TIPPERARY MUST COME away with a victory against Cork this weekend or potentially face a ‘very short’ championship campaign, says two-time All-Star Shane McGrath.
Michael Ryan’s side lost out to Limerick in the opening round last weekend, meaning they need to defeat the reigning Munster champions in order to keep their provincial hopes alive.
They face a Cork side who got their campaign off to a winning start with a five-point win over Clare, a result which McGrath believes will instill them with confidence when they travel to Thurles later this afternoon [Throw-in, 2pm].
“Tipp are in one of the most important games of this panel’s career apart from maybe the 2016 All-Ireland final,” he tells The42.
“This game is so important for the panel and the management team. And for the fans as well, they kind of came away a bit demoralised from the Gaelic Grounds. It’s not that the players didn’t try, they did.
“Nobody hurts more than the players but it just felt that we weren’t playing as a team with confidence. They looked like they were afraid to make mistakes.
“That’s why they need to win so badly against Cork and Cork are coming in with so much confidence after hurling really well against Clare.
We just have to get it going for Sunday and hopefully get the win because if they don’t, I feel it could be a very, very short year for Tipp.
“If we have the best team on the field and we put in a performance, these boys will take serious beating but it needs to start on Sunday with a win. And then the year might get going and you get a bit of confidence.”
Patrick Horgan, Conor Lehane and Séamus Harnedy were all prominent scorers for Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last Sunday. Horgan top-scored for his side with 0-10 while Lehane and Harnedy posted 1-2 each from play.
Lively forward Alan Cadogan has reportedly been ruled out for the season after undergoing surgery, which McGrath says is a huge boost to Tipp. But he was also absent in Cork’s opening game of the round-robin series and John Meyler’s men still came through with a result.
They also have an impressive defender in Mark Coleman, who landed a monstrous score from distance against Clare last weekend.
Check out this massive point by Cork's Mark Coleman! pic.twitter.com/sGOpj8kcql
— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 20, 2018
“I fear the confidence Cork have,” added McGrath. “If we let them hurl, we’ll find it very hard to beat them.
“Tipp would be a more physical team than Cork but Cork would be a faster team than Tipp so Tipp need to shut them down early. If they get a run at Tipp, it’s going to very hard to stop them.”
“They’re coming in off the back of a good victory, they’re going to be united by this as well. And if they’re let hurl in Semple Stadium, they’re going to be very hard beat.”
There was much discussion about the five championship debutants that started for Tipperary against Limerick, resulting in experienced campaigners such as Brendan Maher, Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher, Séamus Callanan and Michael Breen being kept on the bench.
All four were introduced against Limerick with ‘Bonner’ Maher coming in for Billy McCarthy with only five minutes of normal time remaining.
Ryan has made six changes to the team that will line out against Cork today, with the two Mahers along with Callanan all earning recalls to the starting line-up.
Ryan had some injury concerns to factor in when picking the team the last day, and while McGrath concedes that selection may have been judged on the performances in training games, he believes that the best players should be starting where possible.
If they were right to be on the bench, they were probably right to start the game.
“I would always feel you need to start as strong as you can. I know the theory probably was that these guys will start and do well and the experienced guys will finish it off. That’s fine if it works but I think going in to Limerick playing Limerick, I think you need to be as strong as you can.
“We need the experienced guys on the field. It’s a massive game, there’s big pressure on. You can’t buy experience and the more experienced lads will know how to deal with that pressure.”
The aftermath of that tie also generated some controversy when it was revealed that Ryan was imposing a media boycott until after the end of the Munster round-robin series.
The ban was short-lived however, and Ryan announced on Tipp FM last Tuesday morning that he would continue to engage in his press duties.
McGrath says that the issue is likely to have added some pressure on the team so soon after losing such an important championship match.
“It does heap an extra bit of pressure onto the team and to say players don’t read the stuff… they’ve a phone in their hand, they’re going to see stuff coming up about it.
“They say they got it wrong and Mick [Ryan] spoke to Tipp FM and RTÉ and a few others, which he wouldn’t have had to do if he gave the little soundbite after the match. And I’m sure that’s what it will be on Sunday.
It was a big mistake but in fairness to Mick, he put his hands up and it’s been sorted now.
Reflecting on Tipperary’s performance at the Gaelic Grounds, McGrath observed that in addition to his county lacking in confidence, they also looked to be bereft of a gameplan and were overly reliant on hitting long passes into the forward line.
Cork registered an impressive 2-23 against Clare last Sunday, and McGrath believes that Tipperary will have to adopt a more conservative style of playing to ensure they retain possession against the Rebels, and ultimately revive their chances in the Munster championship.
That’s fine for maybe one in five balls. You are going to be under pressure around half-back and midfield to get the ball in. But that’s not what this team is about, I think they’ve too much hurling to be doing that.
“They need to be playing the ball through the lines and getting the best ball into our player’s advantage.
“The full-forward line was constantly looking up at the ball dropping down. And to be fair to the Limerick full-back line, they just ate that up.
It was unfair to be asking the forwards to be breaking even all the time with all these high balls coming in.
“I hope that changes on Sunday, that we get our best team on the field first of all and secondly, that we start playing with a bit of confidence and playing through the line.”
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