Mulrooney: In a nutshell, we were on fire

IT WAS the kind of performance every coach dreams about, when everything you do in training is replicated on match day.

Easy then to understand the jubilation of their coach, Richie Mulrooney: “In a nutshell, we were on fire today. There is no other way to describe that kind of performance, but we’re only in the final now, and it will take a similar performance to beat either Cork or Galway.

“Up until today, we hadn’t been severely tested. Tipp were involved in a couple of tight games in Munster and it may have taken a lot out of them. Remember they were going for their third title in-a-row and that too may have been a burden on them.

“However I cannot take it away from our lads. They were magnificent, from goalkeeper up to the corner forward.

“Every player played his part and I’m delighted for everyone associated with the team.

“At half-time, there was little to be said. I did emphasise that they must maintain their dominance because Tipp were not going to lie down to us.

“Joe Brennan got some great scores for us early in the second half to push the game beyond Tipp and when they threatened a revival with a succession of points by Noel McGrath, we got a third goal, which effectively killed them off.

“In the lead-up to this game we played the Kilkenny Under-21 subs and six other players in a challenge game and we performed very well in that game so I knew coming up that if we could repeat that, we’d be in with a great chance.

“All credit to the lads, they did just that, but my one fear now is that we may have peaked. I sincerely hope we haven’t because it will take a similar performance to win next month’s final.

“The power and determination of our lads was a joy to watch. We have worked extremely hard and today we got the reward for that.”

A dejected Tipp team manager Declan Ryan wasn’t saying much, but offered no excuses for his side’s heavy defeat: “We knew going into the game it was going to be difficult, but you cannot take anything away from Kilkenny. On the day, we were beaten by an excellent team.

“We didn’t have the physicality of Kilkenny. We had looked for big players when we set out at the start of the year but they weren’t there.

“The lads did their very best and I couldn’t have asked for any more of them. Good luck to Kilkenny in the final.”