TIPPERARY'S achievement in reaching the county’s first All-Ireland SFC semi-final since 1935 can rightly sit alongside the heroics similar teams, such as Leicester City in soccer’s Premier League and Connacht in rugby’s PRO12, have achieved in 2016.
Tipp’s win over Galway last Sunday was no fluke. They were full value for the nine-point margin - in fact, the scoreline flattered Galway. This match will never get the credit of a Dublin or Kerry tie because both teams are not viewed as All-Ireland contenders. It was a brilliant game of football, a throwback to days when a blanket defence was two or three men swarming the opposition and sweepers were just called third midfielders.
As I wrote in last week’s column, I was hugely impressed with how Tipperary won their Qualifier against Derry. By adding the win over Galway, names I would not have been as familiar with, such as Michael Quinlivan, Conor Sweeney and Peter Acheson, have now written themselves into forklore in Tipperary, regardless of the semi-final result.
At a minimum, these same Tipperary players have certainly made a huge impression in large parts of the country who appreciate the life of players outside Dublin. The fact that players such as Quinlivan can deliver performances such as the one against Galway makes county commitment worthwhile for a large number of the Tipperary panel.
It gives hope that, one day, players in Clare, Westmeath and Fermanagh will experience the same unbridled joy as those Tipperary players experienced last weekend and will be able to showcase their talents to the rest of the country.
Even when I was playing, Tipperary were getting their act together as a football county. The county obviously deserves huge credit for developing a renewed sense of optimism in their football team and, although others decided that, this summer, the USA was the destination of choice, Croke Park was certainly the place to be last Sunday. You can only imagine these same players would be kicking themselves having missed rare moments such as these.
Liam Kearns is a proud Kerry native and to see him mingle and hug Tipperary fans after the game pours cold water on the idea an outside manager cannot galvanise a county and identify with the native tribe. To play against Tyrone or Mayo in a semi-final will be an occasion to savour for the players but, far from making up the numbers, if Tipperary play with the same abandon, they’ll make things very uncomfortable for Tyrone or Mayo.
A DOUBLE-HEADER of Tyrone v Mayo and Donegal v Dublin at a packed Croke Park will certainly give all football fans reasons to be cheerful this Saturday.
Mayo have not been consistently good. At times, it looks like the old Mayo, playing with a freedom which has defined them in the last few years. They even threaten to get a system which looks defensively efficient.
Kevin McLoughlin is not the man to operate as a sweeper in their system and the management seem slow to catch this on. He is a wing-forward and a good one at that, so continuing with this tactic will only play to Tyrone’s strengths.
Colm Cavanagh must be licking his lips with the thought of turning over willing Mayo forwards. It is hard to see past Tyrone, although they will be wary that Mayo may well have one big performance in them for 2016.
I don’t envy being a Donegal player. Whether you win or lose, the constant media glare on the current crop has been relentless since that day in September 2012 when they went from party boys to disciplined winners.
They have benefited and suffered from the fact Jim McGuinness was their manager, with the tactical nous and his ability to motivate creating their phenomenal spirit. Equally, a drawback has been Jim’s reemergence in the printed media and Sky TV, with some of his criticism aimed at Rory Gallagher and his tactics.
It would be difficult for the players as I am sure they have a strong sense of loyalty toward McGuinness. Equally, Gallagher seems to be a manager players warms to, so divided loyalties could be a natural consequence.
At times, the media glare overshadows a team who, to some, can do no right. They beat Cork last weekend, were a point away from beating Tyrone in a Ulster final, their sixth appearance in the provincial decider in-a-row and have introduced so many young, quality footballers into the team. You begin to wonder what they have done to have deserved the negativity sometimes.
You have heard the legs have gone, the defence is porous, Michael Murphy is not fit and the rest. Now, they play Dublin and they have no chance. But Donegal have nothing to lose, Dublin carry all the pressure. While it will not be the ambush of 2014, this could very well be a game when Donegal show Dublin just what they are missing in Leinster compared to a competitive province like Ulster.
Dublin have yet to be tested, with Leinster doing them no favours. If you can get Patrick McBrearty on the ball alongside Michael Murphy in the full-forward line, it would be great to see Donegal taking the game to Dublin.
With McBrearty giving one of the performances of the Championship last Sunday against Cork, it may well be Murphy’s turn this weekend. I wouldn’t bet against them. As Tipperary showed last weekend, if the spirit is willing, belief and skill can take you to the promised land.
