Tipperary Hurling Tipperary GAA Premierview

Kilkenny 3-20 Tipperary 2-11 (23-04-06)

Kilkenny and Limerick will contest the League Final after they overcame Tipp and Clare, respectively, in Thurles today. In contrast to last week it was the first game that contained all the thrills, when Limerick fought back to force the game into extra time and then won by 3 points, the second game was stroll in the park for Kilkenny once Darragh Egan’s shot came back off the post early on. Tipp lined out as per the programme but Kilkenny made 1 change with Willie O’Dwyer replacing Michael Rice at wing forward.
Right at the start Kilkenny had to make a change when a high challenge on Noel Hickey by Darragh Egan saw him having to go off and be temporarily replaced by Donnacha Cody for the first 5 minutes of the game. The resulting puckout was caught by Comerford who flicked the ball over Cummins who was standing 15 yards off his line. Minutes later more sloppy play by the Tipp backs allowed Comerford to point. Tipp then had a great chance when a run by Eoin Kelly saw Darragh Egan’s shot come back off the upright and it was cleared. On 10 minutes Shefflin pointed a free after a late pull by Moloney saw Kilkenny lead by 1-2 to 0. Richie Mullaley pointed before disaster struck Tipp when in the 14 minute a John Carroll run was stopped the ball returned down the field and Cha Fitzpatrick had a clear run in on goals and duly buried it; 2-3 to 0-0. Webster was fouled and Eoin Kelly thankfully opened Tipp’s account with a point. Some very poor play by Michael Ryan saw Kilkenny through on goals and it took a brilliant double save by Cummins to keep the ball out. It went for a 65 which Lyng pointed and on the puck out the ball was put over the bar.
Diarmaid Fitzgerald came on for the injured Michael Ryan as a temporary blood sub. On the 20th minute Eoin Kelly got Tipp’s second free and had a wide soon after. Some very sloppy play by Declan Fanning allowed Eoin Larkin to point. Fanning suffered by being replaced by Conor O’Mahony at centre back, Michael Ryan came back on. Colin Morrissey and Kenny Dunne had wides before Aidan Fogarty easily got around Curran and pointed to leave it 2-7 to 0-2 after 25 minutes. Kilkenny then out over 3 points from Comerford and Willie O’Dwyer before Colin Morrissey had a run and 2 shots at goal all in vain. Cha Fitzpatrick made no mistake when he pointed. Tipp made their second change with Shane McGrath being replaced by John O’Brien. In the reshuffle Morrissey went centre forward. On the 34th minute Tipp got their first score from play when Kenny Dunne pointed over near the sideline. Willie O’Dwyer responded in kind, as injury time approached Tipp then had a mini revival with John O’Brien pointing after a Paul Kelly pass. Michael Ryan was very poor when Fogarty pointed. Tipp then got a break when a Kilkenny back touched the ball on the ground and Eoin Kelly made no mistake when he buried the free to the net to leave the half time score, after over 4 minutes of injury time, 2-13 to 1-4 in Kilkenny’s favour.
Things took an even more bizarre twist after the break when Diarmaid Fitzgerald replaced Webster at full forward! Kenny Dunne went in the corner and Egan went centre forward. Henry Shefflin duly continued as Kilkenny had laid off the first half with a pointed free. Ken Dunne caught a puck out and pointed. By the 40th minute Tipp had reeled off 2 more points from Paul and an Eoin Kelly free 2-14 to 1-7. After a Tommy Walsh push on Egan, Eoin Kelly pointed the free. Redser came on for Morrissey at midfield! Straight away he set up Paul Kelly for a point. Comerford settled Kilkenny with a point. With 20 minutes to go a Diarmuid Fitzgerald pass was flicked at McGarry’s goal but he put it out for a 65 which went wide. Kilkenny made a double switch with Michael Fennelly and Richie Power replacing Willie O’Dwyer and Richie Mullaly. A long clearance from Eamon Corcoran was expertly caught by Diramaid Fitzgerald but he weakly put his shot at McGarry, Eoin Kelly made no mistake with the rebound which he flashed to the net. Score 2-16 to 2-9. Darragh Egan had a great chance to point but with loads of time he missed.
Shefflin pointed before Eoin Reid came for Fogarty. Conor O’Mahony passed to Eoin Kelly who pointed. Tipp’s faint hopes of a come back were extinguished when Carroll picked out Redser but his shot was smothered by McGarry. With 10 minutes left Richie Power extended Kilkenny’s lead to 8 points. Tommy Walsh was replaced by PJ Delaney. Eoin Kelly and Cha Fitz traded points. Tipp made their last change with Woodlock on for Paul Kelly. A sloppy Eamon Corcoran clearance went out for a sideline. Both Curran and Maher went for it but Shefflin got it and buried it to the net, 3-19 to 2-11. Brendan Cummins saved the ball at the expense of a 65. Peter Cleere came on for Lyng before Comerford finished off the scoring with a point to leave the score, after 1 minute of injury time, 3-20 to 2-11 in Kilkenny’s favour.
So Kilkenny march on to the League Final against Limerick next Sunday and to be honest they would have learned more if they had taken on their U21’s in a training game in Nowlan Park. Kilkenny dominated all sectors of the field with Tommy Walsh, Derek Lyng and Comerford all outstanding. They learned their lesson with Cummins and shot only certain of goals otherwise they took their points. They also stayed well in front of Tipp and took their scores with ease and never really let Tipp back into the game in the second half. Their game next Sunday will let a lot more of their potential. However as Wexford had to play a relegation playoff, Tipp beat Offaly comfortably last week Kilkenny should cruise Leinster during the summer.
This was one of the worst displays by Tipp in recent years. Forget the second half this game was over after 10 minutes. Kilkenny were way more confident and superior in every aspect, fitness, tactically, and had the better players. It was men against boys for most of the game and having Babs and his 2 selectors standing still for the whole game was not very inspiring. At least during the League game in March Cummins was superb. Today however, it took until the 34th minute of the game to get a point from play, only 3 of the starting forwards scored, Tipp only got 6 scores from play in 75 minutes, Kilkenny scored 23 times and they dominated every sector of the field. Considering that Tipp are out in the Championship Sunday 2 weeks, it is way too late to be pushing the panic buttons although one has to wonder where the blame lies. Maybe the players aren’t good enough, despite 11 challenge games, 3 South East League games and 7 League games Tipp are not closer to a starting Championship 15 now than we were at the start of Babs reign.

Brendan Cummins: Was seriously at fault for the first gaol when chipped by Comerford. Pulled off 1 great double save in the first half but other than that well beaten.

Full backline: Maher was the best of the 6 backs, that’s not saying much though! Caught and cleared a lot of ball. The mind boggles as to how Michael Ryan was able to sty on the field for 70 minutes; too many times let Fogarty get the ball, get around him and point was badly caught out for the first goal. Curran had a poor game caught out too many times not nearly the player he was last year we need him to come right for the Championship.

Half backline: Was outstanding last week but inept sums up their display today. Corcoran did not lead by example, clearances poor: hitting the ball straight to Kilkenny players, not marking and a bad day all around. Fanning was woeful and duly replaced after 20 minutes. Moloney not a patch on last week well beaten by a more physical and cuter Kilkenny half forward line.

Midfield: Again inept. Shane McGrath was blown out of it in the physical stakes and replaced before the break without getting a decent puck of the ball. Paul Kelly was poor, did not cover in front of the half backs or make surging runs forward and while he scored 2 points was replaced.

Half forward line: Morrissey is not a wing forward but did nothing when switched midfield. John Carroll was poor but was out of it at wing forward, should have been left in the centre. Ken Dunne score Tipp’s first point from play but hardly touched the ball afterwards, again did not have it physically to cope with Kilkenny.

Full forward line: Eoin Kelly, again Tipp’s best player scoring 2-6 with 1-2 from play. Took both goals well and showed for the ball. Suffered from lack of quality ball going in to him. Darragh Egan scored a point when moved out to centre forward but missed a lot of chances as well. Webster got no ball in the first half and went off at the break.

Conor O’Mahony for Declan Fanning: Damage was done when he came on but he steadied the ship.
John O’Brien for Shane McGrath: Score 1 point and looked lively.
Diarmaid Fitzgerald for Webster: Spent 10 minutes at corner back as a temp blood sub for Michael Ryan. Was at full forward for the second half. Not even related to a forward though tried bravely and set up Tipp’s second goal.
Redser for Colin Morrissey: Started at midfield then went into the corner. Had 1 great chance but his shot was smothered. Not at the races and confidence shot.
Woodlock for Paul Kelly: Only on for the last 3 minutes.

