Liam Sheedy: Tipp's challenge is to strip it all back down to a match with Cork
OUT THE GAP: Brian Hayes of Cork takes on Tipperary's Ronan Maher, left, and Willie Connors during the All-Ireland final. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
The All-Ireland champions begin their defence of the crown at home as outsiders. That’s unusual and suggests plenty are devaluing that 35 minutes of champagne hurling Liam Cahill’s charges delivered last July.
A tepid league final drew a line under a spring that brought Liam and Ben O’Connor nearly everything they wanted out of it. We have to accept that teams were fine-tuning in the league and it’s hard to draw too much from patterns or form-lines. So last year’s battles are probably our best guide for clues as to what will unfold at 4pm in Thurles on Sunday.
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Cork have since brought Gerry Hussey into their backroom team. He’s meticulous and I know he’ll have reflected hard on how to approach the job. Three All-Ireland final defeats in five years, two from winning positions, has to leave a mark. Yet they go in Sunday as strong favourites again. Cork present almost a unique challenge, from a psychological point of view. I think Gerry — and Ben as well, from how he has been talking — will just be urging them to embrace everything that comes with being a Cork hurler. The expectation, the support, the buzz. Roll with it and go into Thurles and take down the champs. That’s how belief is built.
In the Tipp setup, Cathal Sheridan has a new challenge. Last year, trophies weren’t on the radar, outside the camp anyway. We heard a lot from the Tipp lads about how he was always there for them with an ear, and how they needed him after a few tough years. It was about making these players feel good about themselves again, about reminding them how they came to love hurling in the first place and lighting the spark in them again.
This year, it’s a slightly different task. Confidence should be solid. They’ve climbed the mountain and added good reinforcements for another trek. There’s massive competition for a seat on the bench, let alone a starting jersey. Liam's selection of Stefan Tobin is probably rewarding what he sees in training, as much as the league, where he was very good.
I suspect Cathal will be helping Liam just strip it all back down. It’s a match on Sunday in front of our own people. Not a word about back to back or getting out of Munster. A match with Cork is plenty to be getting on with. The fire Tipp brought to Thurles for the first outing last year against Limerick got the whole county’s juices flowing. That’s what Liam will ask for again.
Tipp definitely unsettled Cork in the All-Ireland final with the positioning of Bryan O’Mara as a seventh defender. I am not inclined to call it an out-and-out sweeper, as the attacking play from the Tipperary backs was outstanding. I heard TJ called him a ‘space closer’ on Dalo’s pod.
With an old-school sweeper, you often saw teams struggle to put up 20 points. Tipp managed 3-27, so to me it became more about where players were positioned and when. How they closed and opened up spaces. Bottom line, it seemed to catch Cork on the hop and the game was played on Tipp’s terms.
Who will dictate the terms tomorrow? Ben mentioned that having played Limerick so recently lightened his load a bit in terms of prep for their second game. I am certain that’s a clue just how much prep and planning he has put into Sunday and it will be incredible to watch it unfold. Cork didn’t give much away in their league final gameplan, which was fairly basic, so has Ben been cooking something special?
In the final, Tipp got the match-ups so right. All three inside backs had the better of Cork’s line. Plus Willie Connors gave a masterclass at wing back on Deccie Dalton, giving Tipp a massive platform. The movement across the line and direct running of Jake Morris and Andrew Ormond had Ciarán Joyce and Rob Downey in trouble. Darragh McCarthy got his hands on an amount of ball on the wing, with plenty of quality sprayed into Jayo Forde and John McGrath. Cork have the same defensive personnel but O’Connor and Curran are smart operators and will have identified one or two tweaks they hope can shut Tipp down. They’ll need to in order to maintain a foothold.
The cut and thrust of the Munster Hurling Championship doesn’t suit the faint-hearted. Adrenaline is a vital asset but you need to keep a lid on it too. Both had a player (unluckily) sent off in the league fixture, and the coming together that caused it saw both teams slip over the edge. Liam and Ben will want their players to find that edge but not go over the top. The tackle in hurling is a fine art, that demands steel and force but precision too. Recklessness is gone out the window in today’s game. Red and black must be avoided Sunday. The skill levels and pace both teams displayed at different times last year will make it hard to cope while a man down.
Tipp are well served with specialists. Darragh was flawless in the All-Ireland and will be missed if he doesn't start. But you have Jason Forde as top drawer back-up. From distance, Eoghan Connolly is as good as Seanie McMahon was for Clare. He picked up where he left off last year with four precision missiles in the league meeting.
Of course Cork will miss Hoggie. It’s always good as a manager to have one job sorted that you can nearly forget about. Alan Connolly is good on frees, but doesn’t yet look as certain and every chance will be vital if margins are as tight as we expect. Deccie Dalton is Cork’s long-range specialist but he has been in and out of the team and that leaves them with no go-to guy for those two or three from downtown that could make all the difference.
The role of the goalie has changed with plenty of emphasis now on retention and supplying ball that gets you on the front foot. That said, their primary role is still stopping the ball from hitting the net. The connection between Rhys Shelly and his outfield players was exceptional last year in Croke Park and the shot stopping wasn’t bad either. In the league final, I didn’t see that connection between Patrick Collins and his players. When he went short it broke down at times and when Cork went long in the second half, Will O’Donoghue and Diarmaid Byrnes lapped it up. Perhaps Ben is keeping his puckout strategy under lock and key for Championship, but if we see more of the same tomorrow Cork will struggle.
Cork’s pace up front is frightening, but they need to find a way of getting their hands on the ball. Tipp got their warning in the league fixture when the Cork half forward line scored 11 from play. This line will be a ferocious battleground on Sunday.
Overall, I expect a cracker and you couldn’t rule out a division of the spoils. If there’s a winner they will have momentum and look to back it up in a week’s time. The loser will have to lick wounds fast and get their heads around the following weekend, knowing that another blow, while not fatal, would have you hanging by a thread.
