Tipp ‘out of their depth’ against Laois, says Evans

TIPPERARY were “out of their depth” in their opening Division 2 game of the season, despite only losing by two points to Laois.

That is the verdict of manager, John Evans, who is demanding much more than moral victories from his team.

The Premier footballers fought back magnificently in the second half at O‘Moore Park on Saturday night, bridging a 10-point interval gap with eight minutes still remaining. The home side eked out the victory in the end with two late points and Evans struggled to see the positives.

He said: “There’s nothing to be happy about. These second half comebacks are becoming a little boring to be honest with you I like to win a game.”

With a panel that has an average age of around 22, one imagines that the players might learn from these experiences. Certainly, there is no doubt in Evans’ mind but that they were overawed by playing a team of Laois’ calibre in a Division 2 game.

“They came and they froze, they didn’t play. They made mistake after mistake after mistake. There’s no point making excuses for it, they didn’t rise to the occasion when they were supposed to. I think we looked out of our depth”.