Kerry clash different ball game for Tipp

ANYONE comparing Kerry’s performance against Tyrone in Killarney on Sunday and taking notice of the hammering inflicted on Tipperary by Derry would quickly draw the conclusion that the Premier County have little business turning up for next month’s Munster SFC clash between the counties.

Losing to Derry by 1-26 to 0-2 was Tipp’s seventh successive defeat in the Allianz League. It clearly upset the management - but didn’t quite set the alarm bells ringing.

In the words of team coach Seamus McCarthy, there were “very mitigating circumstances.”

In simple terms, they were missing too many players to make a stronger impact.

In a county where hurling could be said to come first, second and third, Tipperary just don’t have the resources.

Yet, it’s not all negative as far as McCarthy is concerned and he has been around the block often enough to appreciate what’s ahead for him and his team.

Getting all his players back, fully fit and totally committed, will enable Tipperary to be at least competitive when they face up to the All-Ireland champions in Clonmel in two months time.

For the weekend game with Derry, McCarthy couldn’t call on a single member of the six forwards who started in last year’s championship - and nobody needs to be told how much of a loss Declan Browne is to the team. Lasting just ten minutes of the game with Louth, the manger points out that effectively he was missing for the last four rounds.

Over the course of the campaign, Tipp lost to Cavan by eight points, by two to Waterford, four to Meath, six to Louth, two to Wicklow, eleven to Antrim and finally by that embarrassing margin of 27 points to Derry. It was their biggest defeat since Wexford had 16 points to spare against them in the 2002 League.

Last season they finished with four wins and a draw to their credit, whereas in the 2003 campaign they gained just one point - from a draw with Derry.

“Going up to Derry when they were looking for promotion was never going to be the ideal environment to put anybody (new) in, but that is where we are at. We have given opportunities to up to 33 players so far and while that has been useful in its own way, certainly we need all our resources available.

“If we were putting out our best team, looking at this League you’d say it was a disaster.

“But, looking at it from the point of view that we were missing so many players, there were very mitigating circumstances. The likes of Fergal O’Callaghan, Glen Burke and Paul Cahill will all be back for the championship and they will make a big difference.”