Source: Nenagh Guardian

Tipperary senior hurling manager Liam Cahill has called on supporters to make Semple Stadium a true home advantage for his side in Sunday’s must-win Munster Championship clash with old rivals Cork.

Following the Rebels incredible victory over All-Ireland champions Limerick in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Saturday evening to keep their championship hopes alive, this round 4 clash is as old-school knockout as they come, as for whoever loses, they will be out of the championship.

Such was reaction to last Saturday’s result that 8,000 tickets were sold in the couple of hours after the game with another attendance in excess of 40,000 expected for what is the biggest and most meaningful championship clash between the sides since the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final.

“All we want is to make Thurles a real colosseum again and these boys will perform,” Liam Cahill said in a rallying cry to supporters to snap up the remaining tickets this week ahead of the hoards of Cork supporters.

“I will say to Tipperary supporters, get in behind them, support them and try and future-proof Tipperary hurling going forward and hopefully pick up a bit of silverware.”

“I know we’ve probably chugged along at times on dirty petrol as they say if it was a car, but we try so hard in training and it has to come out eventually on the field.”

Tipp will need the fans to turn out in big numbers as FBD Semple Stadium isn’t the home advantage as it should be as from the eight games round-robin played since 2018, Tipp have won just two (both in 2019 against Waterford and Limerick), two draws and four losses.

Cork’s win over Limerick means that Tipperary cannot afford to lose on Sunday as they would be eliminated prior to their final game at home to Clare.

A draw would see Tipperary remain in the hunt going into the final game which would become a winner-takes-all encounter as the head-to-head rule would come into play.

While Tipperary currently lie bottom of the round-robin table, such is the closeness of the Munster Championship is that if they win their two home games, they will reach a provincial final, so their fate is still very much in their own hands.