First things first: fair play and congratulations to Tipperary who clearly were deserving winners last Sunday. They were the steadier and more composed team throughout, and bore all the hallmarks of a side that has been through the mill, not just this year, but over the last three years

At the same time, in An Moltóir’s view, Tipperary’s All-Ireland victory was, in some respects, one of the least impressive in recent memory. The only team they clearly outplayed on their way to the McCarthy Cup was a moderate Wexford side, and even then, only when the Slaneysiders had been reduced to thirteen men and playing in energy-sapping conditions. In their other three games, against Clare, Limerick and Galway last Sunday, Tipp survived because of their ability to make better use of fewer scoring chances. In all three games, the opposition probably had the better overall territorial possession but were unable to make this advantage tell.

Galway were undone by two major factors: inexperience and the anxiety engendered by the fact that they were chasing the game almost from the very start. The match statistics speak for themselves: An Moltóir counted seventeen instances of Galway players giving away or losing possession compared to just nine for Tipperary, and eleven cases of Galway being blocked or hooked to just seven for the opposition. However, the most damning statistic as far as Galway were concerned relates to bad misses (defined as clear shots at goal from infield positions and reasonable distances). Galway had eleven of these against just five for Tipp; most important of all, nine of them came in the first half when Tipperary shot just one bad wide. Galway’s inexperience was perhaps best demonstrated by the silly fouls given away by Greg Kennedy and Mark Kerins immediately after Fergal Healy’s wonder goal had reduced the gap between the teams to the minimum. The points which followed killed Galway’s momentun and allowed Tipperary to regain the initiative.

In the semi-final, Galway’s cause was greatly assisted by Kilkenny outfield players pumping high balls into the goal area where the Galway fullbacks were in complete control. It was somewhat ironic, then, that Galway themselves reproduced this failing last Sunday, even though it was clear that Philip Maher was unbeatable under the high ball. However, to attribute this to poor coaching, as Tony Considine did in his column in ‘De Paper’, was a bit much. One would hardly accuse Kilkenny of being poorly coached, or Cork (in the game against Offaly last year), yet both teams panicked under the pressure of chasing games that were going away from them. This was clearly a case of Considine abusing his position to have a cut at his former comrade-in-arms, Mike McNamara. Not a pleasant spectacle.

Two aspects of the game demonstrated clearly the differences between the teams. While Declan Ryan’s first instinct when he gained possession was to handpass the ball to better-placed colleagues, Joe Rabbitte’s was to put his head down and make for goal. The Tipperary backs coped with this quite well, and Rabbitte can have few complaints that his bulldozing efforts evinced little sympathy from the referee (who, in An Moltóir’s view, was generally correct in his decisions throughout the game). The other distinguishing feature between the teams was the decision-making of the respective goalkeepers in vital situations. Michael Crimmins failed to go down and get his body in the way of the dribbling ball which gave Tipperary their killer second goal; in stopping Kevin Broderick’s close-in shot late in the game, Brendan Cummins showed how it should be done.

One also wonders about the decision-making of the Galway mentors. They were very slow to bring on Brian Higgins even though Derek Hardiman struggled right from the beginning of the match. They should surely have brought Joe Rabbitte out to the half line when it was clear that he was making no headway inside. It was also surprising that they made no change in midfield where, despite the odd flourish, David Tierney (who has yet to show that he has the hurling for this level) was generally not at the races.

On the Tipperary side, An Moltóir was delighted with the performance of Tommy Dunne, a model hurler who has been the team’s steadiest player throughout the championship. Eddie Enright was not far behind in terms of overall contribution. And, while An Moltóir heard several Tipperary supporters complaining after the game about Declan Ryan’s misses, the veteran full forward made a massive contribution to his side’s victory in terms of getting and using possession, being fouled, or just making a nuisance of himself.

Some commentators have been eager to portray Tipperary’s victory as a triumph of skill and finesse over strength and stamina. This is to miss the point. Galway have had loads of skilful players in the past who never got anywhere. The main objective of Mike McNamara’s training regime is to build focus, commitment and mental toughness. The contrast between this year’s Galway team and that of recent years is immense in this respect. However, ultimately you cannot coach experience into players. The series of bad misses which undermined Galway’s cause last Sunday was due to nerves, not an absence of shooting practice.

Finally, one has to say something about the dreadful state of the Croke Park pitch last Sunday. TV viewers got no idea of what it was really like, although it should have been apparent from how frequently the game got tied up in knots, and and from the repeated inability of players to lift the ball. At first, An Moltóir wondered if Páirc Uí Chaoimh had been dug up and transported to Dublin. Essentially, the game was played on a thick layer of sand with some grass sticking through it.

Some people suggested that it was all the fault of the extra games played this summer. However, there are pitches all over the country where up to ten games have been played weekly over the last few months and which are still in excellent condition. An Moltóir assumes that the drainage has been disrupted by the foundations of the new stands, in which case the fault should be repairable once building is complete. In the long run, a more worrying concern is where they are going to get the extra twenty metres they need in order to provide a proper hurling pitch at GAA headquarters.

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Been There, Dunne That, Worn the Jersey!
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