‘Steely’ Tipp move to new heights
Successive league promotions hinted at the development of their senior team and a Munster U21 title in Tralee in April 2010 indicated they were making progressive steps in the underage grades.
On Sunday in Croke Park, Tipperary moved to another level. The fortunes of their minor side has formed a wonderful tale this year and they capped it off with a significant statement of intent on the national stage. For the first time since 1934, Tipperary are All-Ireland minor football champions and the future prospects of football in the county have assumed a brighter hue.
“I said three years ago that if Tipperary football was a company you’d buy shares in it,” stated Evans.
“That’s for the simple reason it’s full of talented young fellows. The professionalism that’s in it is superb. This is a reward for everyone’s hard work, and like keeping the scoreboard ticking over you need the silverware up on the shelf to prove it.
“These guys are something special and there are so many of them underage again next year. Next year will be twice as hard because everybody will see us coming so we will have to be more professional, better and we’ll have the experience. It’s a platform for future success and one that we started three years ago.”
In a county where tradition dictates that hurling is the primary force, Evans feels they are now approaching a stage where the county can embody a dual ethos.
“The buzzword now among young players in Tipperary is to play football, and that’s creating a positivity. In any coach or manager of any hurling team I’ve ever come across I’ve never had a problem with them, and I think we put obstacles in front of us and that’s not necessary. It’s a great day for Tipperary with these young guns coming up and God they’re enjoying their football.”
Evans role was a peripheral one in the Tipperary minor setup this year, acting as a soundboard for David Power and his management team, offering tips and advice where he could. Those men who had steered Tipperary to this triumph were lavished with praise by the Killorglin native.
“We’ve worked very hard at it, over 115 training sessions, everybody attending, well organised, well tutored under manager David Power and Alan O’Connor as physical trainer.
“David is a great organiser, he’s an intelligent young man. Management is about bringing everyone together, it’s about bringing Alan O’Connor and John Evans and selectors Fergal McDonnell, Pat Murphy and Tadhg Duggan together. It’s about getting co-operation and he’s done it quite successfully.
“David said to the players before they went out that they’re an intelligent team. They’re like sponges, they absorb football and the correct thing to do constantly and they’re a brilliant team to coach. Alan O’Connor had them in wonderful shape and mentally, that’s the big one, we had them right, we had them absolutely bang on.”
The scale of Tipperary’s achievement was magnified by the quality of the opposition they faced on Sunday. Dessie Farrell’s Dublin team had been convincing in their march to the All-Ireland final as their powerful attack blitzed defences and apart from their semi-final win over Galway, they had been ruthlessly mowing down opponents.
Tipperary were cast in the role of outsiders entering Sunday’s clash but Evans revealed that they believed they had genuine aspirations of success if they were in contention entering the closing stages. Dublin had dominated the first-half yet Tipperary were not daunted by the challenge they faced at the break.
“We wanted to go down the stretch with Dublin, we wanted to bring them back. We said to them at half-time bring it back to two and we’ll see what they’re made of. Dublin have been setting the bar all year and we’ve been plodding along as the underdog and look what we’ve achieved. We did a lot of analysis on Dublin because they’re a good side, and you must give respect to a team that’s good.
“I don’t like singling guys out, there were heroes all over the place and what about the five heroes [substitutes] that went on, they were wonderful, they were tremendous. Credit where credit is due, this is a very intelligent and talented team and there’s one thing they have, that little bit of Tipperary steel that you must have going anywhere.”