So Tipp bow out after a very poor and disappointing League, for the second year in a row with a heavy defeat to Kilkenny. While not many Tipp fans expected a win, a whole hearted performance was expected. This was not delivered. Considering all the trouble in the backs, why was our 2nd best player of last year, Diramaid Fitz not put into the half back line to try and stop Kilkenny? What was the point of putting Redser at midfield and then raining balls down on the half forward? Why were Michael Ryan and Ken Dunne left on the field when it was obvious from early on that they were well out of their depth? Only Babs can answer these questions. With Limerick ahead of us, especially after a good performance over Clare, it will be a worrying few weeks ahead. Of the team that started 6 are not up to this level but considering the lack of alternatives, (comparing the 2 subs bench made grip reading from a Tipp point of view today), many of them will start in 3 weeks time. It will take a bit more than a few talks from Nicky and what ever other former Tipp greats are walking through Thurles on a Wednesday evening during Tipp training for Tipp to salvage anything from this season. The Championship approaches and for once Tipp will not be looking forward to it.

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Tipp v Kilkenny (23-04-06)

Tipp and Kilkenny face each other in the League Semi-Final on Sunday in Semple Stadium at 3.15, the ref is Barry Kelly from Westmeath. The game is preceded by the other Semi-Final between Clare and Limerick at 1.15. Extra time will be played in both games in the event of a draw. Due to the fact that 3 of the 4 teams are from Division 1A a draw was made and Tipp were drawn to face Kilkenny.

The sides have already met in this phase of the League in Thurles on 26th March when Kilkenny had an easy 9 point win 19-10. The hero on that day was Brendan Cummins who pulled off 5 top class saves in an otherwise shocking display by Tipp. The last meeting between these sides in the knock out stages of the League was in the 2003 Final in Croke Park where in a thrilling action packed game Tipp led well into the second half, but Kilkenny stormed back with a burst of goals to lead. A late John Carroll goal, (his second of the game), saw team lead by a point heading into injury time but late 2 Kilkenny points from Henry Shefflin saw them run out 5-14 to 5-13 winners. An interesting point from this game is that only 5 of the 18 Tipp players who featured that day are starting on Sunday; (Cummins, Maher, John Carroll and the 2 Kelly’s), Eamon Corcoran was suspended.
Kilkenny topped Division 1A and are unbeaten, having drawn with Limerick. They have JJ Delaney at full back but Noel Hickey is expected to return to the edge of the square possibly on Sunday. Tipp on the other hand seriously struggled to make the quarter finals and had a 4 point win over Offaly last week to get to this stage. The win over Offaly was well appreciated by Tipp fans as for the first time this year there was the sign of fast flowing hurling and the sight of Eoin Kelly back for his first start of the year was a relief.

While the display of the midfielders and the half forward line, (especially there scoring contribution), was a welcome change form the inactivity of previous games it should be taken with a pinch of salt considering the age and lack of experience of the Offaly players. Next Sunday against Kilkenny will tell a lot more. The Kilkenny midfielders and half back line will not be as loose as Offaly were last Sunday and while the Tipp midfielders will not get as much room they deserve another start after their display last week.

The Tipp team was changed last night:

Brendan Cummins.

Paul Curran, Philip Maher and Michael Ryan.

Eamon Corcoran, Declan Fanning and Hugh Moloney.

Paul Kelly and Shane McGrath.

Colin Morrissey, John Carroll and Ken Dunne.

Eoin Kelly, Michael Webster and Darragh Egan.

The team shows 1 change from the side that beat Offaly last week. Captain and corner forward Redser is dropped and is replaced by Kildangan’s Darragh Egan. Eamon Corcoran is vice captain of the team and stands in as captain on Sunday. While it comes as no surprise that Redser is dropped, he has not played a good game for Tipp all year, he was played out of position at corner forward last Sunday. He did get an amount of ball but never looked liked using it. Of the 6 forwards last Sunday he was the poorest on the day and really can have no qualms about being dropped. Hopefully this will take some of the pressure off him and he will be back on form come the Championship. I was surprised that it was not John O’Brien who started as he played well when he came on as a sub v Offaly.

It’s disappointing that Diarmaid Fitzgerald did not get a start, as one of our best players last year he needs to be starting games. I thought that he may have been started in place of Michael Ryan at corner back who was weak enough against Offaly. Still he gets another chance. Declan Fanning gets another chance at centre back and now is odds on to claim this jersey for the season. Shane McGrath and Paul Kelly had an extremely productive partnership last weekend scoring 9 points but is highly unlikely that they will get as much space or broken ball against the likes of Tommy Walsh and Derek Lyng. I still think that Colin Morrissey and Paul Kelly are Tipp’s best midfield partnership.

Morrissey did his best work last week getting onto the loose ball, powering towards goals or shooting. He is not good under the high dropping ball. Darragh Egan is given a chance to stake a claim for a longer spell in the corner and although he is a good hurler I cannot see him coping well with the close attentions of the Kilkenny corner backs. In the half forward line the 2 wing forward positions are still up for grabs. John Carroll had his best game in a long while last Sunday and hopefully this will continue. As I said before Morrissey’s best position is midfield and the 2 wing forward positions should be between; Redser, John O’Brien, Seamus Butler and Shane McGrath.

Kilkenny will not name their team until later in the week. While this game is welcome preparation in terms of the Championship, and will tell a lot more of the team, it will probably be a step too far to expect Tipp to beat Kilkenny. Kilkenny will be that half a yard sharper and more clinical than Tipp have experienced so far in the League. While the game will not be as one sided as the League meeting between the sides a month ago I don’t think that Tipp have enough to beat Kilkenny. So Kilkenny to win by 4 points.
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Tipperary 2-21 Offaly 3-14

Tipperary joined Clare, Kilkenny and Limerick in the League semi-finals
after a 4 point win over Offaly in Thurles today in front of a decent sized
crowd. Tipp made one change beforehand with Hugh Moloney replacing the
injured Benny Dunne at wing back.
Tipp were first on the scoreboard when a slap to John Carroll saw Paul
Kelly point the free. He followed up moments later with a long range point
from play. Bergin nearly got through for a goal but his shot was smothered.
A foul by Hugh Moloney saw Brian Carroll point a free for Offaly's first
score. They then followed it up with 2 points from Brian Murphy and Dylan
Hayden to go ahead. Morrissey had a wide before a foul on Ken Dunne saw Paul
Kelly point the free. Tipp then missed a great goal opportunity when a run
through the heart of the Offaly defence saw John Carroll pass to Webster who
flicked the ball wide. Fanning fumbled a puck out and Bergin nipped in to
score. Eoin Kelly then got chances and pointed the first of them. Redser
though being fouled broke a ball to Shane McGrath who put Tipp ahead on 15
minutes 5-4.
John Carroll then gave a great crossfield ball passed to Eoin Kelly who
rifled the ball to the net. An Alan Egan free brought the deficit back to a
goal and Hugh Moloney got his first score with a pass from John Carroll. On
25 minutes Egan pointed a free before moments later he out sprinted Michael
Ryan and buried the ball to the back of the net to tie up the game. Ken
Dunne, Eoin Kelly, and Redser all had wides while Paul Kelly was booked.
Declan Fanning did not clear and Brendan Murphy pointed. Offaly made their
first change when Michael Cordiel replaced the ineffective Aidan Hanrahan at
midfield. Redser set up Kenny Dunne who levelled it with 5 minutes of the
half left. Eoin Kelly had a wide before making up for it moments later when
he passed to John Carroll who flicked the ball to Webster who scored a goal.
Colin Morrissey got a yellow card for a late shoulder and Offaly pointed the
free. Rory Hannify got the last score of the half with a superb point Redser
missed a great chance before the ref blew after 4 minutes of injury time
with Tipp ahead 2-7 to 1-8.
Neither team made any change at the start of the second half. Brendan
Carroll got the first score of the half with a point but a Paul Kelly free
restored Tipp's advantage. Morrissey was wide before Egan pointed for
Offaly. Brendan Cummins caught a great high ball before Eoin Kelly made it
2-9 to 1-10 after 40 minutes. Colin Morrissey and Shane McGrath added points
before Brendan Carroll shot Offaly back to within appoint with a goal. John
Carroll was fouled and Eoin Kelly pointed the free. Tipp made their first
change with Darragh Egan replacing Redser. Eamon Corcorans poor pass was
intercepted and Bergin pointed. Shane McGrath and Ken Dunne pointed before
Cordial replied for Offaly. With 20 minutes to go Damien Murray replaced
centre forward O'Hara. Webster pointed after a pass from McGrath. The sides
were level after a sideline cut was fumbled by Eamon Corcoran and Offaly
goaled; 2-15 to 3-12. 2 quick points from Shane McGrath and Ken Dunne
settled Tipp.
Webster and McGrath both had wides. The Tipp forwards changed around with
Eoin Kelly and Carroll swapping positions. John O'Brien replaced Colin
Morrissey who went off with what looked like a hand injury. Webster caught
turned and pointed and moments later set up Ken Dunne to put well in command
2-19 to 3-12 with 5 minutes to go. John O'Brien took a return pass from
Shane McGrath and pointed. Parlon replaced Hyden on the Offaly team. A poor
Declan Fanning clearance saw Egan score. Tipp made their last change with
the welcome return of Diarmaid Fitzgerald at centre forward in place of John
Carroll with Eoin Kelly returning to the corner. Cordial cut the ball over
the bar to put only a goal in it and with time just up Kenny Dunne secured
the win when he landed a point to leave Tipp 2-21 to 3-14 winners.
The Offaly management team, Jaochim Kelly, Daithi Regan and boss John
McInytre will be happy with this display. They scored 3-14 and were only a
score behind heading into stoppage time. They could have scored more than
three goals as at times they easily sliced through the Tipp backs. They
dominated the half backline for most of the first half but failed to show in
on the score board. For such a young team, the likes of Ger Oakley and the
Whelehans to come back in, and one that was playing Division 2 hurling last
year this is a good indicator for the summer.
Babs will be pleased with many aspects of the win. Firstly 8 different
players scored including 4 forwards. Tipp scored 23 times and had come
through a tough enough game not wilting like in previous games when the
pressure appeared. Still there problems visible; the half forward line was
very poor in the first half, Redser is not a corner forward, and Offaly
managed 3 goals.

