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Sheedy's mid-game switch of McGrath that turned the tide in Tipperary's favour

Man-of-the-match Noel McGrath gave a brilliant mix of style and substance following his move to midfield.

DESPITE ALL THE tactical innovations that have come into hurling over the last decade, the two managers left standing in this year’s championship are Brian Cody and Liam Sheedy.

Liam Sheedy Liam Sheedy looks on during the semi-final. Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

Both men would be regarded as old-school bosses who favour a traditional brand of hurling. Watch back the tape of the 2009 All-Ireland hurling final and you’ll notice how much the game has changed in the intervening years.

Kilkenny and Tipperary both favoured a far more direct style back then. They rarely worked the ball out through the lines. Both defences were happy to launch their clearances long and let the forwards win their own ball.

But Cody and Sheedy have been forced to adapt and evolve over the years. Sheedy returned to the Tipperary job this year in a totally different landscape, one where their rivals have become far more tactically nuanced. 

Cody has gone nowhere, yet Kilkenny have changed dramatically since their last All-Ireland final appearance in 2016. They can mix it short and long, while Eoin Murphy’s restarts are often pinged to a corner-back, or into the path of the run of a wing-forward or midfielder into the channels.

The Kilkenny boss had his team brilliantly set-up tactically on Saturday. Observe how the full-forward line dropped off and gave up the short restart to Nickie Quaid, while their half-forwards packed the midfield sector to hunt for breaking ball. 

Walter Walsh with Cian Lynch Kilkenny's Walter Walsh with Cian Lynch of Limerick. Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

The Cats half-back line also held their position even when Limerick’s half-forwards went deep looking for possession. That tactic meant Kilkenny could cut out the space that suited Limerick’s early crossfield deliveries in front of Aaron Gillane, Peter Casey and Graeme Mulcahy that caused so much defences problems over the past 12 months.

Sheedy too has developed his style. He stayed plugged into the game during his inter-county absence through various coaching roles and his punditry work.

Back in the 2009 and 2010 finals, he played a teenage Noel McGrath at corner-forward. This season he’s been reinvented as a creative midfielder, free of the shackles of tight-marking defenders.

Tipp threw a curve-ball by starting McGrath at centre-forward in the semi-final, opting to pair Dan McCormack and Michael Breen in midfield.

The issue with playing McGrath at 11 against Wexford, which Sheedy soon discovered, was that the presence of their sweeper meant that centre-back Paudie Foley could follow McGrath all over the field.

After the opening quarter, McGrath had touched the ball just three times. He was dropping deep into midfield looking for possession, but Foley was attached to his hip.

A 12th minute wide summed up McGrath’s early frustrations. Five minutes later, he managed to get himself involved in the game with a sideline cut to John O’Dwyer that was fed back to him, effortlessly swatting the ball between the posts from 45m. 

Liam Sheedy celebrates after the game with Noel McGrath Liam Sheedy celebrates after the game with Noel McGrath. Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

In the 21st minute, he was booked for a high challenge on Simon Donohoe. By that stage, Wexford had eight different scorers and were tearing holes in the Premier rearguard. In comparison, only two of Tipp’s starting forwards had scored from play.

Sensing they needed to change things up, Sheedy performed surgery on his team ten minutes before the interval. 

Coach Tommy Dunne entered the fray to relay the instructions. McGrath moved to midfield to match-up against Diarmuid O’Keeffe. Seamus Callanan was stationed at centre-forward and McCormack went to the wing. O’Dwyer moved into the edge of the square.

Almost immediately, McGrath started to get more involved in the game. He came deep to take a short clearance from Brian Hogan and sprayed a ball into his brother John, who was fouled. Jason Forde applied the finish.

McGrath sent another shot whistling wide and then delivered the free inside for John McGrath’s disallowed goal. In the 33rd minute, centre-back Barry Heffernan fielded a Wexford puck-out and fed the Loughmore-Castleiney man. His confidence rising, McGrath smashed it over the bar from well inside his own half.

mcgrath point 3

(Click here if you can’t view the clip above)

Callanan, meanwhile, was causing wreck in his new role and twice turned over Wexford defenders for scores. In the final play of the half, McGrath received a short puck-out from his keeper and rifled a crossfield ball to Forde which resulted in another point.

Early in the second-half, Mark Fanning stood over a puck-out and raised both his hands in the air. It was signal that he’d be dropping the ball on top of centre-forward Lee Chin. O’Keeffe tried to take McGrath out of the middle on a decoy run, but he didn’t fall for it and held his ground.

Fanning 2

(Click here if you can’t view the clip above)

When Chin’s marker Heffernan restart broke to the deck, McGrath was there waiting. He fired off a pass on top of O’Dwyer, who caught it brilliantly and slotted over.

The pair linked up again moments later, this time combining from a McGrath sideline cut before O’Dwyer was fouled. John McGrath’s dismissal in the 45th minute for a wild swing forced Tipp’s 13 outfield players to step up.

Wexford were four up when Noel McGrath made a vital block on Chin. His defensive work often goes unnoticed, but he showcased that his qualities are not limited to offense. McGrath made nine tackles in the game, with seven of them coming in the second-half.

He twice turned over Wexford players and won two breaks in midfield, the second of which set-up Ger Browne’s point in the 57th minute – Tipperary’s fourth in succession.

Seconds after Conor McDonald’s second goal restored Wexford’s three-point lead, McGrath emerged from a crowded ruck with the sliotar and lofted over a mighty score from distance. Then Ronan Maher claimed a high ball over McDonald and picked out the unmarked McGrath for his second score in three minutes.

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That put Tipperary back on level terms for a ninth time and by now they had momentum firmly behind them. In the tense finale, McGrath sent Callanan through for a shot that was blocked, resulting in Forde’s converted 65 that pushed Tipp two clear.

When the final whistle sounded, the overjoyed Tipperary players hugged on the field. Among them was a relieved John McGrath, whose brother helped dig him out of a major bind. 

“This, today, this is why you train, this is why you play,” the elder McGrath said afterwards.

“That was some occasion today and to be part of it was unbelievable. To come out on the right side of it is even better.

“Tipperary have been questioned coming up here about what they can and can’t do. I don’t think any words can describe what happened there, but anyone looking for answers got them.”

McGrath finished with 0-4 and had a hand in a further seven scores, plus the disallowed goal, with his all-round performance proving that style and substance need not be an either-or proposition.

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