League final is probably beyond us – Cahill
By Noel Dundon
Those comments captured the essence of the evening; a Tipp team searching for its spark, its rhythm, its bite—and never quite finding it. And yet even on a night when the Premier were misfiring, opportunities to turn the tide did arrive like half-opened doors.
Cahill added: “Having said that, we did create a couple of goal chances and on a night when you are not really at it, those goal chances do not go in. Granted there was a great save from Nickie Quaid for one of those, and then one hit the crossbar and then the penalty as well – these all add to the tone of the evening when you are not out of the blocks and competing aggressively.
“We failed to do that but we were a little bit better in the second half and then obviously being down to fourteen men made it more difficult. All in all, it was a disappointing night.”
A disappointing night indeed - but inside the disappointment, Cahill managed to uncover sparks glowing within the embers. His praise for the gladiators who did stand tall was warm and sincere. He described Noel McGrath as “magnificent” for his six point haul from play, the kind of performance that glowed amidst the gloom. He hailed the emergence of Cathal O’Reilly, celebrated the debut of Keith Ryan off the bench, and acknowledged the injection of energy Darragh Stakelum brought once introduced. These glimmers mattered.
“We have quite a number of positives to take from the evening from a personnel point of view but in general across the board we are disappointed,” Cahill admitted.
“You know, we have made no secret that every time we play in Thurles, we want to win – well we want to win every day, but especially in Thurles. There was a huge crowd here tonight – about 15,000 people and it is really disappointing for them going away that it was so one-sided.
“In fairness to Limerick, anyone who had any thoughts of them having gone away, well I think we can see that they will be a real force by the end of the year again, I’d imagine,” he said.
As for the red card that left Tipp fighting with fourteen men, Cahill did not pass judgement lightly. He hadn’t seen it clearly, he said, but trusted the man in the middle.
Losing Willie Connors, however, tilted the game further against them—and the suspension will spill into their trip to Walsh Park in two weeks’ time.
“The Waterford game is huge for us now, and getting to the league final is probably beyond us to be fair,” he conceded.
“We really have to start putting shape on our personnel in the panel now. We have carried big numbers because of everything that has been going on to date with Fitzgibbon Cup and freshers hurling. Now that they are concluded it gives us a great chance to knuckle down and go after a lot of areas that were disappointing today.”
What followed was a stark assessment—honest, unvarnished, and necessary with the Tipp manager adding: “We were second to the breaks and rucks were not really on our side either. Everything that Limerick have been renowned for down through the years, they went after again tonight and we just were not able to compete.
“We will have to have a really good look at that over the next few days and roll up the sleeves and steady the ship again.”
That final line, delivered with the grit that defines him, Liam Cahill encapsulated what lies ahead: Roll up the sleeves. Steady the ship. Restore the fight in the Premier men.