Tipp are brimming with belief after securing ticket to next phase

Tipperary v Waterford Senior Hurling analysis

By Shane Brophy

Any team that plans on being successful has to have belief, and Tipperary have it at the moment.

To be suckered with a 1-1 punch from Waterford inside 39 seconds would have left many a team dazed. There was definitely a sense of Tipperary players starting with dirty diesel with elements of the Clare game still in their legs compared to Waterford who came in fresh. Thankfully, Waterford didn’t take full advantage of as their eight first half wides failed to turn their early superiority on the field onto the scoreboard.

There as no element of panic on the field, on the sideline, or in the stands, unlike two years ago when Waterford got off to a similar strong start but there was never a feeling that Tipperary wouldn’t find a way to come back into the game.

That after the opening minute, Tipperary won the rest of the contest 1-30 to 0-20 was a fair reflection of their dominance of the game. Once they settled and got a handle on the likes of Jamie Barron, Stephen Bennett, and Kevin Mahony, who were prominent in the early going, the Deise just didn’t have the form in their ranks to stay with a confident and composed Tipp, highlighted by a frustrated captain Dessie Hutchinson being subbed off late in the game.

After being beaten by Stephen Bennett after just twelve seconds, Tipp keeper Rhys Shelly didn’t have a save to make until injury time when Waterford were forced to go for goals, turning a Bennett close range free away before being alert to a Bennett shot from distance, trying to catch the Tipp keeper napping.

The inclusion of the Moycarkey/Borris clubman in the last two games has benefitted Tipp hugely in terms of his puckouts. He is just that little bit braver than Barry Hogan in threading the needle, particularly to the half-back line and midfield, to keep opponents guessing and not sitting off and waiting for the long ball.

Again, there were periods when Tipp struggled to win primary possession in the half forward line under the dropping ball, but when they cleared out areas for Shelly to ping puckouts to runners, Tipp were in business with Jake Morris and Andrew Ormond huge in this regard.

Morris has emerged as a real leader this year, not just with his accuracy in terms of shooting, again four from four, but is always a willing option for a puckout, while his workrate is much improved, highlighted in the first half by failing to control a pass he was favourite to win, but then chased down the Waterford player and win a line-ball.

That one play captures the change of mindset within the group this year, they don’t get spooked by set-backs, and there were many on Sunday; the poor start, the two penalties not awarded, and the Waterford comeback in the second half when a six-point lead was erased in as many minutes.

This is when a players mettle is tested and where Darragh McCarthy stood tall. The nineteen-year-old was thrown straight back into the starting line-up following his suspension and while he didn’t score from play, he converted all twelve frees, three of which he won himself after Waterford drew level to quell the revival and set Tipp on the road to victory.

It further highlighted the injection the new blood have had on the team this year; Robert Doyle holding Dessie Hutchinson to one point from play, after keeping Tony Kelly and Alan Connolly scoreless in previous games.

The impact of Andrew Ormond in the past two games has been dramatic, the 25-year-old coming of age. The JK Brackens clubman has always had the ability, going back to his underage days, with his quick feet and movement his calling card. He offers a different element to the Tipp attack, dove-tailing greatly with Jake Morris who were almost doing things in tandem at times in this game.

Ormond was involved in ten Tipperary points, two he scored himself, as well as winning frees for three more and assisting for five. That is some contribution for a player making just his second championship start and led to him being a worthy man of the match.

The energy of Morris and Ormond compliments the experience of John McGrath and Jason Forde who contributed well also in attack, Forde’s expertise from sideline-cuts cannot be understated as they are effectively placed-balls opponents cannot pressurise. The modern thinking is that attempting a shot at goal from a sideline-cut is too risky in terms of giving away possession but when you have a player adept at them as Jason Forde is, why wouldn’t you have a go.

Defensively, Tipperary were a little sluggish in the early going but the longer the game went on, the stronger they got, particularly under the Waterford puckout. Bryan O’Mara’s growth as a player of substance has been impressive while Ronan Maher is more at home in a detailed man-marking role as he curtailed Michael Kiely to two points. With the lead in hand late on, he moved to a more central role and there isn’t a player you’d want to mind the house in that scenario.

Once again, Tipperary went the match-ups route with Doyle on Hutchinson and Michael Breen on Stephen Bennett in a two-man full-forward line for Waterford, Breen having his hands full early but improved as the game went on.

Eoghan Connolly was pressed further out the field with Jack Prendergast pushing out into a deeper role, with Craig Morgan manning the centre-back position throughout, which was risky as Jamie Barron drifted off to great effect in the early going but once Tipp got up to speed, they prevented Waterford building from the middle third.

In the absence of the injured Alan Tynan, Willie Connors was tremendous throughout, particularly in wrestling back the initiative after Waterford’s strong start, and his influence was shown in his five minutes when he was off the field between the 47th and 52 minutes receiving treatment for a blood injury, where in that time Waterford went on their six-point run and it ended upon his return, in place of Sam O’Farrell who started off well at midfield but wasn’t as impactful as in previous games, but after contributing in three games in a week, including the under 20’s, it was no surprise he ran out of steam.

The impact of Shelly and Ormond, in particular, over the last two games, will give inspiration to the rest of the panel that if they raise their level in training, they will get a chance, which gives hope to the likes of Conor Bowe and Gearoid O’Connor, who have been the two big names to lose out in recent weeks, but they have a lot to offer if they get back to their best.

That will lead to more competition for places to come off the bench where Noel McGrath, Sean Kenneally and Oisin O’Donoghue all contributed in a scoring sense, and getting an impact from substitutes is another positive indication that all is well in the camp.

Target 1 has been achieved, getting out of Munster, guaranteed at least an All-Ireland Preliminary quarter final, but it could still be a Munster Final at Semple Stadium against Limerick they are preparing for next. Not a bad problem to have!