Tipp team:
Brendan Cummins: Was beaten 3 times.

Full back line: Michael Ryan found Alan Egan a handful. Was caught out for
the first gaol and was switched soon after with Paul Curran. Paul Curran had
a good enough game. Philip Maher had another good game on Joe Bergin, there
was no way he was going to let him score 2-3 this week, early in the second
half Bergin went out centre forward.

Half back line: Hugh Moloney played his best game of the League so far and
even scored a point. Another display like this next week could mean a
Championship start. Declan Fanning not as commanding as is expected from a
centre back, fumble a puck out from Cummins which led to an Offaly point and
some of his clearances lacked direction. Eamon Corcoran made 1 superb
interception in the second half when Offaly seemed destined to score a goal,
but also fumbled a cut which led to Offaly's last goal and also passed to an
Offaly player who pointed.

Midfield: Shane McGarth revelled in the lose play scoring 4 points as did
Paul Kelly who was back to his best reading the game superbly.

Half forward line: John Carroll while he did not score set up both goals
with some great play. Worked very hard at centre forward and kept Rory
Hannify fairly quiet, was quiet in the corner and was replaced late on.
Colin Morrissey made a few great runs but they did not lead to anything,
scored a point but went off with a hand injury. Ken Dunn e revelled in the
loose play and scored 5 points.

Full forward line: Eoin Kelly while not very fit took about 20 minutes to
get into the game but showed some great touches. His goal was worth the
entrance fee alone a superb catch and shot on the turn from a John Carroll
pass. Scored 2 points form play as well as a free. More of the same for the
rest of the summer please. Webster had a good game still odes not use a high
percentage of the ball he gets but still ended up with 1-2 from play. A
great target man. Redser was bottled up in the corner, got heaps of ball but
was still the weakest of the Tipp forwards. Seems lacking in confidence when
going for the ball. One wonders if the captaincy is putting him under
pressure.

Subs: Darragh Egan for Redser: played the last quarter but was very quiet.

John O'Brien for Colin Morrissey: Went in at wing forward and scored a good
point.

Diarmaid Fitzgerald for John Carroll: His first appearance of the League
when he appeared at centre forward. Did not touch the ball but is sure to
feature more prominently next weekend.

So after a tough encounter Tipp advance to the League semi finals. At the
moment I don't know who or where Tipp are playing. As Babs stated aim for
the League is to get his Championship 15 known hopefully he is a bit closer
tonight and with Seamus Butler on the way back and Diaramid Fitzgerald back
on the team the semi final will be clash to look forward to. It will be a
chance for Redser to get back his form, and some players to cement their
grasp on Championship starting places for May.


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Tipperary v Offaly (16-04-06)

Tipp face in Offaly in the first of the League quarter-final’s in Thurles on Sunday at 2.00 as part of a double header with Waterford and Limerick involved in the other game. Clare and Kilkenny are gone directly into the semi finals and await the winners of these games Sunday week.

Offaly qualified for this phase of the League by finishing second in Division 1A. They started off with a high scoring draw against Cork, lost 1 game and guaranteed their place with a comprehensive demolition of Waterford in Birr last Sunday 3-14 to 0-15. The man of the match and top scorer was Joe Bergin who netted 2-3 from play. Brian Carroll also impressed with 5 points. The Offaly manager is Lorrha native John McIntyre who will know most of the Tipp team as he is still involved with the Lorrha club. Offaly have a very young team at present, Bergin is a teenager, last Sunday’s full back Cleary and centre back Brady are also new on the scene. Offaly have brought in a lot of new players with none of the Whelehan’s on view but still have some very experienced players in view with the 2 Hannify’s; Rory at wing back and Gary commanding as ever from midfield.

The last League meeting was 2 years ago in Birr when Offaly edged Tipp out. The last meeting in the knockout stage of the League was on a very wet day in limerick in early 1991 when in a shockingly bad game Offaly beat Tipp by 1-7 to 0-7. Babs was the Tipp manager that day, with current selector John Leahy involved. On the Offaly side Dathi Regan lined out and is a selector for Offaly at present. Of course more recently in 1998 Babs was Offaly manager before the now infamous sheep in a heap comment saw his removal and Offaly subsequently went on and won the All-Ireland Final. The most recent Championship meeting between the sides was in the 2003 All-Ireland quarter-final in Croke Park where with goals from Brian O’Meara and John Carroll Tipp withstood a late brace of Offaly goals to win 2-16 to 2-11.

Tipp have scarped through to this phase by beating the 2 teams below them in the League standings, Laois and Antrim and a scrappy draw against Limerick. They had a high scoring 4-18 to 1-15 win over Galway last Sunday in Kilshelan in a challenge game, with a much changed team from the Laois game.

The Tipp team was announced last night and is as follows:

Brendan Cummins

Paul Curran, Philip Maher and Michael Ryan.

Eamonn Corcoran, Declan Fanning and Benny Dunne.

Paul Kelly and Shane McGrath.

Colin Morrissey, John Carroll and Ken Dunne.

Eoin Kelly, Micheal Webster and Ger O'Grady.

The named team shows 7 changes from the side that started against Laois. Brendan Cummins returns between the posts. Michael Ryan gets a chance to battle against his neighbours at corner back with Eamon Buckley losing out. In the half backline Conor O’Mahony loses out to Declan Fanning and Hugh Moloney is replaced by Benny Dunne. With the reshuffle further up the 2 Kelly’s and Colin Morrissey replace James Woodlock, Eoin Brislane and Darragh Egan.

Despite having a fairly consistent team throughout the League Babs has now totally changed that with switches involving most of the team. Maybe Babs say something in the win over Galway which changed his thinking about certain players but some of the selections for Sunday make no sense. Declan Fanning after being tried corner back, centre forward, full forward now gets a chance in his best position of centre back. If he is going to be played here for the Championship then surely he should have got more chances here rather than giving Conor O’Mahony 5 games with the No. 6 jersey. Tipp will also miss his long range free taking ability as he has scored at least 2 points per game so far. Benny Dunne returns to where he does his best hurling for Toome the half back line. I would prefer to see Morrissey in his best position of midfield and not wasted at wing forward.

Again the half forward line looks shockingly weak. Ken Dunne is not a good man to win puck outs and one has to wonder if tieing Redser into the corner when he should be out on the wing. A switch between he and Kenny Dunne is a possibility. Webster holds onto his place after a good return against Laois and is a relief to see the 2 Kelly’s restored to their rightful positions where they can wreak the most damage.

Of the team named above I don’t think that the 2 Dunnes, Michael Ryan and Shane McGrath are up to this level. Although considering the continued injury to Murty Maher and lack of alternatives means Michael Ryan may hold onto the No. 4 jersey. Diarmaid Fitz should return in the half back line and Colin Morrissey should return to midfield to partner Paul Kelly. In the forwards Seamus Butler should return from injury, leaving 1 spot up for grabs.

This should be a close game with Offaly will be eager to impress after being in Division 2 last year and John McIntyre anxious to get one over on his native county after being snubbed for the manager’s job the last few times it came up. Tipp and Babs will also be out to impress on Sunday after coming under pressure for Tipp recent disastrous games in Thurles v Kilkenny and Galway and with the Limerick game only a month away. A press report today also states that Nicky English is also helping out the team at the moment, whether this is Babs pressing the panic button remains to be seen. After Babs recent media “did he/dint he say it” media outbursts the action will hopefully be carried out on the pitch on Sunday, however I think a hunger Offaly side will edge out Tipp by 3 points.


