Dunphy lauds resolve after the loss of key players

Upperchurch/Drombane manager Liam Dunphy lauded his side’s approach in the wake of their hugely impressive two-point victory over Leinster and Kilkenny champions, Danesfort in a pulsating All-Ireland Club Intermediate Hurling semi-final on Sunday.

By James Hayden

The Roscrea man, together with coach and former Toomevara goalkeeper James McGrath, and selectors James Greene and John Quinn have guided the ‘Church to what will undoubtedly be one of the most historic days for the club and parish when they head to Croke Park for an All-Ireland final against Tooreen of Mayo on January 10th or 11th.

“You'd have to be absolutely delighted with that performance,” Dunphy said of the victory over Danesfort.

“Any day you have a Tipp and Kilkenny game you know it’s going to be a battle. They are two very traditional hurling counties and it doesn’t matter if it’s club or county level it’s just toe to toe type stuff. We went in as underdogs against Danesfort and I am so delighted with our side’s performance.”

Regarding the loss of the influential Paudie Greene early on to a nasty looking knee injury, Liam said the injury proved a major blow to his side, especially at a time when Upperchurch-Drombane were going so well.

“We lost our leader I would say,” Dunphy revealed.

“His leadership in the dressing room, on the pitch and in training is unbelievable and to lose him early in the game was a big blow.

“We hadn’t got the services of Paddy Phelan either due to a leg injury and to still prevail without the two of those guys for 45 minutes was just outstanding.

“We dug it out in the end and it was an exceptional effort to win out there today.”

Agreeing that the ‘Church were arguably the slicker side in the opening half, Liam said the plan was to always work the ball.

“It is not always easy in winter conditions but our plan was to work the ball and take them on at the back,” he added.

“We have good speed in our forward line and we really, really wanted to test them. We won our few frees, we ran at guys and we drew the high tackles.

“We noticed in our pre-match preparation and analysis that there were a lot of high tackles in previous Danesfort games and we went after that.

“Our guys executed very well in the opening twenty minutes but what killed us a little bit was when Paudie got injured. It took us seven or eight minutes to recover from that.”

Upperchurch/Drombane had to be called out of their dressing room for the second half but Liam explained that it was in no way intentional at all.

“We were inside in the tunnel and we were having a few words together and next thing we were inside in the dressing room and all of a sudden there was someone knocking at the door. With Paudie gone we were making sure we were as organised as we could,” Liam explained.

Regarding Ciarán Shortt’s unbelievable 46th minute penalty save from Danesfort goalkeeper, Paddy Hogan, Liam said the success rate of Shortt from penalties is unbelievable.

“Of all the goalkeepers I have ever seen in action I would say Ciarán Shortt probably has a seventy to eighty per cent success rate when it comes to stopping penalties,” he revealed.

“He is a phenomenal penalty stopper. I don’t know how he does it but we have Pat McLoughney (2-time Tipperary All-Star) who comes over a few nights a week and works with Ciarán.”

Going down the final stretch the Upperchurch/Drombane manager explained that the leadership qualities of all players were massively in evidence as they held off a huge Danesfort push.

“We have serious men on the team and we have savage leaders,” Dunphy continued.

“They are not kind of household names across Tipperary but we are all on an even keel, everyone works for each other and we are such a close-knit group.

“It was all just a shoulder to the wheel effort and they didn’t want to let Paudie (Greene) down and really drove it on in the closing stages.”

The adventure continues over the festive season for Upperchurch/Drombane but Liam Dunphy is under no illusions as to the task in hand as they prepare for the All-Ireland final with the reigning Mayo and Connacht champions Tooreen early in January.

“We have to go to Croke Park now and win a final against a team that has been there before. We are not used to Croke Park obviously but look we will plan it out over the coming days and do our best to be ready for it in three weeks’ time,” Liam continued.

“It is up to our guys now as a group to be really, really disciplined over the next few weeks. We have got to be self-disciplined now. It is just one Christmas out of your lifetime and we have to mind ourselves.

“We will be in the field Tuesday night and hopefully we will be able to get a few injuries right. Paudie Greene has a dislocated knee and will be a major doubt. Hopefully Paddy Phelan will be near enough back but we will have to get him assessed the week after next and we would be hopeful he will be in action in Croke Park.”