzpatrick (Templemore)

10. Angela McGuigan (Sliabh na mBan)

11. Edith Carroll (Galtee Rovers/St. Pecauns)

12. Ava Fennessy (Clonmel Commercials)

13. Cliona O’Dwyer (Brian Borus)

14. Roisin Howard (Cahir)

15. Aine Delaney (Templemore

Subs

16.Rachel Sweeney (Holycross), 17. Niamh Hayes (Fethard), 18. Courtney Lonergan (Clonmel Commercials), 19. Kate Davey (Fethard), 20. Carrie Davey (Fethard), 21. Katie Cunningham (Lattin/Cullen), 22. Laura Nagle (Ardfinnan), 23. Emer McCarthy (Galtee Rovers/St. Pecauns), 24. Orla O’Dwyer (Boherlahan), 25. Clodagh Horgan (Boherlahan), 26. Roisin Daly (Moyne/Templetuohy), 27. Marie Creedon (Thurles Sarsfields), 28. Aishling Moloney (Cahir) (cpt), 29. Emma Morrissey (Aherlow), 30. Aoibhe O’Shea (Mullinahone).

The game is being streamed live on https://page.inplayer.com/lidlnfl/ this is the ONLY link that is relevant to the LGFA.

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