False Start

By Shane Brophy

Tipperary’s Munster Senior Hurling Championship campaign got off to a false start on Sunday in many different ways.

It began in the days leading up to the game when word emerged that the clubs didn’t use its full allocation of tickets, rather surprising considering the euphoria in the county following last years All-Ireland success. While it wasn’t as bad as two years ago when it was nearly a case of spot the blue & gold at Semple Stadium, that the Killinan End terrace was as much red as it was blue & gold, compared the Town End where there was barely a speckle of a Tipperary jersey among the Cork contingent was a disappointing.

Moving onto match-day itself, the signs didn’t improve as captain Ronan Maher led the team out onto the pitch, the music to accompany their arrival didn’t come on over the public address as it did for Cork minutes earlier. It was kind of a portent of things to come for the defending All-Ireland champions who didn’t get to the pitch of the game as they would have wanted.

It began with Jason Forde missing his first free which he would usually put over with his eyes closed; John McGrath hitting the post from a central position under little pressure; Jake Morris missing, admittedly difficult shots, but ones he’d usually be confidently of converting. It was just untypical of what we have come to associate with the team over the last twelve months.

While not at their best, it says a lot about Tipp’s determination they were in front seven minutes into the second half when things started to go awry with Cork going on a 0-11 to 0-1 scoring run to take the game away from the home side who redeemed themselves with a strong finish.

The mood in the aftermath wasn’t too sombre as the Tipp players and management are aware that the Munster Championship is a marathon and not a sprint, with six points still to play for, gaining 4-5 of them would be enough to emerge from the province. Onwards to Waterford next Sunday!