Tipperary 2-19 Dublin 4-11:IN THE 20 years since Dublin last beat Tipperary in a senior hurling fixture there have been several promising results but yesterday wasn't necessarily one of them. This one wasn't about coming so close, but about not closing them out, about not delivering on the promise as opposed to just showing it.
Even the sight of Dublin fighting it out with the reigning league champions should have been something to warm the hearts of the few travelling supporters huddled under the old stand at Semple Stadium. But in the end there was no escaping the sense of disappointment that came with the two-point defeat – and for so many reasons.
It wasn’t just that Dublin came from being eight points down, twice, in the first half, to level it on 45 minutes. Nor that they then went two points clear – and were still on level terms as the game spilled into the final 10 minutes.
Ultimately, it was the sense that Dublin probably haven’t had a better chance of making a league final for the first time since 1946. If they keep going the way they are then eventually they’ll get there, but there’s nothing worse than sniffing a prize, and then not licking it.
As a contest it was slow to start and rousing to the finish. Manager Anthony Daly has given Dublin an extra edge – in the form of the battling qualities they’ve been lacking over the years. Although Tipperary led 2-10 to 2-5 at half-time, Dublin were the more impressive as the hunt for victory got serious.
The had conceded two goals early on; the first a superb effort by Seamus Callanan, the second a fluke by Gearóid Ryan (he was clearly going for a point). But then, as if on cue, Dublin raised their game with the sort of team spirit that has recently secured them wins over Waterford and Galway.
Two goals in quick succession before the break by teenage wing forward David Treacy (who wasn’t even listed to start) brought Dublin back to within five – when they were in danger of being overwhelmed. But all around the field players stepped up: Tomás Brady was suddenly lording full back; Shane Durkan and David O’Callaghan showed for more possession up front; and Liam Rushe was possibly the busiest forward of all.
“We’re in Division One now,” said manager Daly, “but made Division Two mistakes in the first half. Like our first touch. Simple stuff. We thought they were calm, and focused, before the game, but they were actually more nervous than we thought.
“At half-time we just sat them down, told them ‘look lads, can you not see there’s nothing major to be scared of?’ I know it’s not a full Tipp team. And it’s a team that’s experimenting. But still you’d have to be happy with the way they responded.”
Seven minutes after the restart Treacy burst through for his third goal, shot close to the face of Brendan Cummins, and when he added a sublime point from the right sideline shortly afterwards, and then Alan McCrabbe hit a gem of a sideline, Dublin were level – 3-7 to 2-10.
That, naturally, made for a frantic climax. Dublin surged on and when O’Callaghan latched on to a superb pass from Durkan to score their fourth goal the game was there for the taking. Desperation doesn’t even begin to describe Tipperary’s response, but having gone down so tamely last Sunday to Kilkenny, they had to show fight – and did.
Teenager Noel McGrath had one of his best senior games and four second-half points, and five in total, helped Tipperary back into it. Tony Scroope also came on for a late score while Callanan coolly hit two late frees to earn Tipp the nervous win.
“Well there were patches of our play that we wouldn’t be satisfied with,” said manager Liam Sheedy. “But we scored 2-19. Let’s look at what we can take out of it. We don’t generally concede four goals, and of course we’re not happy with that.
“But Dublin are an improving side. They really are improving. But after going two points down, we turned it into a two-point victory. And we’ve still won four out of five matches, and are still joint top of the table this evening. . . it was always going to be a tough game, especially coming off last weekend. We settled well, but their goals just seemed to take a little out of us. . .”
“And some people were questioning our battling qualities after last Sunday. I don’t think you could question that today. We barely had the 24 players to field today. It was backs to the wall for us.”
TIPPERARY: B Cummins; E Buckley, P Curran, C O’Brien; B Maher, C O’Mahony (0-1, one 65), S Maher; G Ryan (1-0), S McGrath (0-1); S Hennessy (0-2, both frees), S Callanan (1-4, three frees), J Woodlock (0-2); N McGrath (0-5), M Webster, J O’Brien (0-3). Subs: Pat Maher for Ryan (46 mins), T Scroope (0-1) for Hennessy (49 mins), Padraic Maher for S Maher (56 mins), L Corbett for Webster (Yellow, 58 mins), B Dunne for Woodlock (65 mins),
DUBLIN: G Maguire; N Corcoran, T Brady, R Trainor; S Hiney, R Fallon, M Carton; J McCaffrey, J Boland; A McCrabbe (0-4, three frees, one sideline), L Ryan, S Durkan (0-1); D O’Callaghan (1-4, two frees), D Treacy (3-2), L Rushe. Subs: M O’Brien for Trainor (17 mins), S Lambert for Boland (half time), K Flynn for McCrabbe (51 mins), G O’Meara for O’Brien (Yellow, 61 mins),D O’Dwyer for Durkan (68 mins).
Referee: Declan O’Driscoll (Limerick).
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