False start, frantic finish

SEVENTY minutes old, and already the championship coffers are swelling. Tipperary and Limerick will rejoin their fight for the right to meet Clare in the Munster hurling semi final next Saturday.

Ahead of yesterday’s frantic opening act, questions hung over both Limerick and Tipperary. Seventy-plus minutes of Munster championship action later, we’ve got several more.

Let’s start at the finish. A minute into injury-time, Tipperary somehow found themselves in a position to win this game. Beaten up a stick for most of the first-half, fortunate to be only two points behind at the break, five points in arrears 10 minutes after the restart, they were utterly unable to get any kind of quality ball past a dominant Limerick half-back line.

Yet here they were, a goal from John Devane, almost his first positive contribution of the whole game, a point ahead in the dying moments. How did they get themselves into that position?

And how then did they lose the initiative again, allow Limerick back upfield for the equaliser? Who now has the upper hand, psychologically, going to the Gaelic Grounds?

“I don’t know,” ventured Tipp full-forward Eoin Kelly, who had spent most of this game more frustrated than anyone in the 28,000-plus crowd, starved of possession behind that Limerick half-back wall.

“I suppose we’re relieved to get another chance, but we’re disappointed we didn’t win it, conceding that last point to Paul O’Grady. I told everyone during the week it was going to be close, and it was, a very even match. Limerick had a game-plan, they stuck to it, hurled well. We’re disappointed with the way we performed, but it’s back to Limerick now on Saturday night.”

Kelly has every reason to feel disappointed. Though he was being well marked by Damien Reale, the Mullinahone tyro looked to be on his game, looked like he was ready to cut loose, if only he got a supply of ball. If only ...

No matter where Tipp keeper Brendan Cummins placed his puck-out, it was coming almost straight back to him, the Tipp half-forward line of Devane, Devanney and Benny Dunne totally outplayed.

“It appeared that way,” Cummins accepted. “But the main thing is that we kept plugging away at it. In fairness to the boys up front, they were living off scraps, no clean ball, but they were doing the best they could, and you can’t ask for anything more than that. Eventually we broke down Limerick, got the goals.”

Eventually, thanks in no small part to the change wrought by the half-time introduction of Ger ‘Redser’ O’Grady. Finally, Tipperary had a man competing for ball in the half-forward line, and three times in quick succession the lanky redhead soared, grabbed possession. Turned and struck three wides, mind you, resulting in his demotion - for such it was - to full-forward, but that too turned to gold.

Within minutes, and again using that height and fetching ability, Redser was on the end of a superb Colin Morrissey centre, in behind Limerick full-back Stephen Lucey, first Tipperary goal. Suddenly, Limerick’s five-point advantage became two, that was when this game turned.

“That’s my style, catch the high ball,” says Redser. “I can pull on the ball as well, but I’m tall and that helps. I had shot the three wides, but that wouldn’t affect me, I’d always be mad to take a shot, I can shoot off both sides. You can hear the crowd all right, kind of whispering, wondering, why doesn’t he pass it inside, but I think I made up for it with the goal.”

Made up for it, but still there was work to do, for Tipperary. Tommy Dunne, another substitution - one wonders why he was held back for so long? - notched a fine point, with a couple from Eoin Kelly, now at centre-forward, and just like that, Tipperary had a most unlikely, and most undeserved lead.

Limerick steadied, retook the lead, then extended it, dangerously so. One point in arrears, time running out, a team will come looking for the equaliser; two points, they’re coming for the win, because only a goal will do. And here well, at least one question was answered, yesterday.

“What’s John Devane doing, still on this pitch,” someone sighed, as this game wound down. In truth, the man from nearby Clonoulty/Rossmore was not having one of his more effective afternoons. But in the 71st minute, we got our answer. John was there to score that goal, put Tipperary a point ahead, and in prime position to take the win.

Doesn’t matter very much that they almost immediately conceded that advantage; at least they didn’t lose, at least they don’t go out of the Munster championship with a whimper, confirming the fears of so many of their stay-away fans.

Now, they have another chance, another opportunity to answer all those questions. “We got out of jail,” agreed Cummins, “but we finished a bit stronger than we have been doing, that’s been a weakness for us. Once we got the goal, even though it put us a point up, it was always going to be a draw, Limerick had that bit of fight in them.

“We needed a game, so did Limerick. It was a bit edgy there in the first-half, but having this one under our belts should do us the world of good. It’s good to have the ould championship kicked off, and to be still in it makes it more special. We’ll have a right go at it next Saturday.”

Hopefully, Brendan will be as good as his word, because truthfully, neither side had a right go at it yesterday. One game down, and most of us are still waiting for the Munster championship to really start. Except, the treasurers, of course. They’re up and counting.