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Laois v Tipperary (02- 04 - 06)

Tipp face in Laois in Portlaois on Sunday at 3.30 in the last round of
games in this years National Hurling League 1B. The last meeting between
sides was in the 2003 Championship in Portlaois where Tipp got there back on
track with a comprehensive 3-28 to 0-13 win over the hosts.
Laois are bottom of the League have lost all their games and will be
involved in relegation playoffs. They have been in the paper recently when
turmoil and unrest in the camp meat that some players left the panel despite
this they rallied and only lost by 4 points to Limerick in the last round.
Tipp have not done much better with only 3 points from their games and some
shocking displays along the way as well. Despite this Tipp can still qualify
for the League Quarter Finals if the 2 teams on 4 points, Galway and Antrim
are beaten by Kilkenny and Limerick. This would put Tipp a point ahead of
them and an undeserved place in the quarter finals. If Tipp do get through
their opponents will not be known for another week as the rearranged game
between Cork and Wexford takes place on Sunday with the rest of the games in
Division 1A being put off until Sunday week.
While Babs has now come out and publicly criticised the players for their
performance for the second time in the League he is either playing the poor
mouth or else there is something seriously wrong with the personnel on the
panel. With the exception of the draw with Limerick the Tipp players have
shown no bit of life or fight during the League and only seem to be drifting
from match to match with no set game plan. Hopefully this is not true of the
manger and his selectors or else we are in for a major shock on the 14th of
May against Limerick. Babs stated aim at the start of the year was to get a
settled Championship 15 out of the League and from what we have seen so far
after 4 games he is not even close to this especially in the forwards where
the Tipp return is some of the lowest in the League and the Tipp forwards
seem unable to score from play, relying on frees to account for half of the
tallies in most games.
The Tipp team was announced last night and is as follows:
Brendan Cummins.
Paul Curran, Philip Maher and Eamon Buckley.
Eamonn Corcoran, Conor O'Mahoney and Hugh Moloney.
Shane McGrath and James Woodlock.
John Carroll, Eoin Brislane and Ger O'Grady.
John Devane, Declan Fanning and Darragh Egan.
The named team shows 5 changes from the side that lost last
Sunday. In the full backline Michael Ryan is replaced by Eamon Buckley,
Drom, who gets his first chance of the year to impress. In the half backline
Paul Kelly loses out to Hugh Moloney who will be hoping to carry through his
impressive Fitzgibbon form. In a rearranged midfield; Shane McGrath moves
from wing forward and is joined by James Woodlock, Drom, getting his first
League start. Liam England has been dropped and Colin Morrissey was
unavailable for selection. In the half forward line Eoin Brislane gets a
surprise recall at centre forwards despite failing utterly to impress in the
opening 2 games of the League. John Carroll returns from injury and lines
out at wing forward. In the other positional switch John Devane is bizarrely
named at wing forward with John O'Brien being dropped.
This is not a settled team. Up to No 7 looks solid with
Eamon Buckley getting a chance after being on the panel for the past number
of years. Again midfield is much changed with both players having a chance
of nailing down a position, however the best players for this position are
Paul Kelly and Colin Morrissey. Our full forward consists of 1 natural
forward; Darragh Egan who surprisingly is given another chance after missing
so many frees against Galway, a centre back, Fanning and a full back in John
Devane! Considering this could be the last competitive game for 6 weeks for
Tipp we are no where near knowing the Championship 15.
While Tipp should have enough to beat a Laois side that have
struggled all year and are "unhappy" with the coaching methods of Dinny
Cahill whether they have enough firepower up front in a makeshift forward
line to put themselves in with a shout of a quarter final spot remains to be
seen. So Tipp to win but results elsewhere to conspire against a quarter
final spot.

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Tipperary 0-12 Galway 3-11

Galway easily overcame a lacklustre Tipp challenge in this poor game played
in very wet conditions in Thurles today. The game was live on TG4, this and
the appalling weather contributed to the paltry attendance. Both sides lined
out as selected.
Tipp were first off the mark when John Devance pounced on the lose ball to
point after 30 seconds, David Tierney caught the puck out and levelled. A
great run by Colin Morrissey saw a pass to Fanning who pointed. Both sides
then traded wides, Tipp's chances coming from Paul Kelly and John O'Brien.
Declan fanning then made a great catch was wrestled to the ground and Egan
scored from the resultant free, to put Tipp ahead 3-1 after 10 minutes.
Galway equalised with a Richie Murray score and a free from Ger Farragher.
Corcoran was fouled and Conor O'Mahony pointed the long range free. Both
Devane and Egan had wides before Galway snapped up a poor Tipp clearance and
Ger Farragher blasted to the net to put Galway ahead 1-3 to 4 points after
20 minutes.
Fanning shot wide after good build up play. Cloonan pointed for Galway
before a foul on Redser saw Egan bring the gap back to 2 points. A Fanning
shot was cleared out by O'Donoghue and Conor O'Mahony pointed the resultant
65 to put the minimum between the sides. Fanning got booked for a high
tackle on Damien Joyce. Galway extended their lead with points from the
Healy brothers before a shoot from David Tierney found its way past Brendan
Cummins into the net. The last score of the game was when Egan was fouled
by Damien Joyce who got booked and Egan got up to score the free. Half time
score Galway 2-6 Tipp 0-7.
Both sides lined out as the first half. Tipp got off to a shocking start
with 2 frees going wide from Darragh Egan, Corcoran wide, Conor O'Mahony
wide, Cummins pulled off a great save, went for a 65 which was also put
wide! Tipp made their first change with Liam England coming off, Paul Kelly
to midfield and Damien McGrath going wing back. Redser and Paul Kelly made a
complete mess of a free before the first score of the second half came from
Niall Healy after 10 minutes. John O'Brien got his first score with a good
point from a difficult angle. Brendan Cummins had to pull off another save.
Shane McGrath and Darragh Egan came off and were replaced by Benny Dunne and
Eoin Kelly with 20 minutes to go.
Tipp put on a bit of a burst and had points from Eoin Kelly, free and from
play while Galway responded with a pointed free. With 10 minutes to go a
poor Galway clearance fell to Paul Kelly who pointed to only leave a goal in
it, 11 to 2-8. David Forde gave Galway a bit of breathing space with
appoint. Ken Dunne replaced John O'Brien in the corner. Damien McGrath
fumble let Tierney in to score a point. Galway then made sure of the win
when a high ball into the square saw Brendan Cummins and Philly Maher
collide and Richie Murray finish the ball to the net. Eoin Kelly had a wide
from a bad angle. Richie Murray had a shot save by Cummins but he collected
the loose ball and pointed. The game became fragmented as Galway threw on 3
subs but it did not effect the outcome. With the 3 minutes of injury time up
Eoin Kelly tried for goal from a long way out but O'Donoghue tipped it over
the bar and the ref blew up. Final score Galway 3-11 Tipp 0-12. David
Tierney got Man of the Match from TG4.
Conor Hayes will be well pleased with this win. They have now leapfrogged
Tipp in eth League standings and have a fair chance of getting to the League
quarter finals as they play Kilkenny next Sunday and they have already
qualified. Both his corner forwards; Niall Healy and Farragher pointed at
will and with very little ball going onto the Tipp forwards they always
looked like comfortable once they scored the first goal. With the Portumna
players to come back always will have a long season ahead.
Babs and Co. will not be happy with this display. Even allowing for the
poor conditions again too many players failed to show up and perform on the
day. Tipp did not seem up for this game. A win was vital for Tipp as Tipp
have only a very, very slight chance of progressing further. While the backs
were not too bad midfield was a complete washout, winning no ball what so
ever, meaning that no ball went into the full forward line after the first
20 minutes. Half forward line was again poor, Devane looks too slow and
awkward to be a centre forward and is not a natural scoring forward. What
killed Tipp was the 5 minutes before half time and the first 10 of the
second when Darragh Egan missed 3 scorable frees, Conor O'Mahony missed a
free and Redser had a poor wide. These chances would have levelled the game.

Cummins was at fault for the second goal but saved at least 3 other chances
by putting his body in the way of the ball.

Full back line: Philly Maher had Cloonan in his pocket for all the game,
although that should be qualified as Cloonan looks a pale shadow of what he
was 5 years ago. Paul Curran did ok. Michael Ryan was no where to be seen as
Farragher got the first goal. Other than that I don't remember him getting
the ball in hand for the rest of the game.

Half back line: Paul Kelly is way too lose for wing back and only he knows
what he was trying to do with that free that he and Redser played keep bal
in the second half. Spent most of the second half at midfield. Conor
O'Mahony scored 2 good frees and missed another. Solid in open play but
struggles under the high ball. Corcoran had one of his better days and was
the pick of the backs, had 1 silly wide at the start of the second half when
passing would have been the better option.

Midfield: Colin Morrissey started off very well and set up Fanning for a
point. Totally faded out of it after that. Liam England is not related to a
senior intercounty hurler.

Half forward Line: Shane McGrath very poor game never got into it. Redser
had another very frustrating day at the office. Was well bottled up when he
got the ball and did not score. John Devane had a lot of chances in the
first half and while he did get a point he will never be Tipp's answer in
the full forward line. Will always struggle rising the ball with only 1 hand
on the hurley.

