Tipp’s vision becoming clear in new era

 

 

By Shane Brophy

 

Sometimes the final scoreline doesn’t do a team justice and certainly Tipperary will feel a draw is the least they deserved from this National League Division 3 opener against Down on Sunday.

While the home side were hanging on for dear life at the end in Clonmel with Down having two chances to snatch the win, it would have been harsh on Tipperary if they left empty-handed following a committed effort in difficult circumstances.

With Michael Quinlivan, Liam McGrath, Shane O’Connell, Josh Keane and Liam Casey having opted off the panel this year, it was hard to know what to expect from this new Tipperary team under new manager David Power. Well he can certainly be pleased with their application, particularly having played over half the game with fourteen men following Jack Kennedy’s sin-binning in the first half which saw him benched for ten minutes for a tackle that was more of a yellow card offence than cynical. He was black carded again in the second half after referee Anthony Nolan decided Kennedy had blocked a Down player off the ball. This was frustrating as only four minutes earlier he yellow carded Down’s Barry O’Hagan for a similar offence.

Having sustained such a major blow, Tipperary could have wilted but instead they went onto take the game to Down and managed to go into a two point lead with fifteen minutes to go, however, the exertions of playing a man light for came against them in the closing stages, as well as Down finally throwing caution to the wind late on and pushing up on Tipp.

However, there was a great defiance from Tipperary with the backs especially playing very well, despite a nervy start with the visitors looking to isolate Owen McCabe on John Meagher under the high ball and it yielded two high catches but the Down forward failed to signal a mark and the chance was lost.

Tipperary didn’t waste the opportunity to benefit from the new rule with two of their points coming from marks with Liam Boland and Conor Sweeney pointing in either half while the post denied Emmet Moloney and another score