The mood was dark among the home supporters at half-time in Semple Stadium yesterday.
Tipperary were nine points down to Cork and perhaps lucky to be so.
They had been outrun, outfought and outscored by opposition who looked hungry to inflict humiliation on a side that won the All-Ireland title just 20 months ago.
"This team is done," one home fan told RTÉ Sport, echoing the analysis of Ger Loughnane in the Sunday Game studio.
"Michael Ryan’s time in charge is finished," suggested another, anticipating a defeat that would have made qualification for the knock-out stages a tall task.
Ger Loughnane: "Tipperary have come to the end of the line.. there's no way back for them now - either today or in the championship" pic.twitter.com/ATp2gJxbAc
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) May 27, 2018
Even the most confident of Tipperary supporters wouldn’t have predicted the 35 minutes to come as Ryan’s team produced a comeback for the ages.
The defence started to shackle the previously rampant Shane Kingston and Seamus Harnedy, and the McGrath brothers spearheaded a second-half scoring spree.
They could have even sneaked a win but for a wonder save by Anthony Nash from sub Bubbles O’Dwyer though, having never led, Ryan was understandably relieved when Hawk-Eye confirmed debutant Jake Morris had secured the draw that keeps their summer alive.
"Where we were at half-time, we’re delighted to get something out of the game," the manager said afterwards. "It looked very ominous for us. Cork were all over us and we were chasing shadows.
"We had a very stern examination of ourselves at half-time and made a commitment to ourselves to put it all out there on the field and I think, to be fair to us, we did. We did our very best to win that much but we’re happy to take anything out of it.
"We were playing for ourselves. Great character shown but we’ll need to show a lot more."
Loughnane was happy to be proven wrong and hailed the determination shown by a decorated team that refused to go quietly.
"Sack the pundit," he joked afterwards. "They say that death concentrates the mind and at half-time that’s what was facing Tipperary. Fair play to them.
"They drew their half-back line back towards their full-back line, (brought the) midfielders back and crowded their defence. That left their lethal full-forward line with big space in front of it and boy did they exploit it.
"It’s incredible that a team that was so listless in the first half and lacked energy could come out like that. But it just shows they didn’t win Munster and All-Ireland Championships for nothing.
"They didn’t win it but it’s a season-saving point."
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Amid the euphoria of snatching survival from the jaws of defeat, problems remain for Ryan, not least the fitness of some of his key men.
Bonner Maher looked well off the pace and was replaced at half-time by Bubbles.
Callanan battled gamely throughout, setting up several scores for team-mates, but he still lacks a bit of sharpness and was often competing with two or more defenders for hit-and-hope long balls.
There’s still no sign of Cathal Barrett or Michael Breen.
Ryan made just that one substitution before the final minute, which would raise concern at the depth of talent in reserve.
The performances of Brendan Maher, especially when he moved to half-back, and the returning Mickey Cahill will provide encouragement however.
Tactical questions also persist, particularly around puck-out strategy.
The hosts persisted for far too long with dropping men back and allowing Nash go short to free players in the corners, with the result that Cork regularly worked the ball almost uncontested towards halfway – a strange advantage to give the opposition in a game where many players have the ability to score from their own half.
When they went man for man in the closing stages, Tipperary started to win ball from the Cork puck-outs, which begs the question why they didn’t start doing it earlier.
Brian Hogan seemed to be under instruction to launch most of his restarts high and straight down the middle, despite his forward colleagues rarely claiming possession.
A slow start to the season is not unusual for this Tipperary team. Last year, they began with a defeat to Cork but still reached the All-Ireland semi-finals, losing by a point to eventual champions Galway.
In 2014, just like this season, the Premier men were beaten by Limerick first day out but went all the way to the decider – eventually losing the replay to Kilkenny after an epic drawn encounter.
They will now be favourites to defeat a depleted Waterford ‘home’ side at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday and would then have their fate in their own hands - beating Clare at home on 10 June would guarantee at least third and a preliminary quarter-final.
Five-time All-Star Brendan Cummins thinks they might yet play a big part in this season’s Championship.
"To say they’re off the life support might be a bit extreme but they’re certainly starting to find their mojo again and the rest would want to look out," he warns.
What a game! All sides square at the end of the 70 minutes. Watch the Full-Time highlights of Tipperary v Cork here on GAANOW! pic.twitter.com/3KoKwqyUMk
— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 27, 2018
