Tipp are vulnerable to another Deise upset

GAA: Munster Senior Football Championship Quarter Final Preview

By Shane Brophy

TIPPERARY v WATERFORD

FBD Semple Stadium

Saturday, 5th April

Throw-in @ 6.00pm (E.T.)

Referee: Fergal Kelly (Longford)

The pressure is on the Tipperary senior footballers as they look to get back to winning ways as their championship campaign gets underway with a Munster quarter final against Waterford on Saturday evening.

Such is the tightness of the calendar there isn’t much time for a team to shake off the league smell before focusing on the championship, particularly for Tipperary as the second half of the league didn’t go as well as the first.

Four defeats on the trot after a promising start saw Tipperary finish a disappointing fifth in the table, their last victory coming on February 16th in round 3 against this Saturday's opponents Waterford in Walsh Park.

However, subsequent defeats to London, Limerick, Wexford, and Wicklow took the shine off their bright start which also saw a draw with Carlow and victory over Longford, however it only indicated if further proof were needed of the job that new manager Philly Ryan has walked into wasn’t going to be a quick fix.

Already a very inexperienced squad, Tipperary’s fortunes weren’t helped by key-players going down to injury midway through the league, including captain and midfielder Steven O’Brien, top-scorer Sean O’Connor, centre back Luke Boland, and midfielder Cathal Deely, who all started promisingly.

All four remain massive doubts for this Saturday’s Munster quarter final with the only bonus from the league being that so many new players have been blooded which will have its benefits for the longer term with defender Manus McFadden, and forwards Micheal Freaney and Cian Smith the three to stand out.

Whoever the 26 players that will be given the responsibility in championship on Saturday, they will do so looking to avoid a second successive championship defeat to the Waterford who shocked the Premier last year in Dungarvan with a first championship win in 36 years.

They subsequently beat Longford in the Tailteann Cup to show that win wasn’t a fluke. However, their form in this league was poor, losing their first six games but gained a confidence boosting win over London in their last game.

Paul Shankey’s charges will come to Thurles with confidence and will use the knowledge that Tipperary put in a request to Munster Council to change the game from FBD Semple Stadium to Clonmel Sportsfield but was turned down.

The reasoning from the provincial body, according to Tipperary manager Philly Ryan, was that it was seen that Clonmel was too small a venue for a Munster Championship match but the capacity of the Sportsfield would likely have catered for the crowd that would be expected at Semple Stadium which was 1,443 for their game at the same stage of the championship in 2023 when they last played in Thurles.

Expectations for Tipperary are low this year but beating Waterford would be one of them. Tipp are in a strange place where manager Philly Ryan is targeting the Tailteann Cup which would mean losing to Clare in a Munster semi-final.

Tipp would be massive underdogs against the Banner anyway but being realistic, the Premier County aren’t ready to play Sam Maguire calibre teams, and if they did, it could do some long term damage if they suffered heavy beatings.

That is for the medium term, this week is about beating Waterford and progressing to the next round in Munster. Last year proved it will be easier said than done but if Tipp are positive and take the game to Waterford, there is no reason why they can’t get back to winning ways.

Ticket Information

General Admission – €15; Under 16s – Free.

Tickets can be purchased through the Ticketmaster website, or from participating Centra or SuperValu outlets.