Tipperary manager, Liam Sheedy, pictured during his team's defeat to Limerick in the Munster SHC semi-final.
By John Harrington
Tipperary’s bye to the second round of the All-Ireland SHC qualifiers has probably come as a relief for their manager, Liam Sheedy.
It gives him and his players the opportunity to refuel after Sunday’s draining defeat to Limerick when they were out-fought, out-thought, and out-hurled.
Many of Tipperary’s key players are now in their thirties so an extra week’s rest will be welcome in terms of getting themselves physically right for Round 2 of the qualifiers, but the loss to Limerick will have taken a mental toll too because it was such a comprehensive one.
The only solace for Tipperary is that they went on to win the All-Ireland last year after a similarly chastening defeat to the Shannonsiders in the 2019 Munster Final, and Sheedy is hopeful they’ll display the same sort of character again now.
“I’ll bank on these guys, they won’t give it up soft so we’ve to look forward to the healing process now and getting back out on that pitch is our sole aim at this stage,” said Sheedy after Sunday’s defeat to Limerick.
“Thankfully there isn’t a trapdoor here, we could be in a football championship where we are gone.
“So we have a bit of soul searching to do for a few days and get ready for what will be a massive game next weekend but we are just happy to have a second bite at the cherry. The only good news is we’ve been the back roads before, so we do know the back roads, it’s a road we have travelled before.
“It’s not going to be an easy road; there are pitfalls everywhere but at least there is some opportunity for the group to get back to the level where we know we can get to. We’ve only got a short space of time to turn it around but, you know what, maybe that’s better. The healing process for us has to start very quickly and we need to get back on the horse very quickly.”
Dejected Tipperary players leave the field after Sunday's Munster SHC semi-final defeat to Limerick.
Sheedy will have been given a lot of food for thought by his team’s performance on Sunday because so many cogs in the machine malfunctioned.
Perhaps it had something to do with the fact Limerick already had a match under their belts whereas Tipp were coming in cold, but the Premier County players seemed half a yard slower consistently, their first touch wasn’t as sharp, and they struggled to match Limerick’s intensity when dirty ball was being fought for.
“The best team won,” admitted Sheedy. “We felt we prepared very well and came here today comprehensively beaten last year and I expected a reaction. They are a fine side but we are really disappointed as we set high standards for ourselves.
“We didn’t really play to that standard today and that is very disappointing for me, the group of players and for the supporters watching at home because when we do put on that jersey we want to represent it well. We came up a good bit short today in how we played.
“I thought the basic errors and unforced errors we made today is so uncustomary for my lads to make that many mistakes. We coughed up possession so easily and we were turned over and when Limerick turn you over in that part of the pitch they are going to pulverise you.
“We were only trying to hang onto them for long periods. Limerick were the better team, overall they outworked us, out muscled us.”
Tipperary briefly looked like they were capable of pulling the game out of the fire when they reduced a nine-point deficit to six at the start of the second-half, but once Aaron Gillane fired home that penalty it was always going to be Limerick’s day.
The reigning All-Ireland champions never really looked capable of cutting through Limerick’s superbly marshalled defence, and in the end were reduced to just belting the ball long which was grist to the mill of players like Kyle Hayes, Declan Hannon, and Diarmaid Byrnes.
“We became one dimensional in the second half and that was the most disappointing aspect of the game was that we ended up raining long ball down where Limerick had loads of bodies back,” admitted Sheedy.
“Diarmaid Byrnes was a rock. When you’re pumping ball down, they love to see it high, himself, Declan Hannon and Kyle Hayes back there today, Tom Morrissey, all those guys are very strong in the air. We probably hit the emergency button with the long puck-out all of the time. If you become one dimensional against a team like Limerick you’re going to pay a heavy price.
“We had a better shape to our forwards in the first half where we created space and had a chance of creating some nice scores and left a few after us.”
Barry Heffernan is now a doubt for Tipperary's next championship match after sustaining a suspected hamstring injury against Limerick.
It seemed symbolic of Tipperary’s malaise that we had the unfamiliar sight of Padraic Maher being called ashore after just 51 minutes of the match.
Sheedy revealed afterwards his defensive totem had an injury interrupted preparation of the game, and that they now also have concerns about Barry Heffernan ahead of Round 2 of the Qualifiers.
“Paudie did have his knee (injury), he probably missed three weeks in the build-up which out of the five weeks was a lot,” said Sheedy.
“The only real injury worry we have after the game is Barry Heffernan. It looks like a hamstring injury but I haven’t got the full synopsis of it but he definitely would be considered a doubt now.
“Seamus Kennedy is out of the brace so he should be straight line running this week but I would say he’s probably still 10 days to two weeks away from significant pitch action. He’s only starting straight line running on Tuesday so he’s a good bit to go but getting there thankfully.”
