Darren Gleeson eager that Tipperary stay on track

It was appropriate that the closing act in Tipperary's league win over Galway was Darren Gleeson's safe and assured handling of a tricky and dangerous ball sent in by Joseph Cooney. The visitors needed a goal and on a wild day in Semple Stadium, Cooney's questioning delivery might easily have caused problems. But all afternoon, Gleeson had snuffed out a succession of Galway goal chances. He wasn't going to be beaten by a Hail Mary shot.

Afterwards he said that he wasn’t all that worried even as the Galway men came storming back into the contest.

“I wasn’t, really. I knew the lads were up for the match and we needed a win like that to be resilient and come out the right side. If you kicked on there and won by eight or nine it wouldn’t be the same test that we needed. I think it was a good test for the team and we were happy how we stood up to them as they came at us in the end.”

Last year’s league was memorable because of a classic league final and the early season turmoil revolving around Tipp. Eamon O’Shea and the panel were bemused by the public and media fixation on their early season form and responded by edging Dublin in a relegation tie and then building momentum all the way to the final.

Their defeat last week to Dublin meant that they hosted Galway on Sunday under pressure not to fall into another February slump. News from Nowlan Park, where the Dubs recorded a first win against Kilkenny in four decades, suggested that the metropolitans are the form team.

Overanalysing

“Yeah, maybe when you look at the result in Kilkenny and Dublin turning over Kilkenny as well, maybe people would want to look at Dublin and give them the respect. They showed us what a good team they were last week and maybe that’s the big point to be taken out of it: not to be overanalysing Tipperary. Have a look at what’s going on around. We’re going on about our business and Dublin are too.

“It’s a cliche but the next two points are the most important. Clare will be hungry for the next two points and we’ll need them to stay the right side of the table. Two wins and a draw could get a team into a quarter-final. It’s going to be interesting but hopefully we’ll be at the business end of it.”

The pleasing point for Tipp is that they are competing while learning. Michael Breen benefitted from a full outing at right-half back during an unrelentingly busy last half hour when Tipp were pinned back by a strong gale and that Galway resurgence. At the other end, John McGrath hit two points on his debut before making way for his brother Noel.

Kieran Bergin had a sensational first half and Brendan Maher proved himself a willing participant in the experiment of playing half-forward. Jason Forde struck three subtle points from play lining out at centre-half forward. With Patrick Maher due to come back, the jostling for the front six positions is going to be intense.

“It’s important to win when guys like Bonner Maher are missing. He’s a focal point of the attack. We found a new one today in young John McGrath. He contributed brilliantly, assisted the goals and got a couple of points. He’s a great outlet for us and Bonner will be important when he comes into it.”

After the match, Eamon O’Shea noted that between college games and injuries, he was reduced to numbers as low as 18 at training. Full training has yet to begin in other words. There is a certain amount of rooting around in the dark when it comes to league games. The two-week break will be welcome but afterwards, the division one series has an unbroken run of five games in as many weeks. What was once the gentle part of the season now seems hectic.

Full-blooded occasion

“Well, what break is there?” queried Gleeson. “There is the Fitzgibbon next weekend and we have had a lot of guys involved in that over the last five or six weeks. Some of them have played three matches this week so you’re not going to get much more work into them. You’re trying to keep lads off the treatment table and on the field. That’s important.”

In the short term, Tipp will train with 2013 All-Ireland champions Clare in mind. A visit to Ennis against a team smarting and desperate to get into a winning pattern again: it promises to be another full-blooded occasion.

“Winning is infectious,” Gleeson says. “When you win once, you want to win more and more. That’s going to be a big game for both counties. Nobody will want to come out the wrong side of it.”