Breffni Park becoming a home away from home
Six years after their famous win over Derry in the All-Ireland qualifiers, Kingspan Breffni provided Tipperary followers with more happy memories with this four point win over Cavan in their Allianz Football League Round 5 clash last Sunday.
Ok, they lost narrowly to Cavan (by one point) in their last visit in the final round of the 2018 Allianz League division 2 which saw Tipp miss out on promotion to division 1 by one single point. How quickly things can change!
Those were great days but a lot of water has flowed under the bridge and Tipperary’s form has dropped alarmingly since then which saw them relegated to Division 4 last year.
In response there were hopes of a quick return to Division 3 but after the defeat to Leitrim in round two five weeks ago, their chances seemed remote indeed. But three victories later and suddenly Tipperary are in contention for promotion and possibly a place in the Divisional 4 final following exciting wins over Sligo, Wexford and the Breffni men.
Of course, there is a matter of two more games with Tipperary having to face Carlow next Sunday followed by the final group game against London a week later. Tipperary are expected to win both. But let’s not get carried away because last Sunday Tipp had moments of anxiety especially in the last ten minutes in which Cavan could have snatched the lead from the jaws of defeat had they taken their chances.
We have to mention the excellent goalkeeping of Michael O’Reilly who made two great saves midway through the second half but then again, Jack Kennedy might have scored a goal in the 66th minute but his shot was half saved and in desperation there was a muddled goal line clearance with ball eventually drifting wide. A goal at that stage would have put Tipp well clear.
Once Tipp took the lead in the seventh minute they never trailed again. In a game that swayed from end-to-end Cavan had slight advantage in terms of possession but Tipp gave as good as they got in a much improved performance compared to the Wexford game.
Playing with the stiff breeze Tipp needed all the scores they could muster but losing Bill Maher to the sin-bin for failing to release the ball after fouling his opponent left them in difficulty. The dismissal was rough when one considers the amount of persistent fouling by both teams indulged in but Maher should have experience not to get involved in such silly work. His dismissal occurred between the ninth and 19th minutes but Tipp managed to take a two-point advantage before Cavan came back level at 0-3 each after nineteen minutes.
That it was low scoring was a credit to both defences and when a man down the Tipp defence were extra vigilant. With Conor Sweeney helping out at half way the half backline of Kevin Fahey, Colm O’Shaughnessy and Robbie Kiely were to the fore. Kiely put his body on the line and Shaughnessy had the upper hand on Gearoid McKiernan, one of Cavan’s most experienced forwards, while Fahey used the freedom to roam up field and pose as an extra scoring threat.
At times, the Cavan attack went the direct root with high balls directed towards full forward Patrick Lynch but Jimmy Feehan and Shane O’Connell plus Jack Harney held the advantage in front of goalkeeper Michael O’Reilly who had no shot to save except for catching high ball after efforts from Gerard Smith and James Smith fell well short due to the strong breeze.
But with Mark Russell and Conal Kennedy gaining the upper hand at midfield it was inevitable that Tipp would take advantage and with Teddy Doyle’s point giving them the lead before the best score of the game was about to surface when Conor Sweeney scored a great goal following a move up the left wing involving Robbie Kiely and Jack Kennedy. Kiely’s venture up the right wing led to assist for Sean O’Connor to score a point and stretch the margin to five.
That five-point lead could have been greater but Jack Kennedy missed a 45 and Conor Sweeney uncharacteristically missed a scorable free Sean O’Connor’s fisted effort for a point from close in came back of the upright. An eight-point lead would have been handsome.
Instead, Cavan responded. The concession of frees by Tipp was a concern and referee Kieran Eannetta might have issued a yellow card or two and he should have black carded Teddy Doyle in added time for a blatant pull down on Chris Conroy. A quick free by Cavan through three pairs of hands and suddenly Caoimhin O’Reilly has swung in from the right corner to blast low past O’Reilly to leave the minimum between the teams at the interval.
With home advantage and the stiff breeze to aid them the Cavan side must have felt confident of taking charge in the second half. But Tipp put a dent in those aspirations and were four points in front by the 48th minute 1-9 to 1-5. Three of those points were from placed balls, two frees and a mark. Placed balls were the order of the second half as Cavan replied with the first of three through Patrick Lynch.
That Cavan, failed to score from play in the second half is a credit to the work of the Tipp defence led by Colm Shaughnessy at centre back. It wasn’t for the want of trying by the Breffni men as they tried every trick in the book to score but anything that got past the Tipp defence was denied by Michael O’Reilly and the crossbar.
Similar to their recent games the Tipp defence has conceded very little from play and that stat could be the one to see them promoted to division three in 2023 if they handle their business over the next two weeks, starting with Carlow on Sunday afternoon.