All the boxes ticked for Tipp in securing safe passage
This All-Ireland Senior Hurling Preliminary quarter final on Saturday couldn’t have gotten better from a Tipperary point of view.
By Shane Brophy
Every opponent deserves respect in the build-up to a game, even one who is given a remote chance of causing an upset such as Laois were, coming just six days after losing the MacDonagh Cup final, which was their All-Ireland final for the year.
With MacDonagh winners Kildare also suffering a heavy loss to Dublin in their preliminary quarter final, it is high time the MacDonagh Cup finalists are no longer part of the senior championship in a given year.
Bar Laois’ upset win over Dublin 2019, these matches have largely been one-sided and don’t serve either team well.
The preliminary quarter finals were included in the senior championship format when the MacDonagh Cup was established in 2018 for fear the competition wouldn’t be taken seriously, particularly for the likes of Laois, Offaly, Westmeath etc…who would previously have played in the Leinster Championship before the round-robin format limited the number of teams.
It ensured an avenue for the second tier teams to take on the top tier in a given year. However, the MacDonagh Cup has proven to be a resounding success in its nine years, and now stands on its own two feet as a competition, without the carrot of a preliminary quarter final, which is now actually a punishment for the teams that qualify.
Removing that link would allow the MacDonagh Cup to grow as a competition, possibly extending it from six to eight teams, and also be played later into the year with the final being on All-Ireland semi-final or final weekend, without having to be completed by the provincial finals, so as to have two teams ready to lose to the third placed teams from Munster and Leinster six days later.
This is a matter for others to decide but the preliminary quarter finals were still on the schedule last Saturday, and in games such as these where a team is expected to win comfortably, there isn’t much that can be learned but there are a few things that can be taken from it for Tipp to be pleased with.
Firstly, the mindset was spot on, particularly in the opening five minutes when they rattled off 1-5 without reply, immediately stamping out any optimism Laois might have had.
Yes, things became a little sloppy in the period up to half time, Laois getting within six and also shot nine wides (17 in all) but you will have that in a game where the result is almost a foregone conclusion and players take their foot off the gas and also take risks in possession they wouldn’t ordinarily do against stronger opposition.
Still, there was a ruthlessness in Tipp’s approach, particularly in working goal chances when the openings presented themselves, scoring three via clinical finishes from Jason Forde (2) and Sam O’Farrell, but they could have had more but for three fine saves by the excellent Cathal Dunne who has performed to such a level recently that Enda Rowland hasn’t been missed.
The woodwork also denied both John McGrath and sub Peter McGarry in the second half, but hopefully that bit of good fortune which was missing will be saved for games that matter down the line, starting with Galway.
St Mary’s clubman McGarry played with the senior footballers in the championship last year but was making his first appearance for the senior hurlers on Saturday, league or championship, and certainly impressed in his 25 minute cameo.
He brought a pace and energy to proceedings, and you can see why he has forced himself into the matchday 26 in the last three games. He is now making himself a realistic option as an impact sub, particularly as he slotted in at centre forward for the once again impressive Andrew Ormond, and the Tipp attack didn’t miss a beat.
Johnny Ryan, Joe Fogarty, and Brian McGrath, who had featured little in the championship so far got valuable game time off the bench, as did under 20 Oisin O’Donoghue, as the Tipp management look to ensure they have as many ready options as possible for what they will hope will be a three game run into late July.
With the game always in hand, it meant that Jake Morris and Noel McGrath didn’t have to be used, conserving their energy, while Eoghan Connolly didn’t feature at all due to a leg injury. Bryan O’Mara slotted it at full back and but had his hands full with Ben Conroy who was a strong ball winner for Laois at full forward.
The game was also welcome in blowing off the cobwebs following a four week wait for a game and there was certainly a sluggishness in the likes of Craig Morgan and Ronan Maher who were caught in possession more than usual but will be better for this wake-up call, while the seventy minutes into the legs of Seamus Kennedy was also a welcome sight, as well as for Alan Tynan as he looks to get back to full power following a hamstring injury.
The only downside from a game such as this is the risk of injury but thankfully Tipperary came through unscathed, and as soon as Chris Mooney’s final whistle sounded, all the focus was on next Saturday and the quarter final against Galway which will define the season as being a success or not.