Nobody could honestly profess to having seen a team likely to be still playing football in the late summer's heat on the field at the Gaelic Grounds yesterday. As things transpired, Tipperary - who had dominated for much of the match - were lucky to escape with a ticket into the quarter-final of the Bank of Ireland Munster senior football championship after stumbling their way past Limerick's challenge.
Tipperary seemed to have a death wish, and were almost the architects of their own downfall. Four points up at half-time and seven points ahead with just eight minutes remaining, at which stage Limerick were reduced to 14 men with the dismissal of Nicky Kelly for a second bookable offence, Tipperary lurched over the finishing line with all the grace of a war-horse thrust into a derby.
"We took our foot off the pedal for the last 15 minutes and it nearly cost us, another poor performance like that and we won't win the next match," said Tipperary manager Colm Browne. The silence of the players in the dressing room told its own story.
Still, Tipperary's fate remains very much in their own hands. A quarter-final meeting with Waterford on May 31st offers them a real opportunity to reach the provincial final but, as manager Browne suggested, "only if we learn the lessons from what happened here." The irony is that, in flashes, Tipperary looked a very good team indeed and in attacker Declan Browne possess a real jewel.
However, one finely-polished gem doesn't constitute a tiara - and, although Waterford RTC student Browne dazzled with a personal scoring contribution of 1-6, the worrying aspect for Tipperary was their inability to win breaking ball around the middle of the field and, also, their failure to cope with Limerick's last ditch, desperate attempts that left the defence at odds with itself.
Indeed, Limerick showed tremendous character, particularly in the second half, to force the match to the wire. And, in hindsight, they'll probably wonder why Michael Reidy wasn't entrusted with their first penalty kick in the 40th minute. On that occasion, Pat Galvin fired hard but straight at Tipperary goalkeeper Philly Ryan; but, for the second penalty kick, in the 69th minute, Reidy finished with considerable panache.
Yet, Tipperary should never have found themselves in such dire straits. Their opening 15 minutes performance was extremely impressive: Derry Foley and John Costello, who sustained a head wound in the 50th minute that required on-the-pitch stitching and left him with a massive bandage, showed superb fielding and set up attacks; Brendan Cummins's runs were incisive and intelligent, and Browne's finishing was out of the top drawer.
The goal, in the seventh minute, epitomised all that was good about the flamboyant Tipperary approach. Cummins, gathering the ball some 60 yards from the opposition's goal, went on a headstrong solo run and then hand-passed to Browne, who smacked the ball to the net. That left Tipperary 1-2 to 0-1 ahead, and Limerick full-back Brian Begley was promptly switched off his opponent Browne, who'd scored all of the visitors' scores.
In fairness to Limerick, they never let their heads drop. The positional switch of full-forward Michael Doherty to midfield also made a difference and, instead of merely watching Foley and Costello win ball after ball, Limerick started to claim possession themselves. The mood was infectious, and their half-backs and half-forwards started to claim most of the 50-50 breaking ball.
By half-time, Limerick - with the prospect of the wind on their backs for the second-half - had managed to head into the dressing rooms just four points adrift, trailing by 1-8 to 0-7. And their determination was evident on the restart as they tore into the Tipperary defence. However, Ryan's save from Galvin's penalty gave Tipperary new life and they swept downfield to claim the opening two points of the new half, not surprisingly from the boots of Peter Lambert and Browne, the twin threat to the Limerick defence. That put Tipperary six points ahead, but Limerick again hit back with points from Damien Reidy and Galvin.
Tipperary, sensing a fightback, upped the ante. Lambert sold a dummy to Ger O'Connor and pointed, and then captain Brian Burke kicked two fine points to stretch their lead to seven points. Tipperary were to need every one of them as they slipped down a gear, and struggled to cope with Limerick's do-or-die finale.
Kelly was dismissed in the 62nd minute but, as so often happens with 14 men, Limerick were inspired. Tipperary weren't to score again and, in contrast, Limerick's Noel Frewen (who made a major impact when introduced as a substitute) and Timmy Cummins kicked fine points from play. Then, Costello fouled Frewen and Reidy smartly dispatched the penalty to leave just two points between the sides.
However, the final act of the match was to be Galvin's pointed 45. It appeared as if he'd intended to just float the ball into the danger zone - as virtually everyone was pushed forward - but the ball hung in the wind and scraped over the crossbar for a point. It enabled Tipperary to breathe a sigh of relief.
