Moloney believes Tipp can go far

By Stephen Barry

Emmet Moloney feels Tipperary are growing in belief that they can compete with anyone in the Tailteann Cup.

The Blue & Gold had registered just two wins from eleven in the second-tier competition prior to this year. That fact served up ample motivation to set the record straight against Sligo in round 1, who had beaten them in the previous two seasons.

“That's what we said, we've let ourselves down in the Tailteann for the last number of years, and we really wanted to make a statement win,” said the experienced wing-back.

“It really opens up the summer and, if anything, it's going to give a belief in the squad that we're good enough to compete with the best Division 3 teams there.”

Their mission continues with another lengthy road trip to take on Antrim at Corrigan Park on Sunday.

“We’ve a couple of bodies coming back. A lot of lads couldn't get in with injury and sickness, so we'll have them coming back into the squad and it'll only strengthen it up,” added Moloney.

“If we got a second win under the belt, you never know where the summer could take us.”

The winners will progress to a quarter-final which for Tipp would be at home, while the losers get one more shot against a round 2B winner. Two more victories would mean a Croke Park appearance for a Tailteann semi-final.

As they rebuild from the bottom, Tipp took confidence from their 50-minute Munster semi-final performance against Cork into the Sligo match. “We knew we had the work done and we knew there was a massive performance in us,” said Moloney.

“We were slightly disappointed in the Cork result. We played for fifty minutes and then we let ourselves down for the last twenty. So we knew if we could keep that fifty-minute performance going for the seventy minutes, we'd be right in it come the shake-up.

“It was messy for a finish. We were probably lucky with the last two-pointer free, but they were from our own mistakes; it wasn't from their brilliance. It's really going to set us up, hopefully, for the rest of the summer.”

Throughout the season, Tipp have shown their capacity to hold possession for patient tempo-controlling attacks.

“That's been something we've been working on. It's to try in those slow build-ups to control the play,” said Moloney.

“It just shows the character that's there and the up-and-coming talent with the new under-20s that are now on the team.

“They're really quick learners, and you can see the standard of their play, they're every bit as good as anyone that's been on the squad for a number of years.

“We've been unlucky that a lot of the squad were sick, so a lot of the load was tapered (before the Sligo game), but we did a lot of tactical work, so there was other elements we were able to improve on and that was evident from the get-go.”

Moloney, who played in both All-Ireland minor hurling and football finals in 2015, is in his tenth year on the Tipp senior panel. Now 28, he’s among a handful of players remaining from the 2020 Munster triumph.

After a series of substitute appearances in the league, Moloney has started the past two games, scoring a point against Sligo.

“It's never easy not starting, but I believe in the boys and the squad that's there, so it's unselfish that as long as we're winning and playing well, I'm happy.

“But from a personal standpoint, I'm delighted to get back in the team and contributing.”