Full forward line: John O'Brien only got the ball twice and did well to get
a point. Darragh Egan started off very brightly with 3 pointed frees but the
easy ones he missed either side of the break speeded up his exit. Fanning
started off very brightly drawing a few frees and scoring a good point but
the lack of ball meant that he was spectator for the second half.

Damien McGrath for Liam England: went wing back. Looked lively, but way too
prone to give away possession and Diarmaid Fitzgerald is by far the better
option here.
Eoin Kelly for Shane McGrath: Saws a lot about the Tipp starting forwards
that in only 20 minutes he scored 2 points to make him the highest scoring
forward from play on the day. Still a class act although his lack of hurling
may be a cause of worry come May.

Benny Dunne for Darragh Egan: on for last 20 minutes but did not touch the
ball.

Ken Dunne for John O'Brien: did not touch the ball.

So Tipp slump to another loss and another shabby performance in Semple
Stadium. Tipp's game was summed up when at the start of the second half the
ball fell to Eamon Corcoran, who went for a point, (put the ball about 15
yards wide), while he made no attempt to pick out any colleague in the full
forward line. The lack of ball that went into the forwards was a shocking
reflection of the ball that Tipp did win and did not use. It was not that
Galway were that step above Tipp they just took their chances. Liam Donghue
did nothing except puck out the ball until Eoin Kelly arrived and was well
into injury time before he had anything to do. The major worry for Tipp now
is that key Championship players like Diarmaid Fitzgerald, the 2 Kelly's and
Webster will have very little hurling played heading into the Championship.
Considering the hassle that Laois are having at the moment that game will
tell very little about this Tipp team.


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Tipperary v Galway 26-03-06 preview Knocknagow

Tipp and Galway face each other in the fourth round of the National Hurling League on Sunday in Semple Stadium in Thurles with a 3.30 throw in. the teams met twice last year once in the League game in Salthill and in the All-Ireland quarter Final in Croke Park. In the league game Tipp went in as underdogs but surprised Galway on a very wet day winning 3-16 to 0-19. Tipp were in total control in the first half with Mark O’Leary scoring 2 goals and Michael Webster scoring the other as Tipp lead 3-7 to 0-11 at the break. In the second half despite a shocking string of wides Tipp held out with a late burst of points held out for their last League win of 2005. In the championship Tipp lost a game that was very winnable 2-20 to 2-18. Tipp owned the ball in the first half and with goals from Tommy Dunne and an Eoin Kelly free lead 2-9 to 0-10 at the break. Tipp lead by 6 points 15 minutes into the second half but a final quarter collapse and some baffling switches by the Tipp management saw Tipp crash tamely out and Galway go on to take the scalp of Kilkenny before losing to Galway in the All-Ireland Final.
Galway have not had a good League to date and are in second last position with only 1 win to date. They lost their first 2 matches to Antrim and Galway by a point and then hammered Laois 3-12 to 0-5 in the last round, (Richie Murray and Ger Farragher got the goals). If they have any ambitions in the League then they have to win on Sunday. They will be boosted this year with the return of Eugene Cloonan to the panel and also last Friday when Portumna became the fifth Galway side to win the club Ireland with a well merited win over Newtownshandrum. It is unlikely that the Canning’s and the Hayes’s will be back for this game but the boost Galway received will surely put an extra pep in their step on Sunday.
Tipp have 3 League points from a draw, loss and a win in the last round against Antrim by 4 points. While the conditions were horrendous Tipp’s main problem again was scoring from play with Darragh Egan the only starting forward to score a point from play. Tipp had a game last Sunday when they drew 1-21 with Clare in Templederry with what was pretty much a second strength team. To qualify for the League quarter finals Tipp have to win this game and the game next week against Laois, (which will not tell much considering the turmoil that they are in at present). Tipp need the extra games as a lot of players require game time before the Championship, Eoin Kelly, Michael Webster and Diarmaid Fitzgerald. A league quarter final place would give the team more games into April.
The Tipp team was announced last night and is as follows:
Brendan Cummins.
Paul Curran, Philip Maher and Michael Ryan.
Eamonn Corcoran, Conor O'Mahoney and Paul Kelly.
Liam England and Colin Morrissey.
Shane McGrath, John Devane and Ger O'Grady.
John O'Brien, Declan Fanning and Darragh Egan.
The team shows 4 changes from the side that overcame Antrim. Paul Kelly returns to the position that he first came to prominence in 2000 at wing back. He replaces the injured Diarmaid Fitzgerald. I am surprised at this as he should be in midfield with Morrissey as Kelly is too lose for wing back and his long range point scoring ability would be better off from midfield. Damien McGrath should have got the nod at wing back. For the first time in the League Tipp keep the same midfield partnership in Colin Morrissey and Liam England. While England tries hard he is just not up to this standard. With Seamus Butler and John Carroll injured and Eoin Kelly on the bench the forward line looks a bit slack with half forward line different from the Antrim game. Redser returns as captain with John Devane at centre forward where he was completely and utterly destroyed last year in the Championship v Galway. Shane McGrath gets another start after coming on as a sub in most games. Despite a poor showing at centre forward v Antrim Declan Fanning gets the No. 14 jersey. A bit of a waste really as he played the first 2 games at corner back, he is a natural centre back and now is a full forward! Conor O’Mahony will have to keep up his good start to the League as he may come under pressure after Templederry native Michael Ryan display at centre back for Portumna. However with 4 games in a row with the No. 6 jersey he seems set for this jersey in the Championship opener.
With only 1 guaranteed game after Sunday the Tipp team would want to be getting a settled look. It will be interesting to see how Michael Ryan gets on at corner back against some like Ger Farragher. If he is half the calibre of player that his namesake was during the 90’s then we will have no worries. That half forward line will not win a Munster Championship game. Still with John Carroll, Butler, Eoin Kelly and Webster to come in things might not be too bad. These 4 players plus Darragh Egan and Redser will probably start v Limerick in May in the forward line .
While Tipp have to win this game I can see them finding scorers hard to come by unless Eoin Kelly is brought on. Only Redser, John O’Brien and Darragh Egan are natural forwards. Galway with the likes of Eugene Cloonan, Murray, Farragher and Tony Og Regan will be a hard nut to crack and Conor Hayes will not want to lose this one. Unfortunately while I hope that Tipp win Galway buoyed by Portumna’s success will probably win by 3 points.


