League on a page: Tipp need to start championship side
Is it time for Tipperary to start putting their championship side on the field?
They were pipped by Cork yesterday in Páirc Uí Rinn with less than half of their All-Ireland title winning side starting the game, and though Michael Ryan was far from panicky at the final whistle, he’ll appreciate more than most the opportunities to give a run to his full first side are running out as the league winds down.
Losing by a point is hardly an indictment of the men who came in to replace last September’s heroes, but Tipp were significantly better with Noel McGrath on the field, for instance, and they might have held out for a win if Ronan Maher had been on the field 10 minutes earlier.
It’s hardly news that duo would improve a team, but to (re)build the understanding and match nous that wins All-Ireland titles, Ryan may end up putting out a lot of his first choice players from now on.
The lack of travelling support for the Cork footballers has long been known but the scarcity of spectators at Celtic Park for their crucial Division Two clash with Derry yesterday was astonishing to see and an indictment on the hosts.
Less than a thousand watched these two meet in Owenbeg two years ago and there may not have been half that this time on a superb day for football. So superb, in fact, the Derry county board decided to take advantage.
With a handful of district games scheduled around the county yesterday, and the usual logistical headache for many of those getting into the city, there was no shortage of reasons for punters to stay away.
Add in the superb weather, the fact it was Mother’s Day and a throw-in time one hour earlier that caught some people on the hop, and it obviously made for a distinctly unappealing draw
.
Speaking prior to the Dublin fixture, Eamonn Fitzmaurice accepted his team can be a little off-pace when the opposition is not a Dublin or a Mayo or a Tyrone.
“Sometimes, the lads can be relaxed against certain opposition and it can show in our performance,” he said.
That statement couldn’t have been truer yesterday as Kerry were a shadow of the side which pushed Dublin all the way to the line eight days previous.
The wides might have piled up in the second-half, but it was in defence where they were most vulnerable.
Tadhg Morley was pulled out of the centre too often, leaving plenty of space in front of Dara McVeety and Mark Grifin inside.
And more often than not, McVeety had the beating of Mark Griffin, as was the case for the Cavan goal.
Fitzmaurice may have made only one change to his defence throughout, but one look at their bench told you the defensive back-up – Jonathan Lyne aside - wasn’t there.
Killian Young’s return can’t come quick enough and it is just as well that relegation isn’t really on their radar heading into next weekend’s game; their decent score difference should stand to them if they fall to Tyrone and finish the campaign on six points.
For the second game in succession, Austin Gleeson was tactically benched and on this occasion at least there was little or no impact as Waterford drove on in his absence and avoided a relegation play-off.
Gleeson had shown flashes of brilliance and scored two first-half points but had picked up a yellow card and wasn’t playing with the same head of steam after it.
“We’re holding Austin back as much as we can,” explained Derek McGrath.
“You’re balancing a moment of brilliance with ‘I wonder will we get an injection of energy from Michael Kearney, Tommy Ryan’. That’s the balance there at the moment. This day 12 weeks we play Tipperary or Cork in the championship. Austin will be okay for that.”
It all comes down to the last day, and Mayo look set to maintain a remarkable stretch of top grade football lasting 20 years.
They need just a point from a home clash with Donegal to avoid relegation, and it’s that perennial involvement at the high end, those regular jousts with the country’s top teams, that makes them tick.
Year on year, we see the men in green and red go far in the championship, and 2017 will be no different.
The search for that elusive All-Ireland title goes on, but they have not lost the faith.
Out west, they trust and pray that Sam will eventually come calling, but they equally accept they cannot afford to allow their league status to slip.
Or to get the latest episode automatically, you can SUBSCRIBE ON iTUNES
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
