Pressure on already for Tipp and Cork
By Shane Brophy
CORK v TIPPERARY
Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork
Saturday 1st February
Throw-in @ 7.00pm
Referee: James Owens (Wexford)
It may only be round 2 of the Allianz Hurling League but already it is a must-win game for both Tipperary and Cork when they square off under the lights at Pairc Ui Chaoimh next Saturday night.
With both sides losing their openers to Limerick and Waterford respectively, the loser of this contest will in all likelihood have to win their final three games to have any chance of making the knockout stages with the division winner going straight to the semi-finals and the second and third placed teams into the quarter finals.
With Westmeath looking set to the whipping boys of the group, Tipperary and Cork will be confidently expected to avoid finishing bottom of the group and the relegation playoff with the bottom team in division 1B.
However, for the teams that finish in fourth and fifth places in both groups, their league campaigns will be over by March 2nd which would leave a gap of nine weeks to the start of the Munster Championship which is a long time to put down, even with club championship games to be scheduled in during that period.
However, this won’t come into the minds for respective managers Liam Sheedy and Kieran Kingston on Saturday night as Tipperary look to continue their recent good record over the rebels. The recent contests have been very open affairs which Tipperary will prefer rather than the suffocating style which Limerick employed to such great effect in the second half last Saturday.
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