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Tipperary 0-10 Kilkenny 0-19
Tipperary and Kilkenny played in the second round of the League today in a freezing cold Semple Stadium today. The crowd was small which considering the weather and the fact that the game was on TG 4 was not surprising. Tipp made 1 change before hand Eamon Corcoran was not able to start due to his injury last week and was replaced by Hugh Moloney at wing back. Tipp played with the aid of the wind in the first half.Tipp applied all the initial pressure but had wides from Conor O'Mahony Eoin Brislane before a free from Seamus Butler opened the scoring after a foul on Colin Morrissey. Ken Dunne had a bad wide before Brendan Cummins pulled down Eoin Larkin but redeemed himself with saving the penalty which Richie Power eventually pointed to level the scores after 10 minutes. A wild pull by Kenny Dunne saw him get a yellow card and John Dalton pointed the free. Philly Maher then pulled down Richie Power and Brendan Cummins again diverted the ball out for a 65 which Dalton put wide. Aidan Fogarty got a Kilkenny point before Redser had a great catch, was fouled and Butler pointed to make it 3-2 in Kilkenny's favour.Kilkenny then upped the pace with 3 points in 5 minutes. Firstly Cha Fitzpatrick got a point off Philly Maher, then Richie Mullaley pointed and a poor Maher saw Cha Fitz point. Eventually in the 20th minutes Tipp got their first point from play when Colin Morrissey passed to Benny Dunne who pointed. Johnny Enright was wide and was yellow carded soon after. Cha Fitz found Richie Power and only 6 yards out Brendan Cummins pulled off a great save but Aidan Fogarty eventually pointed. Cha Fitz pointed to leave it 8-3 in Kilkenny's favour. Hugh Moloney then fumbled on the 13 yard line and Richie Power pulled on the ball but Brendan Cummins brought off a great reflex save. He saved again from Cha before Richie Power, free, extended Kilkenny's lead. Eoin Reid had a bad wide before Brendan Cummins fumbled and the ball went out for a 65. An Eoin Reid point left it 10-3 to Kilkenny at the break.Tipp made 3 much needed changes at the break with Shane McGrath on for Eoin Brislane at midfield, John Carroll on for Colin Morrissey and Dara Egan on for Johnny Enright. Kilkenny got the first score before a Seamus Butler free. Tipp then got 2 frees with Conor O'Mahony pointing both. Benny Dunne set up Seamus Butler for a point. Redser was fouled and Butler pointed a free. Paul Kelly came on for a blood sub for Redser. Lyng scored a point to put Kilkenny back to within 3. John Carroll nearly got in for a goal but his final pass was not good. With 50 minutes gone Shane McGrath pounced to put Tipp back within a goal 12-9. Redser returned. Philly fouled and Richie Power pointed the free to extend Kilkenny's lead.Both sides then made changes with Paul Kelly on for John O'Brien and Eoin McCormack on for Eoin Reid. Michael Rice then got a yellow for a late blow on Kenny Dunne. Shane McGrath fouled and Richie Power pointed to extend Kilkenny's lead to 5 points. With 10 minutes to go Hugh Moloney picked up a yellow from which Richie Power pointed. Eddie Brennan replaced Lyng at centre forward. Kilkenny then added on 3 quick points from 2 Richie Power frees, the second saw Fanning booked, and Eoin Larkin pointed the third. Benny Dunne then has run shot at goal smothered and the 65 was dropped short. Kenny Dunne set up Butler for Tipp's last score with Cha Fitzpatrick scoring the last point. After 2 minutes of injury time the ref blew up and Kilkenny won by 19-10. Brendan Cummins was voted man of the match by Donal O'Grady on TG4.Brian Cody will be delighted with this win its not often that Kilkenny come to Thurles with such a weakened team and were disappointed to only win by 9 points. Up front Richie Power ended up with 7 points and Cha Fitzpatrick got 4 points. At the back JJ Delaney was not tested by John O'Brien and new centre back John Dalton handily beat Colin Morrissey easily. On any other day they would have at least scored 3 of their goals but found Brendan Cummins in inspired form. He will also be happy that with 15 minutes gone in the second half Tipp got the lead back to a goal but Kilkenny never panicked and picked off their points. They were helped by some poor defending by the Tipp backs. With some of his higher profile players still to return Kilkenny will be thereabouts at the end of the year.This will be a bit of a wake up call for Tipp. In Limerick last week Tipp got away with a slack display but this week Kilkenny were not in such generous form and took all of their chances. Again Tipp had nothing in midfield and the half forward line's staring players. Philly Maher is fine at the edge of the square but when he is ran out the field it is very easy to turn him and Kilkenny used that to great effect this week. Tipp gave away way too many east frees. Again our lack of natural scoring forwards is obvious: the half forward scored the grand total of 1 point, (Benny Dunne), the full forward line scored 2 points from play, (Seamus Butler), so 4 of the 6 forwards failed to score from play. That is not vaguely good enough at this level. Again the half forward line won very little primary possession. Tipp went until the 20th minute before scoring from play and only had 1 point from play in the first half. Similarly they went the last 20 minutes only scoring 1 point.Tipp team:Brendan Cummins: 5 star master class display with 5 saves in the first half which highlighted the poor performance of his backs.Full back line: Made a hero out of Brendan Cummins with a poor display. Fanning again is not a corner back and was on the weakest Kilkenny forward. Curran had a lot better game than last weak was first out to the ball and a lot more confidence than against Limerick. Philip Maher started off well but was pulled out the field and exposed left his man free way too many times and Cummins saved him.Half back line: Hugh Moloney not as good as he can play. Needs to be more commanding of his position. Damien McGrath did not have the same energy and enthusiasm as his second half display last week. A bit small for this position. Conor O'Mahony scored 2 frees and did ok on Derek Lyng. Still needs to be more commanding under the dropping ball.Midfield: Same as last week they were totally outplayed. The Toome duo contributed nothing. Eoin Brislane failed to impose himself on the game and Kenny Dunne never got into the game. Neither will be on the starting 15 for May.Half forward line: Again same old same old. Benny Dunne scored a point in the first half and set up the last score for Butler but did nothing in between. Colin Morrissey should have been able for John Dalton but never got a look in, only had 1 burst at goal and set up a point. Should be left in midfield where his work rate shows. Again another well below par game from Redser, set up very little and is not playing with the same confidence that he showed with the Sars last year.Full forward line: I don't ever remember John O'Brien with the ball in hand; was well shackled by JJ Delaney. Johnny Enright is not a corner forward and it showed had a bad wide and was replaced at half time. Seamus Butler again the best Tipp player on view scored 4 frees and 2 points from play with very little possession, would like to see him at half forward.Subs: Shane McGrath for Eoin Brislane: looked a lot better than last week. Seems more natural at midfield, scored a nice point late on.John Carroll for Colin Morrissey: Again he improved things for Tipp but Tommy Walsh had him well shackled. Made a few bursts towards which on other days could have been scores.Dara Egan for Johnny Enright: Despite being on for the second half I don't think he touched the ball.Paul Kelly for John O'Brien: Came on at full forward and did nothing.So Tipp get a rude awakening in Thurles which only for the genius of Brendan Cummins would have been way worse. While a quarter final spot is still not beyond Tipp good performances are required and soon. It is a worrying statement that Conor O'Manony at centre back was the second highest top scorer for Tipp with 2 points, and Tipp only scored 4 points from play in 70+ minutes. Also John McGarry did not have to make a single save and the full forward line got absolutely no ball in the whole game. Serious changes are needed from numbers 8 to 11. Colin Morrissey and Shane McGrath at midfield would be a start for the next day as for the forwards the sooner Eoin Kelly and Webster are back the better. Still Tipp will need to be very wary of going up to Belfast to face table toppers Antrim, (who have 4 points to Tipp's 1), in 2 weeks time.


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Tipperary v Kilkenny (26-02-06)

Tipp and Kilkenny play their second game of the League on Sunday in Thurles. The game is refereed by Michael Wadding of Waterford. This is Tipp’s first home game of the League and their only other home game will be against Galway on the 26th of March. Kilkenny have had a fairly quiet build up to this game. They did not play that many challenge games over the winter yet still comfortably saw off the Underdogs in early December. The breezed through the Walsh Cup and regained it 2 weeks ago with a final win over Wexford. In their first match of the League they easily saw off a determined Laois side last weekend by 1-26 to 1-13 in Nowlan Park. Laois took an early lead but an Eddie Brennan goal saw the Cats lead 1-10 to 1-6 at the break. Kilkenny strolled away on the last quarter with Richie Power, 13 points, and Cha Fitzpatrick, 5 points doing all the damage. Tipp opened their account with a draw against Limerick, (see report).
The sides met in the last series of games in last year’s league clash in Nowlan Park and Kilkenny emerged winners on a scoreline of 3-18 to 2-16. Tipp stormed into an early lead of 1-3 to 0-5 with a goal from Francis Devanney. Kilkenny dominated until half time with goals from Richie Power and Henry Shefflin. Lar Corbett did goal for Tipp to leave the half time score 2-10 to 2-04 in Kilkenny’s favour. Eoin Larkin scored Kilkenny’s third goal early in the second to lead 3-13 to 2-6 and though Tipp rallied and added on 10 points the game was over long before the final whistle. It was Tipp’s fourth loss in 5 games and summed up the year. In 2003 Tipp had their last win Kilkenny when Redser scored 1-6 in Nowlan Park, however Kilkenny got their revenge when the later won a high scoring League final in Croke Park. Kilkenny went on to beat Clare well in the League Final, win the Leinster title and were ambushed by Galway in the All-Ireland Semi Final.
Kilkenny’s preparation over the winter will have been hampered by the loss of the James Stephens players although they should be in contention to start soon and Cody will be glad to have the likes of Eoin Larkin and Jackie Tyrell back in his team.
Getting to a League final will not be a priority of Babs, especially with the League Final on 2 weeks before the Limerick game. His main concern will be getting a settled 15 for Championship as well as another 7-8 players blooded. Again the Achilles Heel will be the half forward line and getting 3 ball winning forwards to play there. This has been one of Tipp’s main failings for the past 5 years and no amount of converted backs will compensate for a lack of ball winning forwards in the half forward line. Some of these objectives were achieved last week with 5 new players on view. Another problem that Tipp have is that we seem to be able to produce any amount of wing backs, currently on the panel are Eamon Corcoran, Liam England, Conor O’Mahony, Declan Fanning, Damien McGrath, Michael Ryan, Hugh Moloney and Benny Dunne while Eoin Brislane has lined out with Toome at wing back on a number of occasions and Diarmaid Fitzgerald is injured. That’s 10 of the panel who can play wing back yet we are stuck for 2 natural corner backs and wing forwards.
Without Eoin Kelly there seems to be a lack of game plan with the Tipp forwards and Michael Webster’s return will be highly welcomed. He is not due back for another few weeks, while Diarmaid Fitzgerald and Martin Maher both look like missing most of the League with long term injuries. Tommy Dunne has also rejoined the panel although cameo roles in the last 20 minutes look like the likely scenario for him. The Tipp team was not named until last night with 5 players involved in Fitzgibbon games on Wednesday, Eoin Kelly, Shane McGrath and Conor O’Mahony with (LIT); Hugh Moloney (WIT) and Darragh Egan (NUIG). These games saw wins for WIT and NUIG, while LIT without the injured Eoin Kelly lost to UCC by 2 points. Babs coached UCD to a win over UL, with Tommy Fitzgerald at full forward.
The Tipp team was picked last night and is as follows:
Brendan Cummins;
Declan Fanning, Philip Maher, Paul Curran;
Damien McGrath, Conor O'Mahoney and Eamon Corcoran;
Ken Dunne and Eoin Brislane;
Benny Dunne, Colin Morrissey, Ger O'Grady;
Seamus Butler, John O'Brien and Johnny Enright.
The team show 3 changes from the side that lined out last Sunday against Limerick. Eamon Corcoran has recovered from his hip injury and takes his place in the half back line. Damien McGrath, after his impressive second half display, replaces Liam England, Ken Dunne gets his chance with a starting berth in midfield partnering Eoin Brislane and Johnny Enright replaces Shane McGrath. Of the changes only the last one surprises as Shane McGrath while not scoring did ok last Sunday. Eoin Brislane and Colin Morrissey both need major improvements after their display last Sunday. Eoin Kelly is still out with a hamstring injury. The Tipp forward line still looks a bit lost for direction with Webster and Eoin Kelly still it’s a chance for the other forwards to show their worth.
The Kilkenny team will not be named until Friday night but should be fairly strong. They are missing DJ and Peter Barry who have pulled out of the league and Henry Shefflin, Michael Kavanagh and Noel Hickey are all out injured and will not be considered. However Cha Fitzpatrick, Michael Rice and Aidan Fogarty all are impressing so far. James Stephens have nominated Jackie Tyrell as captain for the 2006 campaign. With the younger players and the likes of Tommy Walsh pulling the strings around the midfield area they will test a fairly experimental Tipp side.
This game has probably come too soon to be a serious test of Tipp’s Championship credentials but considering Babs “love” of all things Kilkenny there should be a small bit of bite in the game! Still considering

