No nonsense as Tipp do the business

TIPPERARY may not have found the net in this All-Ireland qualifier at Portlaoise yesterday, but a primary goal was accomplished nevertheless.

“It was about getting over the finishing line and back into the All-Ireland quarter-final,” said manager Liam Sheedy, a man who knows a thing or two about goal-setting.

“Offaly are a fabulous team — they bring great passion and great heart. We were conscious of that coming into this game, we were anxious to try and get a bit of a headstart.”

That’s the thinking when you’re hotly fancied to win — a good start, lift your own players and deflate the opposition. That’s exactly what Tipperary got, and it all stemmed from the toss of a coin. So often you see teams on windy days winning the toss, then immediately ceding the advantage to the opposition — not Tipperary captain Eoin Kelly yesterday. From the moment referee John Sexton looked at the upturned coin on the back of his hand and nodded to Eoin, this game was decided.

The wind would be in their sails from the throw-in, and from that throw-in everything Tipp did was professional and business-like. There was very little fancy stuff, no-one trying to create and score the perfect goal, just route one, straight down field stuff.

Having seen Offaly take Galway to the wire on two occasions, Tipperary were taking no chances. The plan was to keep it simple, use that wind to keep the scoreboard ticking over and go into the dressing room with a good lead.

Then come back out and fight like dogs to defend it.

Not that it was all about the elements. “The wind never won a game,” man-of-the-match Brendan Maher pointed out. “It was important to get a good start whether you were playing with it or against it, and that was our aim. We said we’d go out in the first half and do what we had to, then regather at half-time and take it on from there. The first half performance did set it up, thankfully we got a good lead and we were able to hold onto it.”

That was the game, in a nutshell. With Eoin Kelly on fire at full-forward, razor-sharp in everything he did, they led by six points after 19 minutes (0-7 to 0-1), had extended that to nine at the break (0-14 to 0-5).

They had a whole array of scorers, including two from midfielder Maher, two more from flying wing-forward Gearoid Ryan, and one each from centre-back Conor O’Mahony (a free from just outside his own 45m line, an indicator of the strength of the wind), David Young (the second midfielder), centre-forward Shane McGrath (an experiment that worked), and corners Noel McGrath and Larry Corbett.

Offaly did show signs of the team that had drawn with Galway in the Leinster semi-final before bowing out narrowly in the replay. Sharp-shooter Shane Dooley had three pointed frees, big Joe Bergin and Derek Molloy with the other two scores. They also had nine wides, proof that they weren’t being overrun in the possession stakes, and suggestive of a challenge to come on the changeover, with the wind now at their backs. Disappointingly for their fine following, however, that charge never came.

With wing-back Declan Fanning sitting deep to offer extra protection to the full-back line in front of Dooley and Bergin, Tipp managed to nullify the inside threat of Offaly, and while the men from the midlands were starting to get the scoreboard moving, every time they got a point Tipperary almost instantly replied. Joe Bergin point for Offaly, Gearoid Ryan reply; Shane Dooley free, two from Eoin Kelly — on and on, Tipperary always keeping that nine-point half-time gap, even extending it to 10 in the 61st minute, with Kelly still their greatest threat inside.

This was Tipp’s last stop in the backroads of the qualifiers, a place in the All-Ireland quarter-final secured, back in the meat of championship action. Their opponents? Galway, coached by former Tipperary star John McIntyre.

“A tough test,” said Maher. “But we are looking forward to it. Any game you play in this championship is tough, but we’re in the right end of it now, back in a quarter-final, back where we wanted to be .”

They did allow Offaly in for a goal at the end, Shane Dooley finally finding a bit of space behind what had been a vigilant defence, which put a bit of a gloss on the final scoreline.

In truth, however, and from the moment Kelly won that toss, this was never really a true contest.

TIPPERARY: B Cummins; P Stapleton, P Curran, M Cahill; D Fanning, C O'Mahony, Padraic Maher; B Maher, D Young; G Ryan, S McGrath, Patrick Maher; N McGrath, L Corbett, E Kelly.

Subs used: S Callanan for Patrick Maher (56 mins), S Hennessy for Young (61), P Bourke for N McGrath (62), C O'Brien for B Maher (67), J O'Brien for S McGrath (69).

Tipperary Scorers: E Kelly 0-11 (0-8f, 0-1 '65'), G Ryan 0-3, L Corbett, B Maher 0-2 each, C O'Mahony (0-1f), S McGrath, N McGrath 0-1 each.

OFFALY: J Dempsey; D Franks, P Cleary, J Rigney; D Kenny, R Hanniffy, D Morkan; B Murphy, D Hayden; B Carroll, J Brady, D Molloy; C Parlon, J Bergin, S Dooley.

Subs used: K Brady for Cleary (20-23 mins, blood sub), G Healion for Parlon (44), D Currams for J Brady (50), K Brady for Hayden (60), O Kealey for Molloy (64).

Offaly Scorers: S Dooley 1-7 (0-6f, 0-1 '65'), J Bergin 0-3, D Molloy, D Hayden 0-1 each.

Referee: John Sexton (Cork).