Cahill not happy to be beaten in learning defeat

By Shane Brophy

Tipperary manager Liam Cahill was very measured in his assessment of his teams first defeat in ten competitive matches on Saturday night.

They last tasted defeat on their most recent visit to Pairc Ui Chaoimh in the second round of the Munster Championship in April 2025 and while it was their third defeat at the Leeside venue inside twelve months, Tipp left there without too much of a bitter aftertaste this time round.

“I’m disappointed with the result, seven points. I thought maybe we could have been a bit closer than that, just in reflection,” began the Tipperary manager.

“I was happy the way we withstood the Cork pressure after the black card. It is important to mention that. Both teams were playing with an extra man at the back.

“Probably the start of the second half hurt us a little bit, we left a few chances after us and then towards the end of the game I suppose Cork just made better decisions on the ball and kicked on as we started to tire.

“All in all, a really good work out. A huge crowd. Learned lots. Nice to get some bit of a break now after three weeks on the go.”

Despite the game being played in front of a record national league crowd of over thirty thousand, it will be remembered for the thirty-man melee towards the end of the first half which saw Jason Forde and Shane Barrett sent off.

“It is disappointing when you see that developing,” Cahill continued.

“There were a lot of bodies to be honest with you, I couldn’t really see what instigated it or what happened. I think the two players in question were just misfortunate in a lot of ways to be the two to pay the price.

“Talking to the officials afterwards it was a case of bring control back into the game. I think it will be minimal enough in relation to suspensions.”

He added: “He (Jason) is very disappointed to be the one because there were a number of challenges coming together and Jason was involved in one or two in close succession so maybe that’s why he was identified.

“It is difficult to officiate when you have so many bodies involved. Both players were asked to step away. In fairness to Liam Gordon, he consulted his linesmen.

It was a good job by Liam and his officials tonight; we have no complaints in that regard.”

Reflecting further on the black carded awarded against Johnny Ryan in the 17th minute for a foul on Shane Barrett which resulted in a penalty which was saved by Rhys Shelly from Declan Dalton.

“I like the idea of it,” Cahill said of the black card penalty.

“It is a very quick decision to see whether or not there is nobody back, whether it is warranted. We could maybe have said the same about Willie Connors going through in the second half, we tried to maybe look for it, but the explanation we were given was that there were more red jerseys back than was required for a black card.

“It has to be fairly clear though, hasn’t it. It is alright in the National League but when it comes to the third round of the Munster championship and everything is on the line, they will be big calls when they do arrive. If that is the case, it is a rule I wouldn’t be giving out about anyway.”

Overall, the Ballingarry clubman was pleased with what he got from the game after what has been a busy period of three games in fifteen days, with Fitzgibbon Cup mixed in.

“We were coming down to test ourselves. Every time you come down here you get well tested on a real top class surface, big crowds and really decent opposition. We try to win every match, that is always the objective. You’re never happy when you get beaten but we learned a lot tonight.”