Not quite knockout but it feels like that as Tipp and Limerick collide

GAA: Munster Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final Preview

 

By Shane Brophy

TIPPERARY v LIMERICK
Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork
Sunday 1st November
Throw-in @ 4.00pm (E.T. & Pens)
Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway)

It isn’t quite do or die in this Sunday’s Munster Senior Hurling semi-final between Tipperary and Limerick, but it is hard to get away from the feeling that the result will have a major impact on the championship overall.

For the loser, there will be a second chance via the qualifiers, but neither team will be thinking that way as in a 50-day blitz championship, the shorter route to likely overall success is through the front door and a provincial final.

Psychologically this is a massive game. For Tipperary, their recent record over Limerick isn’t good and another defeat could put lingering doubts in the mind if they were to meet again in a couple of weeks’ time, possibly in an All Ireland Final.

You suspect a defeat would have a lesser impact on Limerick as they know how to beat Tipperary but they will be keen to maintain the Indian sign over them over the past two years, disregarding the 2019 round-robin game in Thurles where Limerick weren’t at full strength, by choice.

So you would feel there is a greater risk for Tipperary in suffering a defeat on Sunday, even if they produce a performance that gives them something to build on for the knockout stage but Liam Sheedy and his management won’t be thinking like that. They will want to begin the defence of the All Ireland title with a win.

With an impressive first round win over Clare under their belt last Sunday, Limerick certainly have an advantage in terms of match practice but in his almost two years back at the helm, Liam Sheedy has been adept in having his players tuned in for first round games.

In 2019, after a Munster League final loss to Clare, Tipperary were on it when the Banner came to Thurles two weeks later in the opening round of the league on a miserable night in Thurles. Later in the summer, Tipperary were impressively sharp and slick when they beat Cork in the opening round of the championship on Pairc Ui Chaoimh. With a period of unbroken time to work the players, the Tipperary brains trust have no excuse in terms of having the players fine-tuned and ready, not only for next Sunday but for what is to come. 

Apart from Seamus Kennedy who will miss the game through a knee injury, Liam Sheedy & co. will have a full panel to choose from. However, in facing a physically powerful Limerick side, Seamus Kennedy is one of the last players they would like to be without as he would certainly have matched up well in defence or midfield where space is likely to be at a premium.

Trying to predict what the Tipperary team will be is almost impossible as so much time has passed since they last played competitively in the National League on March 8th against Galway, and particularly since a first choice selection was put on the field in last years All Ireland final.
It would be easy to go for the tried and trusted but this is no ordinary championship. While the pitch in Pairc Ui Chaoimh is now as good in winter as it is in summer, the ball will still be travelling a little slower.

This is likely to be a game about match-ups and with Limerick’s forward line set to include Gearoid Hegarty, Kyle Hayes, Tom Morrissey, Aaron Gillane, Graeme Mulcahy and Peter Casey, Tipperary are likely to go down the man-marking route. All six can hurt you but it is about negating as much of their threat as possible.

In the inside line, Gillane is the chief threat and while Brendan Maher marked him superbly well in the Munster Final last year, Tipp were without the injured Cathal Barrett so he is one option, but Ronan Maher would appear made for Gillane such was how he played in the full back line towards the end of last year. Barrett on Casey or Mulcahy would appear a more-likelier along with possibly Brendan Maher or maybe John Meagher who could come straight into the starting line-up having made the move from the football squad. Some might think it would be too much of a risk but Meagher’s hurling speaks for itself and he is very good at sweeping up the play which could see him at centre back as well, depending on what the management opt to do.

With Seamus Kennedy missing, the half back line should be made up of Barry Heffernan, Padraic Maher, plus either Brendan Maher or John Meagher. Gearoid Hegarty is certainly pivotal in terms of how Limerick play and if you go for height to match-up, Heffernan appears the best bet but you could also feel confident about Brendan Maher who is adept at playing on any sized player. If it is Heffernan on Hegarty, you’d like to see Brendan Maher at centre back to hold the fort and he would provide Tipperary with a lot of assurance and leave Padraic Maher to play on the wing where he is at his best.

