[ad_1]
What we would not have done to be in Cork. He was in pieces, to be honest, watching him at home, with the gang, the family. A Munster medal was always the dream. The longer we were without one, the more you felt it could never happen.
If we’re honest, and it’s not meant to be disrespectful to Cork, once Kerry was out of the equation, we always felt there was a possibility that this weekend was historic. Those guys have played Cork to the end. They have won and lost, never by long. I never saw us as big losers and that’s how we play.
Because this is a good Tipp team, that’s the reality. Most of those players have experience in the under-21 or under-21 Irish finals, arriving at Croke Park in 2016. If we could bring our game, a win here was on the table.
And the beginning was crucial. If Cork had enjoyed that start, things might have unraveled very differently. But Tipp’s strong start put real pressure on Cork and they didn’t seem to know how to react.
His forwards didn’t want to shoot, which deepened my confidence. Just reduce the free count and Tipp had a good chance. Luke Connolly’s departure was a serious blow to Cork, because there was no foul anywhere, the way he kicked.
Michael Quinlivan has been quiet the last two games, but when he started pinging, you knew this could be Tipp’s day, if they kept their heads.
The story could have weighed heavily. The Bloody Sunday commemorations made for an exciting weekend, but your job is to go out and play. And as Conor Sweeney said later, that was his and David Power’s job to put them on the ground and set them up for a Munster final.
He is a class act, a great captain and leader. Early in his career, he received criticism for not being consistent. But for the last four or five years, it’s been huge and it makes it look so easy.
He is calm, serene. The days of breaking down doors are gone. He runs it calmly, the wonderful Brian Fox the same. And when you play well on the field and do what you expect others to do, everyone follows you.
Of course, we were nervous on the straight. Anyway he was. You are always nervous about Tipp football. When Cork returned it to three points, there was dread. You will never get over that, it goes with the territory with the footballers.
But how important was Colin O’Riordan on that stretch? It was the topic of conversation all week. But when it became available, he had to start it. And I think he was the difference in the end. He caught a couple of big balls and kept going on Cork.
We don’t play in the Munster finals too often. I have followed Tipp football since I was seven or eight years old. I was in the Munster final in 93, well beaten, no chances. In ’94 we could have won it. Delighted to play myself in ’98 against Kerry. In 2002, we probably should have won it. Then we had to wait until 2016.
I believe in fate sometimes. It is a dream come true for all of us. But the dream goes further now, and they have the right to dream big.
We are all so excited, so proud of what they have done. Jealous too, in a way. We would all love to have the Munster medal in our pocket.
But knowing my band and previous players, from the 50s, 60s and 70s, we are delighted to have played a role in this. All managers, coaches, selectors, water carriers and team men. Everybody on the Friends of Tipperary bus.
There are a handful of followers who have been there since the day. We follow the team and complain and regret when we don’t play well, but it’s a tight-knit community.
There are soccer folks in Tipp who have barely missed a championship game in their life. This was for all of them. And it’s a shame they couldn’t be there, freaking out in Cork.
[ad_2]