how much Tipp struggled against Limerick last week I expect Kilkenny to come out on top by 3-4 points.

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Limerick 2-15 Tipperary 2-15

Tipperary and Limerick ended their first game of the 2006 National Hurling League level after a fairly low key affair in the Gaelic Grounds this afternoon in front of a small attendance. Both sides made changes prior to the start the most significant of which effected Limerick; who lost Stephen Lucy with a hamstring injury. He was replaced at full forward by Seanie O’Connor with TJ Ryan returning to the full back position. For Tipp Dara Egan did not start and he was replaced by Shane McGrath of Ballinahinch, making his first senior competitive debut for Tipp. He started off at wing forward with Benny Dunne going into the corner.
Tipp got off the mark first when John O’Brien got out in front of TJ Ryan and pointed. Brendan Cummins fumbled a ball but got up to clear. Limerick’s first score came when Mike O’Brien very easily turned Liam England and pointed. Eamon Corcoran and John O’Brien combined to set up Seamus Butler who missed the chance. Limerick had 2 bad wides before O’Shaughnessy got past Paul Curran and pointed. Paul O’Grady and Mark Keane both had wides before Redser raced through and put the ball over the bar when a goal seemed on. On 14 minutes a Seamus Butler free put Tipp 3-2 up. Limerick then went a point up after frees from Mark Keane and a Donal O’Grady. A foul on Paul Curran saw Niall Collins yellow carded.
In the 21st minute Benny Dunne was fouled and Seamus Butler pointed the free. Shaughnessy put Limerick level before a Benny point from a Redser cross field ball and a Butler free put Tipp 6-5 up. A high free was not cleared when it fell in the Tipp square and with Cummins slow in coming out Shaughnessy reacted first to bury the ball. Tipp however responded with 2 points from Butler the first a free which resulted in a yellow card for Denis Moloney, the Limerick wing back, and the second after good work from John O’Brien. Ollie Moran drew them level with a pointed free. Great interplay by the Tipp players saw John O’Brien pass to Butler who scored Tipp’s first goal to leave it 1-8 to 1-7. Limerick responded well and Niall Moran raced through up opposed to restore Limerick’s lead. Eoin Brislane’s run was cut out for a 65 which Conor O’Mahony pointed to leave the score at the break 2-7 to 1-9 in Limerick’s favour.
Both teams made changes at the start of the second half. Eamon Corcoran got a belt on the hip just before half time and was replaced by Declan Maher, (Knockavilla Kickams), making his first senior competitive debut for Tipp. For Limerick Michael Fitzgerald came on for the ineffective Niall Collins. On the resumption Maurice O’Brien got a point before Denis Moloney sauntered unopposed for half the field before scoring a point. Brian Begley replaced Seannie O’Connor at the edge of the square. Seamus Butler and Conor O’Mahony, (long range free), and Redser were all wide before a foul by Paul Curran, (yellow card), saw Mark Keane put Limerick into a 2-10 to 1-9 lead. A great run and shot by Colin Morrissey was scrambled out for a 65 which Conor O’Mahony pointed for Tipp’s first score of the half after 10 minutes. Benny Dunne was fouled before Butler pointed the free.
Tipp made two changes with John Carroll coming on at half forward for Niall Curran, Benny Dunne midfield, and James Woodlock replaced Eoin Brislane. A Damien McGrath shot was scrambled out for a 65 which Conor O’Mahony pointed. A Liam England foul led to another Mark Keane free and point. In the 20th minute of the second half Tipp got their first score from play when John O’Brien caught a giant puck out from Cummins and pointed to make it 2-11 to 1-13. A sweet pass from Redser found Butler who narrowed the gap. A Woodlock foul was not punished by Mark Keane’s free. Liam England was replaced by Paul Kelly. With 10 minutes to go a Philly Maher foul let Mark Keane put Limerick a point to the good. Ollie Moran then scored a point after a good solo. A great catch and turn by Brian Begley saw him point from a tight angle and Limerick went 4 up when a Paul Curran foul, (cost him a yellow card), saw Mark Keane point a Limerick free with injury time approaching.
Willie Walsh replaced Paul O’Grady who went off with what looked like a serious injury. With injury time approaching Redser found Benny Dunne who pointed under pressure. A long range Philly Maher free was superbly fielded by John Carroll under severe pressure and he passed to Redser the captain made no mistake from 6 yards out to level the game at 2-15 each. In the aftermath of the goal Johnny Enright came on for Shane McGrath. After 4 minutes of injury time the ref blew up with the final score at 2-15 each.
Joe McKenna will not be pleased with this result. Limerick dominated for large spells of the second half and yet could not get more than 4 points ahead of Tipp. Their best players were Ollie Moran, last years minor Denis Moloney, while up front Mike O’Brien and Andrew O’Shaughnessy were lethal. Limerick’s main flaw was they did not convert their scoring chances and make all their possession count. They had 13 wides and a lot of those were from frees from Mark Keane. In the forwards the men in the corners did well up the middle Niall Collins and Seannie O’Connor were poor. Joe will be delighted with the return of Brian Begley, his first serious hurling game in nearly 3 years. His new goalkeeper looked shaky at times and Mark O’Riordan had his hands full with Butler.
For Babs the result hid a lot of flaws. As could be seen the problems from last year continued unabated in the half forward line where Tipp were totally outplayed until John Carroll arrived to catch some ball. Midfield was poor with neither player impressing. The left side of the defence suffered terribly and although while they were on the 2 best Limerick players their display was not encouraging. The main cause for concern was Tipp going 20 minutes of the second half without scoring from play, it was Limerick’s failings in front of goals that kept Tipp in it for so long. While Limerick seemed the fittest it was Tipp who came with the late surge to steal the draw that was not merited.

Tipp team:
Brendan Cummins: A couple of good clearances, set up John O’Brien for a point with a monster puck out. Was at fault for the first goal in not coming out sooner to the ball.

Full back line: Philip Maher had a good assured game. Saw off the tame challenge of Seannie O’Connor and Begley scored the point off him when he lost his hurley. Also got in a great hook when Limerick looked like scoring a third goal. Paul Curran had a nightmare, he was lucky that Dicky Murphy was so lenient that he did not get 2 yellow cards. He had no answer when O’Shaughnessy got the ball except to foul him. Declan Fanning was helped by the fact that Mark Keane did nothing other than take the frees, still not a corner back.

Half back line: Eamon Corcoran started off well and looked well in command of Niall Moran however got a belt to the hip just before the break and was replaced. Liam England was poor, touch and control well off, never got into it and was soundly beaten by Mike O’Brien. Only stayed on the field for so long because of the injury to Corcoran. Unlikely to feature again for the Tipp hurlers. Conor O’Mahony had a good game. He got 3 vital 65’s, two of which kept Tipp in touching distance early in the second half. Tougher challenges lie ahead than Niall Collins.
Midfield: Totally outplayed. Their performance was summed up when Denis Moloney, a minor last year, ran past both unopposed early on in the second half to point. Niall Curran completed a bad day in the office for the Curran brothers. Never seemed to get into the game. Eoin Brislane’s old failing of drifting out of the game came back again and he never exerted any sort of dominance on the midfield sector.

