Knowing that an Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship final date with Galway was on the line, Tipperary had to be at their very best to overcome Dublin last Sunday.
The senior match between Tipperary and Galway that followed it has already gone down as a classic, but the minor match that preceded it turned out to be one of the most memorable semi-finals in recent memory.
With three goals in the first twenty minutes, it seemed an impossibility that the tempo could be upheld for the forty that followed, but both sets of players left it all on the Croker green in a thrilling encounter.
Fergal Whitely’s stick didn’t last long and the snapping of his hurl on the quarter of an hour mark showed that nothing was being held back by either side.
Tipperary enjoyed the better start, and in any semi final, and especially when discussing teenagers – some of whom were experiencing Croke Park for the first time in August – the opening goal was going to be crucial.
The manner in which Tipperary carved through the Dublin defence will no doubt be analysed by Galway over the coming weeks.
There was a danger of Tipperary running away with it when, on the 16 minute mark, man-of-the-match Tommy Nolan put his side four points ahead with Tipp’s second goal in quick succession.
Alan Tynan is a wonderful talent on the wing, while the spine of the Tipperary side, from Brian McGrath through to top-scorer Lyndon Fairbrother, means the team have an edge physically that many other sides just cannot compete with.
And then you focus about their stickwork, their passing and the running power of players to take and break tackles in every line of the field
McGrath was a rock at centre-back, and what surely must have been an emotional day for his family with his older brother Noel making his return to the senior side just four months after cancer surgery.
But the teenager found his level in Croke Park and will be an obstacle Galway will need to overcome if they are to have any chance of triumph on September 6th.
Almost every breaking ball was won by a man in blue and gold, and management must get great credit for using a senior approach to dealing with a minor side.
Their tackling might be penalised by a different referee, but on Sunday they went to the very edge and pushed Dublin over into the abyss.
However there is also an element of complacency that Liam Cahill and his back room team can try and work on as Dublin battled back to lead entering the final 12 minutes.
Whitely was released by Alex Considine and took advantage of the space by firing the sliotar under the sprawling figure of Pádraig Hayes.
Space like that will be cruelly punished by a Galway side that has proved over the 140 minutes against Kilkenny that they thrive on making, and finishing, goal chances
Dublin’s half-time break energised them with the Munster side looking sluggish for the opening quarter after the short-whistle.
The Tipperary subs did make a difference, but tactically Galway will pose more problems with their sweeper system – which is more refined than Dublin’s – having come through two very tough tests against Kilkenny.
Matthew Oliver was immense but Tipperary never coughed up the second goal to Dublin that could have ‘tipped’ the game in the capital’s favour.
Without that killer blow there was always a chance of Tipperary’s greater firepower, as well as ease with ball in hand proving too much for the Leinster outfit.
On paper Tipperary can point to the result being all that matters, but they will know that it will be the basics of power, pace and accuracy that will need to be honed even further if they are to lift the All-Ireland title against Galway on September 6th.
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