AFTER THE MISERABLE campaign they endured last season, Tipperary exploded from the 2019 Munster starting blocks to win by seven points at the home of the team who have reigned supreme over the last two summers in the province.
Yet underneath the South Stand in Páirc Uí Chaoimh as he offered his post-match reflections, Liam Sheedy was mindful of the bigger picture.
As satisfied as he was with the victory was and as pleased as he was with their attacking vibrancy, Sheedy honed in on the theme of this game being a stepping stone in the Munster round-robin series.
“We were coming down to play the team that are going for three-in-a-row in Munster but overall today was a really good performance. There was a lot to like about display but 11 years ago here you take a bit of a break, you were into a Munster final and you could get four or five weeks off.
“This evening we have just got to roll back again and get ready for what’s coming next week, which is Waterford into Semple Stadium which is a massive match again. It’s great but at the end of the day it’s two points. It’s two points in the bank, it’s not any more.
“Two points won’t get you anywhere in this championship. I think there was a one point puck of a ball in the game at Walsh Park so the margins are going to be really tight. It’s a phenomenal championship, I think it’s the best around so whatever three teams come out on top will have earned it.”
Sheedy was pleased at how his team slipped into a good run of form in the early passages of play and singled out Tipperary’s second goal courtesy of John McGrath as a pivotal moment.
“Unless you get a performance down here you won’t win. I thought we found a good level, we started very well and gave ourselves a few points of a cushion but discipline in the first half probably cost us.
“We gave them eight points from placed balls and that was a bit of a downer, but I just felt psychologically to go in a point up (and) we knew we had a small little bit of a wind at our backs in the second half, and it was a help.
“We got a great start to the second half and we got to three or four (ahead) and built on that. I just felt John McGrath’s goal was a piece of magic the way we worked the ball up, it was such a smashing ball across and the ball went into the back of the net.
“It was very hard for Cork to come back from that but in fairness to them they didn’t go away, in the last few moments you just always feel with Cork they are capable of cracking in a goal or two and they got a wonderful goal.”
The 2010 All-Ireland winning boss had been pleased with his team’s approach before the game.
“I think we got 2-23 or so from play so that’s a good day at the office. These guys can play, I said it at the press launch last Monday week that I felt that we prepared really well, we knew exactly what was ahead of us and it hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for us.
“But one performance won’t get you out, today is a good start and that’s exactly what it is. We need to go back, we need to rest our bodies and there’s a lot of tired limbs there. A lot of lads put their bodies on the line for 70-plus minutes. I’m delighted but I’m a realist and I realise that’s it’s only two points.”
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