GAELIC GAMES:BOTH MEN played down the incident, and, in fairness, it was only the briefest of contact, but the residual image from the eventual rerun of last September's All-Ireland hurling final was Liam Sheedy shoving Brian Cody back at Semple Stadium yesterday.
“Now, now gentlemen,” remonstrated the eyes of referee Barry Kelly as he immediately came between the pair in the 70th minute as a shemozzle broke out near the sideline.
Maybe Kelly told them it was only March, and the league, and not to be getting overexcited.
A few minutes later Tipperary had tied a neat little bow on the 1-14 to 0-13 victory over a Kilkenny team operating without the significant weight of Ballyhale Shamrocks’ Henry Shefflin, Cha Fitzpatrick and TJ Reid.
On the whistle, Sheedy immediately covered the 10 strides or so back into the solar system of the fuming Cody to thrust out his right paw and deliver a few choice words, which Cody accepted before looking away.
Neither man was going to chew down on the obvious bait afterwards, but both did inform the watching, listening and reading public that it is March.
No, actually it is early March.
Sure, what would they be pushing and shoving for in March?
“It wasn’t a classic by any shape or form,” said Sheedy. “For us, it was important after last Sunday (and defeat to Dublin). We were all severely disappointed – they’ve set themselves high standards over the last two years and we never really found a level at all last Sunday. We were just delighted to be able to come back out today and try to rectify a few things.
“You saw today that the lads really were hurting and some of that hurt might have come out in the jersey today. It’s two points – it’s good.
”A must-win game for us more so than Kilkenny – they had one victory already. They’re missing an awful lot of their big guns today, but we definitely showed in the last 10 minutes that we probably needed it that little bit more. I wouldn’t be getting carried away or anything, but it’s nice to get the two points.”
The goal proved important, coming just before half-time when Noel McGrath skipped in from the left wing to hand pass to Eoin Kelly who sent a bullet past PJ Ryan.
“It was a battle for anyone out there,” said Cody. “It was a flat-out game and huge commitment from both teams. It is early in March, so decent stuff.”
Galway next for Tipperary. Cork for Kilkenny.
“I’d say they’ll be looking at this year more so,” said Cody of the Rebels. “It is a huge game. We know the quality in Cork. Next Sunday will probably be something similar to today.”
Another huge game in March.
Football matters should have dominated the GAA landscape this weekend considering Kerry appear to have found a rhythm after the disruptions caused by the player exodus to Valhalla (Darragh Ó Sé) and Australia (Tadhg Kennelly and Tommy Walsh).
The value of Colm Cooper and Kieran Donaghy becomes more important in 2010 than ever, and both had decent scoring returns in the defeat of Derry. David Moran also showed well.
Up in Mayo, Dublin continued their unusual winning ways, for springtime anyway, thanks mainly to 18 wides from John O’Mahony’s charges, while Monaghan ensured Tyrone’s losing streak now numbers three thanks to a goal from Tommy Freeman.
Elsewhere, St Patrick’s Classical School, Navan, guided by principal Colm O’Rourke, captured their ninth Leinster senior football colleges’ title after a thrilling encounter at Parnell Park when they just edged past Dublin’s Coláiste Eoin.
See also pages 5, 6 and 7
