LIAM Cahill believes Cork are still the team to beat in the All-Ireland hurling championship.
The Tipperary manager finds himself in an All-Ireland semi-final for the first time since his tenure as Waterford boss following his side’s statement win against Galway.
On the same day Dublin produced a shock win with 14-men against Limerick to knock them out of the championship.
The 2001 All-Ireland winner believes Limerick’s exit will be music to Cork and Pat Ryan’s ears.
When speaking to the Irish Examiner post-match, Cahill stated: “Cork are still red hot favourites.
“I’d say there is only one man smiling tonight and that’s Pat Ryan.”
With their Munster final rivals out of the championship, Cork will be looking to win their first All-Ireland hurling title since 2005.
Tipperary will have to face the challenge of unfamiliarity when playing in Croke Park having not played there since 2019 and the vast majority of the current squad not being involved six years ago.
Cahill feels Tipperary’s patience is paying off after they secured an All-Ireland semi-final berth for the first time since 2019.
The Premier boss spoke about putting his stamp on the team when they were knocked out by Galway in 2023.
It has taken two years, but a comfortable 1-28 to 2-17 victory over the Tribesmen emphasised their progress.
Cahill reflected: “It’s hard to have patience. It’s something I’ve never really been blessed with.
“It was a case of having to be patient over the last two seasons, but the players that were on our radar are starting to come of age.
“They’re still very young. The mix of the more experienced cohort are really bringing brilliant culture and standards to the set-up. It’s a nice mix.”
While Tipp coughed up two goals and a handful more chances, their defenders scrambled well to prevent further damage.
Cahill said: “We could’ve been caught for two or three goals minimum in the first half. Having said that, we left two or three chances after us.
“The three different changes for Galway threw us a little bit in relation to our match-ups. The bigger challenge arises again in the bigger spaces of Croke Park.
“We’ll have to be defensively very solid if we’re to have a chance of progressing.
“Thankfully, it has improved significantly since the league final. Little baby steps.
“The fellas know their jobs better, good understanding around passing on players and tracking and all that goes with a good unit.
“We’ll continue to work on them bits now and please God give ourselves a chance in two weeks’ time.”
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Galway manager Micheál Donoghue was left to rue his side’s wastefulness.
The Tribe converted just 27 per cent of their shots from play and racked up 16 wides as Tipp outscored them 1-22 to 2-6 from play.
Donoghue said: “In the first half, there wasn’t a whole lot between the teams. Our efficiency let us down.
“We created opportunities for goals. To stay in the game, we had to take one or two of them.
“We were five down at half-time, but weren’t despondent. We were still in the game. We got the goal and had four wides after it. We needed to get the scoreboard ticking to keep us in it — frustrating.”
Donoghue still sees progress from his first year back.
He admitted: “Today is raw. It will hurt. Today might not be the right day to say it, but I think we have made a step forward.
“There is huge learnings to take from the season. We’ll reflect and regroup.”
When asked whether some stalwarts may choose to step away, Donoghue replied: “It’s not for me to say. There are lads in that dressing room that have given unbelievable service. We’ll see what unfolds.”
SCORERS – Tipperary: J Forde 0-7, 2 s-l, 1f; J Morris 0-5, A Ormond 0-5; O O’Donoghue 1-0; D McCarthy 0-3f, J McGrath 0-3; D Stakelum 0-2; W Connors 0-1, S O’Farrell 0-1, N McGrath 0-1.
Galway: C Mannion 0-13, 8f, 3 ’65; C Molloy 1-0, D McLaughlin 1-0; T Monaghan 0-2; C Whelan 0-1, C Cooney 0-1.
