THIRD EYE - Puckouts will be key to Tipp chances
As Giorgio Chiellini lifted the European Cup for Italy after an epic penalty shootout win over England on Sunday, the old Italian proverb came to mind “Hope is the last thing ever lost”.
The Tipperary faithful will travel in the hope that Liam Sheedy’s men can improve on their semi-final performance against Clare and Limerick’s performance against Cork is a sign that Treaty men are struggling to rediscover their dominance of 2020.
Hegarty and Morrissey’s form
The reigning All Ireland champions go into the final with some concerns after their performance against the rebels in Thurles. Their first concern will be the performances of Gearoid Hegarty and Tom Morrissey, who average ten shots per game between them over their last six championship games. These shots have resulted in the St. Patricks and Ahane natives averaging six points per game, however their semi-final performance saw a return of two points with Morrissey hitting three shots and three wides.
Limerick Long Puckout
Limerick’s long puckout has been a feature of their success since 2018 and sees them dominate the breaking ball off Nicky Quaid’s restarts. Their semi-final performance saw them lose 60% of the breaking ball which is extremely out of character as in last years All Ireland championship they would have won 55% of the breaking ball.
Limerick’s set-up on the Tipperary Puckout
Limerick’s organisation on the opposition puckout has been another key feature of their recent success and they have upset oppositions flow by not allowing team’s retain meaningful possession on their puckout.
Limerick scored 1-38 off the opposition’s puck out in last year’s championship but their semi-final performance saw some chinks in their team set up. A feature of their set up on the opposition’s short puckout is their pressing game which has similar principles of Jupp Heynckes gegenpressing when he was Bayern Munich coach. This saw one man close down the man in possession and the rest of the players pressing potential recipients.
The results of this could be seen in Limerick’s championship game against Galway in 2020 when their set up on the opposition’s puckout really affected the performance of goalkeeper Eanna Murphy. The Treaty men’s Munster semi-final saw some chinks as Cork were able to work a short puckout to create Shane Kingston’s goal and a reason for the Rebels goal was the poor tackling and pressing by Limerick’s Gearoid Hegarty and Peter Casey.
WHAT WILL BE THE SIGNS DURING THE GAME THAT TELLS us that TIPPERARY CAN WIN?
1. Are Tipperary winning the breaking ball off their long puckout which stops Limerick counter attacking?
2. Limerick concede the least amount of shots from inside their 45 yard line compared to other teams. If Tipperary are able to work the ball into their full forward line successfully and create scoring opportunities, this will set them apart from previous attempts to beat the Treaty men.
3. Can Tipperary work some short puckouts successfully and beat the Limerick press in order to set up a platform to deliver the ball to the full forward line?
4. Are the Tipperary half backs pushing up on the Limerick half forwards? If Tipp are relying on their half forwards to work back deep it may result in Limerick having a platform to score from distance or place the ball into space in front of Aaron Gillane and Seamus Flanagan.