You can be sure that Limerick will be looking to make the midfield as congested as possible to negate the effectiveness of Noel McGrath as they did in the Munster Final last year but who will be there with him is wide open. Michael Breen’s form over the last two years as been patchy, so if there is to be some new blood coming into the team it could be in the form of Paddy Cadell who was playing well in the league prior to the shutdown. Alan Flynn is also an option and his defensive tendency might be no harm in what will be a crucial sector of the field.

In matching up against Limerick’s size, you would think the Tipp half forward line will contain Patrick Maher, Niall O'Meara and Dan McCormack. After an impressive campaign on the forty in the club championship, the management might be tempted to play John McGrath there also, but it would take away a finisher close to goal along with Seamus Callanan and Jason Forde who are all likely starters. 

With Mikey Casey and Richie English out through injury, Limerick are down two of their three first choice inside backs and Tipp certainly have the better forwards to test them fully, particularly Barry Nash and Dan Morrissey who are playing out of position to fill in those gaps.

While John O’Dwyer is back to full fitness after an injury hit club campaign, one wonders is he fully ready to start a game of this magnitude, plus he is a big game player and one wonders without a crowd how it will affect the Killenaule clubman. So if there is one change in attack, it could come there with the size of Dillon Quirke and Mark Kehoe, possibly ahead of Jake Morris, however, we don’t know who is lighting up the training field in Thurles and that is what is going to determine who gets into the starting fifteen on Sunday.

In terms of goalkeeper, that Daragh Mooney was recalled to the panel towards the end of the National League, doesn’t suggest they are fully convinced on Brian Hogan, despite him being an All-Star goalie in 2019. He made a couple of mistakes during the league and his restarts could improve but the extra competition for a place, along with Barry Hogan will only serve Tipperary well.

If the high scoring rate of the first two championship games played without fans continues, it certainly won’t do Tipperary any harm if there is a continued looseness to the play as they are a ball-playing team, who also have an eye for goal, which Limerick didn’t suggest they had against Clare last Sunday, however, when you score 36 points, you don’t need to score a goal.

It is all beautifully set-up. You would think the advantages this Sunday are with Limerick with a game under their belt, plus they are hurt to see Tipperary with the All Ireland title, particularly after they way they overpowered the Premier County in the Munster Final last year. 

If there is a edge for Tipperary to come into the game with, it is the fact that all the talk is about Limerick and that the defending All Ireland champions, with a talented panel of their own, are almost being forgotten. While there isn’t any silverware on offer on Sunday, it sure feels like there is an awful lot at stake.

Tipperary panel
Cathal Barrett (Holycross/Ballycahill)
Michael Breen (Ballina)
Ger Browne (Knockavilla Kickhams)
Robert Byrne (Portroe)
Paddy Cadell (JK Brackens)
Seamus Callanan (Drom & Inch)
Willie Connors (Kiladangan)
Cian Darcy (Kilruane MacDonaghs)
Alan Flynn (Kiladangan)
Paul Flynn (Kiladangan)
Jason Forde (Silvermines)
Barry Heffernan (Nenagh Eire Og)
Barry Hogan (Kiladangan)
Brian Hogan (Lorrha)
Mark Kehoe (Kilsheelan/Kilcash)
Seamus Kennedy (St Mary’s)
Brendan Maher (Borris-Ileigh)
Ronan Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)
Padraic Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)
Patrick Maher (Lorrha)
Dan McCormack (Borris-Ileigh)
Brian McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney)
John McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney)
Noel McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney)
John Meagher (Loughmore/Castleiney)
Daragh Mooney (Eire Og Annacarty)
Craig Morgan (Kilruane MacDonaghs)
Jake Morris (Nenagh Eire Og)
Sean O’Brien (Newport)
John O’Dwyer (Killenaule)
Bryan O’Mara (Holycross/Ballycahill)
Niall O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs)
James Quigley (Kiladangan)
Dillon Quirke (Clonoulty/Rossmore)