Tipperary manager Liam Cahill during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 1 match between Tipperary and Limerick at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
Tipperary manager, Liam Cahill, was happy with his lot after Sunday’s Munster SHC frist round draw with Limerick.
It was a game the Premier County could have lost and also one they could have won, but Cahill’s overwhelming emotion was pride in the performance his players produced.
“Ah sure it'd have to be a good point, wouldn't it?," he said. "My God, what a gutsy performance. Four young championship debutants today playing a team seasoned like Limerick, loaded with a bench of numerous All-Stars.
“We rode the punches really well, hit for a couple of sucker moments in the game and showed real character and resistance to come back into the game. So really, really proud of these fellas, they're representing the jersey really well, have shown massive bravery from last October.
“This time last year when we left the same dressing room, things were fairly poor, we were on the ground. Bravery is all about making tough decisions, and there were tough decisions made with players around the preparation and ourselves as a coaching a management team.
“I said it at the start of the league, it's the real time to be brave in Tipperary, and we've got it from county board right down through. It's starting, thank God, to filter through onto the field.
“Having said that, it's only the first round of the Munster Championship, there's nobody getting carried away. We have to turn the page very quickly now for seven days' time down to Cork and try and close a 10-point deficit from the league final, which is going to be a massive task as well.
“But all in all, I'm very proud of my players and really delighted to be the one helping them at the moment, with the honesty that's in that dressing room.”
Limerick manager John Kiely, left, and Tipperary manager Liam Cahill shake hands after the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 1 match between Tipperary and Limerick at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile.
Two weeks ago Tipperary were well-beaten by Cork in the Allianz Hurling League Final, but Cahill was confident he’d get a positive response to that set-back.
“When you're working with fellas like this day in, day out, and you see the effort they put in. The league final we went down, obviously, to try and win the match. That goes without saying, but you know when you're in a dressing room here in the Munster Championship that the edge is there.
“We brought a certain amount of it two weeks ago, but we didn't come the way we needed to come. We need to represent that jersey with real tenacity every day we play.
“To do that, we have to be really fit, and we have to be really together and committed. There were the little areas that hurt us last year when the real squeeze came on, but as I said, fear is only a reaction.
“Fellas will act out of fear, but these boys have a lot of bravery and they've made a lot of tough decisions.
“All of us, everybody involved from the top table right down. When you have that, you can create something. Please God, over time, this group of players, with the addition of a couple of more young fellas that are coming behind the scenes, we will find ourselves, please God, back in a good position again to challenge for major honours.”
