Eight teams remain in contention for All-Ireland glory after last weekend’s busy schedule. The main event was the 120th playing of the Munster Hurling Final. Considering the importance of Thurles to the GAA, it was probably fitting that the home county Tipperary landed the spoils.
If I had stopped the clock fifty minutes into the game to write my column the headline would have begun with 'Super Tipp' but the fact of the matter is that games are not won and lost in fifty minutes. Tipperary for the third time this year showed us how hurling should and shouldn't be played. Unlike the previous fixtures they actually started very sluggishly last Sunday. Their corner back Conor O'Brien gave way too much room to Waterford cornerforward, John Mullane in the first passage of play. Mullane gave the Deise the perfect start with a beautifully taken point. The Premier side looked to be a bit nervous early on. I suppose the fact they were favourites and defending the title in their own back yard could have contributed to this.
The Waterford men applied all the early pressure and were rewarded with a goal when Eoin Kelly surprised the Tipp rearguard by going for broke with a free. Tipperary steadied the ship thanks mainly to some great hurling by their halfback line and Shane McGrath at midfield. The supply that these guys were providing saw the Premier county back in front by the 14th minute. It was all Tipp at this stage, they swung over six unanswered points before Mullane capitalised on a defensive error to cooly register goal number two for the Deise. Defensive errors seemed to be the order of the day. Just when we thought Waterford might be getting back into it, young upcoming star Noel McGrath showed composure beyond his age to set up Seamus Callinan for Tipp's first goal. That major score rattled Waterford. The Premier side smelt blood and went on to register two more goals before the break, courtesy of Eoin Kelly and Lar Corbett. Tipperary like Kilkenny have the ability to hit teams with explosive bursts but their Achilles heel is that they haven't developed the killer instinct yet to finish off the job. This game should have been done and dusted when Lar Corbett grabbed his second goal just after the restart, however once again the Premier side took their foot off the gas and Waterford, to their credit kept plugging away. Michael Brick Walsh, Tony Browne, Mullane and Eoin Kelly took the game to the Premier county, despite the Deise hitting six unanswered points, Tipp never looked like they were losing. The final whistle wasn't greeted with the same enthusiasm by the Tipp players as last year, which suggests that a Munster title is not enough this time round. Dare I say it, the dream final of Kilkenny and Tipp lives on. However both sides will encounter big tests in the semis before that can happen. Tipperary's bigger spread of scorers was the main reason why they won. Waterford left too much for John Mullane to do upfront.
Galway v Clare
The other big game last weekend saw Galway travel to Ennis to take on Clare in the qualifiers. This was perceived as a tricky encounter for the Tribesmen.
The phase two game turned out in the end to be an easy assignment for the Galway men as the home county put up very little resistance. John McIntyre, the Galway manager will be delighted with this victory, as it was achieved without Joe Canning playing at his best. With the young star having an off day by his own standards, other guys became leaders on the night. Centreback John Lee was a colossus as was Cyril Donnellan, the latter is a bit in the Brendan Lynskey mode, rugged, determined and not afraid to put himself about, his style compliments the rest of the Galway attack. They now take on Cork in phase three next weekend, let’s hope we get as good a game as we got last year. Galway will feel they owe Cork a beating after the fourteen Rebels got the better of them. Donal Og Cusack's sending off seemed to inspire the Cork lads on the day. Both sides have injuries, Cork's Ben O'Connor and Ollie Canning are two legends of the game and both are rated 50/50 at this stage to take to the field. I sincerely hope both turn up in good health as their clash will have a big bearing on the outcome. I think Galway are better equipped this year to pass this big test, despite Cork's good record against Galway I am siding with the Tribesmen. It now looks odds on that one of these teams will be Kilkenny's opposition in the semi's.
Limerick take on Laois in the night's other fixture. It's impossible to look beyond Limerick. A victory would give them a tilt at Dublin in the quarterfinal. I think both sides would fancy their chances if that was to materialise. The summer may be passing away but there is still some cracking action to look forward to.
