The common view that Limerick didn’t turn up for last Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final isn’t quite accurate.

In fact, the Shannonsiders did quite a lot of hurling in this game. Their problem was that they got very little return for it. It will surprise most readers to learn that Limerick had almost the same number of scoring attempts as Tipperary (35-33), but on the day could not hit the proverbial barn door with their shooting.

Limerick had twelve unsuccessful shots on goal in both halves, indicating that they kept going right to the end. Tipperary had eight unsuccessful attempts in the first half, and just two after the change of ends, as scores came easier with the Limerick challenge waning. When one adds in the fact that two of the three first-half Tipperary goals came directly from basic defensive errors, it can be seen that the final result provided a poor reflection of the overall balance of play in the game.

Most of Limerick’s misses came from long-range strikes, as their forwards were able to get little possession against the Tipperary defence. In the first half, Limerick won just one of sixteen long balls played into the forwards from out the field. Much of the blame for this has been placed on Limerick’s numerical disadvantage up front due to their tactic of playing an extra man in defence. However, things did not improve much in the second half when Limerick adopted a more orthodox formation: just two balls won out of twelve long balls delivered in.

Usually such rank poor shooting reflects a collective psychological problem among the guilty team. One wonders if the very negative formation adopted by Limerick from the start had the effect of undermining the team’s confidence. Traditionally, Limerick do not go in for game plans, relying on old-fashioned commitment and fighting spirit to negative more skilled opponents. Novel and complex game plans can also be upsetting for rookie players trying to find their feet at this level of hurling, and Limerick had four relative rookies in their forward line last Sunday.

Game plans have always been foreign to Justin McCarthy’s nature, so one wonders where last Sunday’s came from. Paul Browne was withdrawn out the field, where he was never heard of again, while James Ryan found himself as often as not trying to double up as centre forward, where he was eaten without salt by the Tipperary half backs. To make matters worse, the spare man in the Tipperary defence meant that Brendan Cummins could send puckouts to the loose man who was then able to launch balls in over the Limerick half back line – the only line in the losing team to perform with any credit.

Tipperary will not be able to derive much reliable evidence from this game regarding the team’s wellbeing. Padraic Maher’s debut at fullback was made easy by the high balls rained in from out the field, as fielding high balls is his forte. Presumably Kilkenny will provide a more varied test of Maher’s defensive abilities in the final. Nor was his namesake Brendan subjected to an real pressure during the course of the game. Neither of the midfielders was as prominent as they have been in previous games. The forwards showed once again that they can be devastating with a plentiful supply of good ball, but how will they manage with the slim pickings that are likely to be on offer against the Cats?

The minor game was a more entertaining affair, although the eventual outcome became increasingly inevitable after Galway scored their first goal in the 25th minute. Waterford showed glimpses of the form which saw them prevail in Munster, but they were up against a physically strong, alert, pacey, skillful and experienced Galway outfit which, as one would expect, was well prepared by Mattie Murphy. Waterford appear to have a real gem in half forward Brian O’Halloran, but most of the stars were wearing maroon jerseys. Their fullbacks were very impressive, a certain Joe Cooney showed the importance of blood lines in hurling, Niall Burke did an excellent job in neutralising Waterford’s star player, centre back Philip Mahoney, while Richie Cummins also caught the eye at right corner forward. They will certainly give it all to do to Kilkenny in the final.

Note: Due to the semi-surreal nature of the senior game last Sunday, and the way it tended to disintegrate in the second half with Tipperary players passing to each other at will, tallies of individual plays have limited meaning and have not been compiled on this occasion.


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