Tipperary have belief to rise again

ONWARDS and upwards!

That was the message from an upbeat Tipperary on the morning after they came within an ace of toppling holders Kilkenny and denying them the honour of becoming only the second county to record four-in-a-row in the All-Ireland hurling championship.

And, just as positively, the general reaction among players, management and officials was that while they might have an issue about the awarding of the penalty which as good as decided the game, they remained gracious in defeat.

Eamonn O’Shea, who has won wide acclaim for his coaching of the team, best summed up the mood in the camp when acknowledging that luck often has a huge part to play in big games and sporting occasions and that it didn’t go their way in Croke Park on Sunday.

“These players are clear on their ability. In terms of being ‘down,’ we are not down in terms of belief in our ability. We are down in the fact that we lost a big game. That’s it. What Tipperary expect from their players is huge commitment when they play. They got that. Huge intensity, they got that. Huge hurling ability, they got that!

“What they didn’t get was the result. For us the result matters because we are there to win it.’’

Interestingly, his verdict on the penalty incident was that while there was a foul on the Kilkenny player, it was outside the square and that there was an element of over-carrying. Nevertheless, he felt it would be unfair on the referee to pass judgement on the game ‘over one isolated incident.’

“I would tend to look at what we could have done rather than what happened us during the match. We had opportunities to win the game when we were on top and, unfortunately, we just didn’t take them. Their goalie made two very good saves.

“These are things we can change. I can’t change what happened with the referee. I can’t change a referee’s decision. Those decisions are made, that’s how we look at the game. That’s how I look at the game.”

In terms of what Tipp need to do from here on in, O’Shea says it’s a case of ‘more of the same’, elaborating: “one of the things we had the experience of was trying to work under extreme pressure and trying to score under extreme pressure. It is about just trying to build on that type of intensity that happens in big games.

“You don’t always get that intensity in big games. Essentially you get two or three of these games a year. Unlike rugby or like soccer, you have to wait nine months to get the same level of intensity again and that is what makes it so difficult to achieve that.

“But these guys are resilient and the one thing about our team, the one thing we’ve tried to do all the time, the one thing you have to say is they have to enjoy what they do and play with freedom. Contrary to what some people think, they have to play with a smile on their face. It is a beautiful game.’’

While accepting that they lacked a bigger spread of scorers in Sunday’s final, he said they had managed that in their other four championship games – and that it was higher than most other teams.

“I would be less concerned about that because I do spend a lot of time trying to make sure that we move the ball and get it to the player in the best position,’’ he said. “We spent the last 18 months working to make sure that happened. Making the right decision for these players is important.’’

Asked how close Tipperary are to Kilkenny at this stage – give the massive progress made from their League meeting in Nowlan Park, then the League final and now the All-Ireland decider – O’Shea responded by saying ten minutes from the end he would have said ‘they were there’. “Matches last 70 minutes. I think if we keep on doing the right things in Tipperary, if we keep on working hard, I think this team will have a bright future.’’

In the meantime, he has no doubt the experience of playing against Kilkenny will benefit their younger players in particular. “I think Kilkenny are an absolutely outstanding team. To be at pitch level when they are making those tackles, when they are making those runs, it’s absolutely immense,’’ he said.

“I have never seen a team (like them) across different codes, whether it be rugby – your comparisons with your Munsters or your all-Blacks or any of those things Blacks. Kilkenny are an outstanding team. There is no other way to put that.

“I fully expected we would win. We have been doing huge things in our hurling, we’ve tried to hurl our way through games. But when you come up against that level of intensity it’s difficult to keep on doing the precise things you would like to do.’’

So, what is it exactly that Kilkenny do to opposition teams? “They smother you; they make it more difficult,’’ he responded.

“The only thing to do is to work at getting more clinical, more efficient with the use of the ball. When you play a good team like Kilkenny, you have to be really efficient with the ball you have. When you get a chance you have to score, whether that’s points or goals – and make the right decisions.

“We do that a lot of the time. Yesterday we nearly did it and that’s what makes it so disappointing.”