A strong finish, and the Ballyhale lads are still on sabbatical: no panic. John Donnelly forced a good save from Barry Hogan in the 54th minute, and soon after Martin Keoghan fired home after Alan Murphy knocked it into his path. Towards the end, Noel McGrath and David Blanchfield seemed to remember who their opposition was, and gifted us with a small bit of argy-bargy to remind us of the history between these two teams, league context notwithstanding. Kilkenny, who had looked a bit self-conscious and uncharacteristically unsure of themselves in the first half, threw the shackles off and pushed Tipp hard. Having been dominant in the first half, Tipp were outscored by six points in the second. You can get away with things like hitting 17 wides. That he finished with 60% of Tipp’s overall score to his name is an individual triumph and a team concern.īut still – and I cannot stress this enough – it’s only the league. And Jason Forde – who crashed into the collective consciousness all the way back in the drawn 2014 All-Ireland final – appears to be in the form of his life, gleefully poaching points from play, frees and sidelines. They were visibly celebrating turnovers, whacking each other on the back.Ĭonor Bowe and Alan Tynan bring a certain swagger and physicality from their other sporting vocations. Tipp’s workrate, especially among the forwards, has intensified. And Callanan’s tap to put Forde through in the 26th minute was a marvel of vision and efficiency. The lads who’ve been around a while still have that Eamon O’Shea telepathy, with Callanan and McGrath interchanging to win a crucial early free. (Strike one against the league: injury risk.) However, Tipp gradually came into their own. Tipp lost two key players to injury early on, with Paddy Cadell and Cathal Barrett both departing in the first quarter. We expect a lot from this pairing, but Sunday’s game took a while to get going, with a stop-start rhythm to proceedings. Indeed, it’s 15 years since Tipp beat Kilkenny in their own backyard – only Seamie Callanan, now back from injury and figuring out his elder statesman role, was present on that day in 2008. While the arrival of Derek Lyng at the helm has signalled the start of a new era, and maybe taken a little bit of the sting out of the rivalry, there’s still a lot of heartache tied up with this opposition for Tipp, not least in Nowlan Park. It may only be the league™, but Tipperary will never not take heart from beating Kilkenny. I was struck by the home crowd’s support at both the Munster league final in Páirc Uí Rinn, and the Limerick match in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, but they were out in force in Salthill too. But this is an exciting Cork to watch, and the supporters think so too. You wouldn’t want to get too excited – have I mentioned it’s the league? You certainly wouldn’t want to peak too soon, as Waterford demonstrated in last year’s cautionary tale.
The young lads (Declan Dalton, 0-6 from play) are expressing themselves the veterans (Conor Lehane, 2-3) are in flying form.
There have been a number of big character moments: turning over Tipp’s big lead in the Munster league final, edging out Limerick two weekends ago (no easy feat, #EvenInTheLeague), and their goalfest against Galway on Sunday. It may only be the league, but still: there’s a lot to be excited about in Cork’s form so far this year. It’s different for counties who find themselves in need of a win – and right now, Tipperary and Cork are two such teams. The only manager in the championship with nothing to prove is John Kiely. There are new managers in Dublin, Kilkenny, Cork, Waterford and Tipp – all experienced, some All Ireland-winning, but all new in the job nonetheless. It does mean something: at least, to the counties in need of a confidence boost. The league has something to offer, certainly it’s not quite obsolete yet. In some ways, our casual dismissal of the relevance of the league is unusual, especially when compared with soccer, where league format – the ability to be grindingly consistent – is esteemed over knockout competitions.Īnd when most counties are only guaranteed four championship games, further opportunities to play are valuable. It’s fair to say that the league is in the midst of an identity crisis.
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