Tipp braced for 'very dangerous' Galway
All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final: Laois 0-18 Tipperary 3-32
BEWARE the lessons of history, says Liam Cahill, as Tipp march on to an All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway.
Two years ago, the Premier inflicted a record haul of 7-38 on Offaly in this fixture. They could've come closer to that mark against Laois on Saturday, but for the crossbar, post, and Cathal Dunne denying them further green flags.
Back in 2023, Cahill's high-flying side were brought crashing back to earth by Galway within a week. Indeed, the Blue and Gold have lost four of their last five championship meetings with the Tribesmen, plus a league final.
'Galway are a really, really dangerous opposition,' Cahill emphasised. 'Historically, with really strong Tipperary teams down the years, they've caused us great difficulty. We will not be going into this game with our eyes half-closed or not ready for what's coming. We know what's going to come from Galway.
'They will be very sore after the Leinster final. They'll feel they only hurled for 15 minutes, maybe less, and could have got something out of the game.
'So they're a very, very dangerous opposition for us.'
After surviving this preliminary quarter-final 'injury-free', the next week will be centred around 'freshening up' bodies to avoid a repeat.
Eoghan Connolly's absence was precautionary due to a 'soft tissue injury'. He was named among Tipp's three stand-by players in Portlaoise. Jake Morris, Noel McGrath, and Conor Stakelum were not called from the bench as they, too, got a day off.
In their absence, Jason Forde bagged 2-5, Darragh McCarthy tallied 0-9, while Sam O'Farrell netted his first Tipp goal and assisted another. Yet, Willie Connors was the standout performer, clipping 0-5 from midfield. They had 12 different scorers in total.
After this non-event fixture, both managers reached for the word 'application' in the first sentence of their post-match interviews to allocate praise. In the words of John Giles, they took the game on its merits.
It was over just beyond the four-minute mark, by which time Tipp had rattled an unanswered 1-5. They took their foot off the gas, and Laois kept within one point for the remainder of the half to trail 1-18 to 0-12 at midway.
'It was always going to be tough to react and respond considering the six-day turnaround and everything that goes with losing a final,' said Tommy Fitzgerald, still processing the fresh wound of their Joe McDonagh defeat. 'It was a big, big ask. A fresh Tipp team after being off for four weeks. It's a bit of a… maybe today isn't the day to speak about my opinions on that particular fixture. It is what it is.
'The boys came in Tuesday night, and we had a recovery session. We weren't even able to train, to be honest with you.'
Tipp had 26 shots in either half, mining 2-14 in the second, while twice belting the woodwork. A flagging Laois struck 0-6 in reply for a 23-point margin of defeat.
Like the first half, Tipp did their best work in the opening four minutes. With Cahill's corrections still fresh, they took care of business with goals from O'Farrell and Forde.
That presented Tipp with the opportunity to rest some players and trial others. Robert Doyle, Andrew Ormond, Ronan Maher, Craig Morgan, and McCarthy were called ashore.
In came Johnny Ryan, Peter McGarry, Brian McGrath, and Joe Fogarty for their first championship involvements of 2025.
For former football panellist McGarry, it marked his first senior appearance in the small-ball code. He put his hand up the highest for further minutes.
Showing impressive pace and passing, the St Mary's prospect teed up points for Alan Tynan and John McGrath before slotting one of his own. In between, he came close to a debut goal only to crack the post.
'We're still keeping one eye on making sure that we're unearthing as many players as we can,' noted Cahill.
John McGrath, who smacked the crossbar, Fogarty, and Oisín O'Donoghue also came close to green flags. Earlier, keeper Dunne had denied McCarthy and produced a trademark double save to foil Forde and John McGrath.
Laois did raise 40 shots at the posts, but converted just 45%. They ended with 17 wides.
Free-taker Tomás Keyes matched McCarthy's 0-9 tally, and midfielder Paddy Purcell came within one point of Connors' mark, shooting 0-4.
Rhys Shelly had one save to make, from Keyes, in order to ensure Tipp's first championship clean sheet in 12 attempts.
'The first step was just to give fellas a bit of time back,' said Cahill of their approach to the four-week layoff since securing Munster progression.
'A week break to get back into the swing of things and just come down from the exertions of a really intense Munster Championship. A number of players got County League action in and got back in among their own at home. Then, we ramped it up over the last two weeks.
'We've got a good block of training in, and it's a case now of really freshening up for Galway.'
Scorers for Laois: T Keyes (0-9, 6 frees); P Purcell (0-4); D Hartnett, P Delaney, J Walshe, J Keyes, A Dunphy (0-1 each).
Scorers for Tipperary: J Forde (2-5, 0-2 frees); D McCarthy (0-9, 6 frees, 1 65); W Connors (0-5); S O'Farrell (1-1); A Ormond, J McGrath (0-3 each); R Doyle, J Caesar, A Tynan, J Fogarty, P McGarry, O O'Donoghue (0-1 each).
LAOIS: C Dunne; C Comerford, P Delaney, D Hartnett; R Mullaney, L Cleere, J Walshe; D Dooley, P Purcell; FC Fennell, T Keyes, A Corby; M Dowling, B Conroy, J Keyes.
Subs: T Cuddy for Delaney (35, inj), J Lennon for Corby (49), A Dunphy for Dowling (51), P Dunne for Mullaney (57), M Phelan for Walshe (64).
TIPPERARY: R Shelly; R Doyle, B O'Mara, M Breen; S Kennedy, C Morgan, R Maher; J Caesar, W Connors; A Tynan, A Ormond, S O'Farrell; J Forde, J McGrath, D McCarthy.
Subs: J Ryan for Doyle (h-t), O O'Donoghue for Ormond (47), P McGarry for Maher (47), B McGrath for Morgan (54), J Fogarty for McCarthy (55).
Referee: C Mooney (Dublin).
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