Half forward line: Same old same old. Colm Morrissey tried had but never able to win clean possession. Finished scoreless. Not a half forward. Shane McGrath in his first game for Tipp tried hard but never really got going. Will get another chance due to the lack of natural wing forwards. Spent some time at corner forward but faded out of the game. Redser became the first Sarsfield captain of a Tipp Senior side since Francis Murphy, in 1975 and went back to his old self of jumping for the ball behind Ollie Moran, resulting in the fact that he won very little clean possession. However when he did get the ball, he set up Butler for a goal and a point and Benny Dunne for a point and also got the equaliser in injury time. Will take a lot from the game especially as it’s the first time in ages that he has played the full 70 for Tipp.

Full forward line: Benny Dunne anonymous for most of the game yet still picked off a point in either half the last one brought Tipp to within a goal. He spent most of the game at corner forward and went midfield late on. He is not and never will be a forward. Seamus Butler was by a long way Tipp’s player, scored 4 points from frees and 1-3 from play and despite shipping some very heavy attention always looked assured and confident. Good to see him carrying the form of Drom’s great run in the club Championship into the League. John O’Brien took his 2 points well but never really showed for the ball was well bottled up by TJ Ryan.

Subs: Damien McGrath for Eamon Corcoran (injured): Looked very lively and confident for his first game, gave away 1 silly free when he dropped his hurley. Nearly scored a cheeky goal which the Limerick goalie had to scramble away.

John Carroll for Niall Curran: Made a major contribution when he came on in the fact that he was able to win possession in the half forward line was a major threat for Tipp. Great catch for the winning goal and good to see him involved so early in the year.

James Woodlock for Eoin Brislane: Looked lively had a chance at a point but was blocked.

Paul Kelly for Liam England: Came on late on don’t think he touched the ball.

Johnny Enright for Shane McGrath: Johnny came on for his first game for Tipp since the 2002 League Semi Final v Cork at corner forward. Was warming up for most of the second half but was only put on when Tipp got the equalising goal. Did not touch the ball. But good to see one of the best club players in Tipp get due recognition.

So Tipp begin another year with a draw snatched from the jaws of defeat! While the performance of certain players was not good; 20 players got a run out and some questions have been answered however there are still a lot of Championship jerseys still to play for. Going on today’s game there are still major questions about the mix at midfield and the half forward line. The lack of ball winning players and players willing to take the game by the scruff of the neck will be a worry to Babs still a score of 2-15 without the 2 Kelly’s is a good return. Although going 20 minutes without scoring and only scoring 1-9 from play over 70 minutes will be a concern. Still with a good few players to come back in and the prospect of a cut off Kilkenny in Thurles next Sunday Bab’s will have an interesting drive back to Dublin this evening

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Limerick v Tipperary (19-02-06) preview

Limerick and Tipp get their respective National Hurling League Division 1B campaigns on the road on Sunday in Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds at 2.30 the referee is Wexford’s Dickie Murphy. Similar to last year when Tipp and Limerick played each other in the second day of the League and the first round of the Championship, this year they play in the first round of the League and the first round of the Championship in Thurles on 14th May. The format of the League has also been changed this year with the second phase of games replaced by quarter and semi finals.
Whereas the past few years it has been Limerick who have started the year in turmoil it is Tipperary who have a “new” manager with Ballybacon’s Babs Keating back for his second spell of Tipp after taking over in the autumn of 1986 until summer 1994. He is joined by selectors John Leahy of Mullinahone and Tom Barry of Thurles. This is Tipp’s fourth manager in 5 years while Joe McKenna is in charge of Limerick for the second year. Tipp won last years league game with a high scoring 4-14 to 3-11 win. Tipp’s goals came from Michael Webster, Francis Devanney, Evan Sweeney and sub Dara Egan, while 2 of Limerick goals came right at the end after Brendan Cummins went off injured. Only 5 of that team line out on Sunday. What was noteworthy about this game was that in the aftermath Limerick manager Padjoe Whelehan resigned and Joe McKenna took over.
Tipp have been very busy trying out new players in a whole host of challenge games. They have tried out well over 50 players in 9 challenge games and 2 South East League games, (the third game, the loss to Waterford, featured the Tipp U21’s). For the record in November Tipp beat Dublin, the Underdogs, UCD and Waterford before losing to Limerick. In December Tipp beat the Underdogs and Clare. In January Tipp beat UCC and in the most recent game 2 weeks ago lost to Clare in Killaloe. In the South East League Tipp lost to Limerick, then beat LIT after extra time in the Shield competition and then a Tipp U21 team were heavily beaten by Waterford.
As can be expected with a new manager there have been a good few changes on the Tipp team with some of the All Ireland winning team of 2001 not rejoining the panel; David Kennedy, Tommy Dunne and Mark O’Leary. However the fact that Tipp have not won an U21 All-Ireland since 1995 or a minor since 1996 means that there is not much new talent for Babs to pick from. Long term injuries have ruled of Lar Corbett and Pa Morrissey, (broken knee cap), for the foreseeable future and Eddie Enright has pulled out of the panel as work is taking him to Japan in the summer. Short term injuries are keeping Eoin Kelly, (hamstring injury with LIT’s Fitzgibbon team), Diarmaid Fitzgerald and Michael Webster out of Sunday’s game.
The Tipp team was picked last night and is as follows:
Brendan Cummins;
Declan Fanning, Philip Maher, Paul Curran;
Eamon Corcoran, Conor O'Mahoney, Liam England;
Eoin Brislane, Niall Curran;
Benny Dunne, Colin Morrissey, Ger O'Grady;
Seamus Butler, John O'Brien, Dara Egan.
Despite the above mentioned injuries and the start of a new regime seven of that team started the Championship v Galway last year, Cummins, Philly Maher, Paul Curran and Benny Dunne all lined out in the same positions while Declan Fanning and Colin Morrissey started as the wing backs, Eamon Corcoran centre back while Conor O’Mahony, Redser and Dara Egan came on as subs. The Tipp captain this year is Redser who will be the first Sarsfield player in over 20 years to lead out the Tipp Senior hurlers. Only 2 of the starting team are making their Senior hurling debuts for Tipp and interestingly both of these Roscrea’s Liam England and Niall Curran have played Senior football for Tipp. Niall Curran was also on Tipp underage hurling teams. Eoin Brislane and John O’Brien also get recalls after falling out of favour with the previous management.
One aspect that is good to see this year is that a certain players are been given a chance to start games rather than wait until the Championship as was the case with Redser who was only added to the Tipp panel with 2 leagues to go and Dara Egan who did not start a League game last year and yet came on twice as a sub in the Championship. As a former minor goalkeeper his progress will be keenly watched as he has been a regular with Kildangan since he was 17. It is also good to see Conor O’Mahony in his best position despite playing as corner back and midfield during the League and full back in the Championship against Galway.
I would have major question marks over Declan Fanning at corner back, he is a good centre back and has struggled at times at wing back and while he has played there in a few challenge games he is not a Championship corner back. The half back line sees Conor O’Mahony getting his first start at centre back and Liam England his first game at wing back. Midfield is an area that Tipp have struggled with physically in recent years which sees the return of Eoin Brislane who if coached properly could dominate midfield, he is joined by Paul Curran’s brother Niall who has always impressed for Mullinahone.
Unfortunately the same old problems with the half forward line remains; with 2 natural wing backs, (Benny Dunne and Colin Morrissey), both playing. I also think that Redser’s best position is centre forward as he showed in the latter stages of the Tipp Championship that is where he plays his best hurling. He will win the ball from puck outs and needs the likes of a Seamus Butler to take the ball and point it. With the absence of Eoin Kelly and Webster our full forward line looks decidedly light weight. John O’Brien missed most of last season with suspension and injury returns at full forward flanked by Seamus Butler and Dara Egan. Butler suffers from being away from play in the corner and works better roving out the field picking up possession. Egan also would go better at wing or full forward. Of the 6 forwards starting on Sunday Benny Dunne is only 1 who started in the forwards against Galway last year. Still its early days yet!
The Limerick team has not been named yet but will contain many of the same players that have featured over the past few years. The side will be lead up front by the 2 Ryan’s who lead Garryspillane to the Limerick senior hurling title last year. They have lost their best player from last year Peter Lawlor who pulled out of the panel 2 weeks ago although there is still hope that he will return prior to Championship. Brian Begley is also out after limping off in a challenge game against Cork last weekend.
This hopefully will be a bit livelier than the corresponding fixture last year. While there will be a bit of shadow boxing due to the proximity of the Championship fixture but both sets of players will be out to cement their positions. Having lost to Limerick twice in challenge games Tipp should be able to get through this one with a few points victory.