A strong mentality central to welcome victory for Tipp Footballers

By Shane Brophy

The path through the midlands to Pearse Park has been a well-worn one for the Tipperary senior footballers in recent years and finally they were able to enjoy the journey home following a thoroughly deserved National League win over the O’Byrne Cup champions which gets the new era under manager Paul Kelly underway in earnest.

Losing to Carlow on the opening night wasn’t the desired start, but, in some ways, it provided the ideal grounding, if it were needed, that Tipperary wouldn’t have things in this division all their own way.

While talk of promotion wasn’t very vocal before the campaign, performances and momentum would dictate if that was achievable and going into the first mini-break in the campaign, it is certainly a target that possible.

Now, they won’t be getting too far ahead of themselves but there was a lot to like about this Tipperary victory, particularly the mentality of the players in overcoming a sluggish start, despite having the cross-field wind (although blowing towards the corner) at their backs in the opening half.

Falling 0-4 to 0-1 behind after the opening fifteen minutes, Tipp were off the pace with Longford attacking with greater intensity, and even with numbers back, the visitors were too easily penetrated.

Much as what they did to overcome the slow start against Carlow the week previous, Tipp again got greater joy by pushing up on the Longford kickout in the second quarter with Tipp able to pilfer four turnovers and suddenly the momentum began to shift. Steven O’Brien and Jack Kennedy began to dominate midfield while the power and athleticism of Stephen Grogan, and particularly Cathal Deely were noteworthy.

On the front foot, they were able to penetrate regularly, moving the ball quickly with plenty of options, Sean O’Connor providing the target man inside.

Once Paddy Creedon brought Tipp level on 24 minutes (0-4 apiece) they would never trail again, headed by the score of the game from Steven O’Brien two minutes later, shortly before he pulled up with a hamstring injury in his right leg.

The Ballina clubman is a powerhouse and in great shape after an injury hit 2023 campaign so this setback, hopefully all it is, is unfortunate but it left Tipp with a gaping hole at midfield. His clubmate Teddy Doyle came on and was hugely influential in the remainder of the game and must be wondering how he hasn’t started in the first two games, he always looked to keep the tempo high.

With greater confidence flowing through, Tipp worked some excellent openings, including Stephen Grogan being denied from close range, and certainly, going in at half time leading 0-7 to 0-5, the break came at the wrong time for the visitors.

Facing into the elements in the second half, two points wasn’t a huge advantage, and it was quickly reduced to one by the impressive Darren Gallagher who was a constant thorn in the Tipperary side, and along with Michael Quinn, Keelin McGann and Joseph Hagan were two of the home sides better performers.

The pressure was now on Tipp, and one wondered had they the mental toughness to dig in or fold, and for the long term development of the group, this second half performance is one they can refer as a potential turning point.

Crucially, Longford were never able to get back on level terms, as Tipp were always able to answer a Longford score or burst with a timely one of their own. To do that, you need possession, and it wasn’t until the 54th minute that Tipp failed to win one of their own kickouts. It wasn’t as if Longford were conceding short ones either, for much of the second half, goalkeeper Jack Rodgers was forced to go long but found teammates strong under the high ball with Paddy Creedon particularly prominent.

The Thurles Sarsfields clubman is a son of former Tipp senior manager Peter, and has a strong footballing pedigree, even if he spent the last year with the senior hurlers. He is a quality attacker but what we saw on Sunday was a player who revelled in the physical exchanges when Tipp really needed him to, not only willing possession, but using his power to run at the Longford defence from where Tipp scored nine second half points into the elements, recording just one wide in that period also, an impressive display off efficiency.

Even in the closing stages when Longford were piling on the pressure in search of an equaliser, Tipp, while controlled at patient in defence, didn’t just sit back and when they got the ball, they still took the chance to get forward with Sean O’Connor’s eighth point of the game in added time sealing the win.

This is still early days in terms of this new Tipperary set-up but a first league win since 2022 will give the panel great confidence going into the teeth of the campaign, after a trip to London, the have three games in a row at home, that stretch likely to determine whether they will be going to Leitrim on the final day with promotion in mind.

However, one thing is certain from the opening few weeks of the campaign is that this is a young group still hungry to play for Tipperary and a management team who are allowing to express themselves, understanding they will make mistakes, but it is only from them that they will learn.

They have some way to go, particularly defensively as even with numbers back, both Carlow and Longford found it too easy to get into scoring position, and even then, there was indiscipline in fouling with seven of Longford's fourteen points coming from placed balls which kept them in the game as apart from Darren Gallagher in midfield, their forwards weren’t that potent.

That Tipp have two points from four after two games is what they would have been hoping for from the first set of games, although maybe not in the order they came, ahead of their first mini-break from where they can reassess and go again.