On the match itself. im getting pretty worried the closer it gets. And after hearing the potential team, Id be that bit more nervous. We should beat Waterford but that doesnt mean we will. I expect them to do the same as '08 and isolate the FB line which hasnt been great all year bar Saint. Curran has been exposed the last two times weve played waterford in the champ and again in this yrs league. id be worried if hes full. The heads need to be spot on this weekend and any thought of plying kk in an all ireland had better be forgotten about as this game will be a battle from start to finish. If our forwards get the space they could do serious damage but will they with the way waterford set themselves up.
you were saying you had heard that sheedy was going to walk away and that it was for a big enough reason. any of my dealings with him, he comes across as an alright sort
Alright sort me bollix.
He tried to pick a fight with a Galway lad the last day who had just been replaced from the heat of battle by a sub. That to me betrays a genuine lack of class, dignity, not to mention self respect. I would not begrudge this Tipp side an All-Ireland Declan but Sheedy is a cunt through and through.
[quote=âThe Puke, post: 496334â]
One change for Tipp, John OâBrien in for Young
[/quote]
Predictable enough, last time we bet them in Croke park Sheedy put OâBrien on Tony Browne and targeted him with almost all teh puck outs, Browne cleaned himout, but wouldnt be surprised if he does it again.
I am intrigued as to teh team that Davy will put out, as I expect a couple of changes. Nagle, Tomas Ryan, Brian OâHalloran are push very hard for places. Lawlor was carrying a knock out of the cork game but seemingly is ok now.
There are a couple of key players and battles that will decide thisâŚ
Lar Corbett. He is the key man for tipp, and was almost the architect of them beating KK last year. Has has matured as a player from being a headless chicken for years. Waterford must hold him, and Eoin Murphy is probably the man for the task.
Midfield. Up until the second half agains Galway Shane McGrath was having a poor year, when he is winning dirty ball and carrying it har, Tipp are at their best. Maher looks good as well. If 12 months ago we were facing these tow with Richie Foley and Shane Sullivan, I would be worried, not now though, through hard work Sullivan has turned himself into the hurler he promised for years, he lack pace, but is now incredible strong and a great athlete. Foley is a lovely hurler, but is prone to spells of poor concentration, if he is on his game for the 70 minutes we can edge this battle and win the match.
Waterord attack. Mullane needs more support, if he gets it we will in. Kelly needs to contribute 4 or 5 from play. Kevin Moran should be freed up a bit more this week, his sole job was to stop Curran agains Cork, he will do more hurlign this week. Shane Walsh must do more and Molumphy needs to get on the scoresheet as well.
It will be a cracker, and a draw is not out of the question, but just think Waterford will shade it. 2-17 to 2-13 after being close upto the last 5.
Lowest tally for Tipp in the Sheedy era is the 14 points against Cork this year HB. Lowest after that was the 1-18 against yourselves in 2008. I donât know how realistic a tally of 2-13 is but I suppose itâs only guesswork. It goes without saying that the Waterford forwards will have to be very efficient with the ball but just as important is how they do without it.
Tippâs ability to build from the back is crucial for them. Especially their ability to transfer the ball easily from the backs to the deep-lying half-forwards and Shane McGrath. Stopping this is everything for Waterford because if Tipp are allowed to set themselves up in this way the Waterford backs wonât hold out. Tipp forwards are simply too good.
The performances from Shane OâSullivan, Richie Foley, and Molumphy are just crucial. If they canât disrupt Tippâs flow from defence to attack then Waterford just donât stand a chance. I could imagine Tipp tearing them apart like the first half of last yearâs game. Waterford have only met a very raw Clare outfit and a Cork side with a dysfunctional attack. Tippâs forwards as a unit are on a completely different level. Whether or not Waterford can handle this change of pace is the big question.
Tough game to predict as there are plenty of variables and it is hard to read into the championship form of either sideâŚWould have serious reservations about the form of some of the tipp backs, Curran retained at full back is definately a weakness, he was absolutely roasted here in the Munster final last year and looked far more assured last year when he was moved to the cornerâŚAlso serious question marks whether the tipp forwards can win enough primary possesion if the Waterford half forward line are breaking even with the Tipp half backlineâŚWaterford will need young OâHalloran to at least hold his own and put a couple of scores on the board along with Eoin Kelly taking some of the scoring burden off MullaneâŚ
If Tipp click and get into their stride them there will only be one winner, although they got on top early in the second half v Galway and completly wilted which would be a concernâŚWould rate Waterfordâs 1-9 far better than Galwayâs by the way, there half forward line will also be more of a threat as well
I suppose youâd have to know a player very well to know his suitability for certain games, but even at that itâs hard to know how to go against Tipp. Youâd be inclined to think that what you need against them are strong, self-sufficient players who wonât run riot but are capable of winning their own ball and getting a score. On the other hand they can be very loose for long phases of games and the pacy finisher type forwards can do a lot of damage. Which do you go for?
Waterford have a balance at the moment of finishers like Kelly and Mullane vs. support players like Molumphy, Prendergast, Moran, and someone like Walsh who is a grafter but a decent goalscorer. You have to base the decision largely on how you think you need to play and knowing Davy Fitz, youâd expect him to favour a grafter.
Maybe this will be the exception. Either way Davy is a very confident guy and heâll have (rightly or wrongly) taken a lot from the fact that his methods won the Munster Final. He will be very confident of beating Tipp and heâll expect his way to work. If OâHalloran or Maurice Shanahan start itâll have to be based on massive changes in training form. I donât forsee it being tactical. If OâHalloran starts youâll know that he is absolutely flying and that Davy has real doubts about certain individuals.
i think tipp will have to play better than they did against galway to win. id be concerned about 4 of their backs. paul curran, micky cahill, declan fanning and conor o mahony have not been playing well. in cahills case conor mcgrath had the beating of him in the u21 match.i also dont think padraig maher is playing that well on the wing either. no matter who waterford pick on the half forward line they will be infinitely better than galways half forward line.on the plus side, they have a very strong midfield pairing and have very good forwards, particulary in the inside line.if liam lawlor does even reasonably well i feel its waterfords to lose.(as they have two very good corner backs in murphy and connors). i dont think john o brien has ever got much change out opf tony browne either. prediction waterford 2-16 tipp 1-15