Denis Kelly pleased with panel impact

By Joe Scully

Tipperary manager Denis Kelly said his sides chances of qualifying for another National League final remain in their hands following Saturday’s impressive four point win away to Galway.

“It keeps things alive,” he said as Tipp have seven points from nine after their first three games.

“If we had lost today, we were probably out of the mix and looking for a miracle, so it keeps us in the mix for now.”

The Toomevara native was delighted with his sides victory against a very tough Galway side in a repeat of last year’s league decider. “I’m very happy with that win,” he added.

“It was hard fought again; it went down to the wire. You know Galway never give you a soft one.

“That goal just before half-time was a nice one as it would have been very tough on Galway going in at the break.

“Look, Galway came out an got their goal and it was pretty even then, but we had a little bit of a breeze in the second half and then Clodagh McIntyre’s goal, gave us a little bit of a cushion and we needed it going down the home stretch.”

Kelly was delighted with his side defensively especially with their second-half performance, where they limited the home side to just 1-2.

“You have to give credit to them, as a unit they played really well,” he admitted.

“The communication was definitely up today, and we brought young ones on off the bench, and they carried on from where the others left off, so delighted with that.”

The Borris-Ileigh clubman has also been delighted with the experience some of the younger players have been getting so far in the league and how they have used a large number of players throughout.

“We got another few girls in there today and delighted with some of the contributions coming off the bench and were getting to see the guts of thirty players, and while they might not be seeing much game time, the few minutes they are getting is a valuable experience for them going forward.”

After three games on the spin, Tipperary have a welcome weekend off before welcoming Cork to the Ragg on Saturday week.

“We know how tough that game will be,” Kelly added.

“Cork have been unbeaten so far, and the y are going to be in the shake-up for the league final, and they are the kind of team who will want to stay winning. So that will be a real test, and we will find out where we stand. Galway today, then Cork and Kilkenny last week, there really are no easy games and we are looking forward to the challenge.”