Winning is all that matters for Tipperary on Sunday
All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final Preview
WEXFORD v TIPPERARY
Croke Park
Sunday 28th July
Throw-in @ 3.30pm (E.T.)
Referee: Sean Cleere (Kilkenny)
Semi-finals are all about winning and that is all that matters for Tipperary this Sunday in their last four showdown with Wexford at Croke Park.
With a place in the All Ireland Final at stake, semi-finals are not just any other game. It's the ticket to the showpiece game, the three week build-up, the frenzy in the county and everything that comes with it.
You can play as well as you want but it's no good without winning. It could be suggested in the three classic semi-finals against Galway between 2015 and 2017, Tipperary played better in the two semi-finals they lost than in the year they got past the tribesmen in 2016. It wasn't pretty that day but it got the job done and that's all that matters this Sunday.
Tipperary come into this game under pressure off the back of their performances against Limerick and Laois but the stakes couldn't be higher this Sunday. There are no more back-doors or soft draws, this is where the pressure ratchets up and players on both sides will likely respond on in kind.
Wexford come into the game with greater momentum after winning a first Leinster title in fifteen years and are well rested following a four week break. However, we have seen in the past that provincial champions off a lengthy break tend to struggle in semi-finals, plus the Slaneysiders also have to deal with playing in a first All Ireland semi-final in twelve years.
There will be an element of nerves within the Wexford camp and Tipp must prey on that and get off to a strong start. Such is the way Wexford play with plenty of players inside their own have, similar to Limerick, falling behind on the scoreboard and playing catch-up is exactly what they want.
Getting in front and staying there will be key to Tipperary's game-plan as it will force Wexford to come onto them the longer the game goes on and should open up a little more space for the Tipp forwards who have been suffocated to a certain extent in the last two games with both Limerick and Laois playing very deep.
However, it wasn't all down to that with Tipperary's level of energy and sharpness well below what it was at the start of the championship and they'll need to discover that again to have any chance. It needs the likes of John McGrath and John O'Dwyer to find their form again, particularly McGrath who has looked off the pace in the last three games so could a role in the half forward line suit him as against Clare when he produced his best performance of the campaign.
In terms of the starting line-up, Liam Sheedy is likely to go for experience which should mean Michael Breen restored at the expense of Ger Browne at midfield. Breen might be struggling for form but his pace and power will be needed against a physically strong Wexford side and if he can get into space and get an early score, he could take off.
The most interesting conundrum in terms of selection could be at full back and what to do with James Barry.
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