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Kilkenny 2-26 Tipp 4-17 (03-05-09) Knocknagow
Kilkenny won a thrilling 2009 Division 1 National Hurling League Final in Thurles this afternoon in front of just over 17,000 by 3 points after extra time. Tipp lined out as selected with John O’Brien and Lar Corbett switched places but Kilkenny lost their captain Michael Fennelly with the mumps and he was replaced by John Tenneyson at midfield, Henry Shefflin was the Kilkenny captain for the day replacing his clubmate. Tipp played with the advantage of a decent wind in the first half. Although there was a shower before the game started the pitch was in perfect nick through out, (despite the car driving around at half time!!).
Kilkenny were first to attack with Richie Hogan passing to Shefflin who pointed. Hesitancy and poor play by the Tipp backs allowed Shefflin to point when he could have goaled. Tipp then shook into life after 2 minutes when James Ryall under pressure from Callinan and Webster who threw a shoulder lost the ball in the Kilkenny square and James Woodlock finished to the net. The next Tipp attack was won by Webster who passed to Shane McGrath who under severe pressure managed to twist and turn and point despite having his faceguard nearly ripped off him. John O’Brien had a bad wide for Tipp. Kilkenny centre back Brian Hogan then suffered a suspected broken collar bone after a hard but fair shoulder from Callanan, the ball came to Shane McGrath whose superb crossfield pass found John O’Brien in acres of space, he ran and easily buried past PJ Ryan to leave Tipp 2-1 to 0-2 after 9 minutes. Martin Comerford replaced Hogan but as he ran on the field he got involved with Fanning and both got yellow carded. Comerford lasted about 30 seconds on the field! He was replaced by Michael Grace who went into the corner.
Brendan Maher came on at wing back for Tipp with Paudie Maher going centre back. Tipp had to make a second change when Hugh Moloney came on at wind back in place of Shane Maher who went off holding his hamstring. A long puck out from Cummins found Lar he passed to Woodlock who pointed. Shane McGrath had a bad wide from far out. Good pressure from Conor O’Brien saw Grace put the ball wide. Kilkenny then had a period of pressure as they settled down. Firstly Eddie Brennan pointed as did Aidan Fogarty. Fogarty then goaled but thankfully the ball had gone out for a sideline and the play was called back which was just as well as Hugh Moloney pulled straight across Fogarty as he came out after goaling. Callanan put a free wide. Shefflin fouled Paudie Maher who made a great catch and Callanan pointed the free. Paudie Maher was again fouled and Callanan pointed the free; Tipp 2-4 to 0-7 after 27 minutes.
Shefflin pointed a free for Kilkenny. John O’Brien then shot a poor wide when he should have passed. Paul Curran then blocked a goal effort which went for a 65 which Shefflin pointed. Shefflin again fouled Paudie Maher who made a great catch and Callanan pointed the free. Fogarty then scored 2 Kilkenny points the first after poor play from Brendan and the second from a poor Cummins clearance. A neat pass from Brendan Maher found Shane McGrath who pointed. Shefflin then got through and shot for goals but Cummins then showed why he is a 4 time All-Star with a full length save to flick the ball away from the top corner, the ball was cleared by Conor O’Brien to Brendan Maher and it came to Noel McGrath and he put it over the bar, a 4 point turn about in 30 seconds. After 3 minutes of injury time the ref blew with Tipp ahead; 2-7 to 0-8.
Neither side made a change at the start of the second half. The scores can right at the start of the half. Firstly Lar passed to Callanan and he ran and expertly placed the ball into the corner of the net. Straight from the puck out Richie Hogan got through on goals and despite the attentions of Brendan Maher he goaled so 3-7 to 1-8. Tipp did not wilt and when Tommy Walsh fouled Callanan pointed the free. A high tackle by Shefflin on Shane McGrath saw him yellow carded with Cha Fitzpatrick on in his place. Richie Hogan scored a free. Noel McGrath had a wide but redeemed himself with a great long range point. James Ryall had a bad wide. Richie Hogan pointed. Kilkenny then came right back into it when Aidan Fogarty was allowed to goal after he brushed aside High Moloney’s weak effort at a tackle; 3-9 to 2-10 after 50 minutes. Noel McGrath then scored another point before another Richie Hogan again pointed a free. John O’Brien passed to Noel McGrath and he pointed. John O’Brien had his first attempt at a point expertly by Tommy Walsh but scored from the rebound. As he scored Tommy Walsh threw his hurley at him and was not yellow carded! Richie Hogan again pointed a free to only leave a goal between the sides.
Tipp made their third change with Benny Dunne replacing Hugh Moloney. Benny went to midfield and Stapleton to wing back. Benny was straight into action when he ran straight through the heart of the Kilkenny defence passed to Lar but his tame goal effort trickle past the post. TJ Reid made it a 2 point game. A superb Conor O’Brien interception prevented a Kilkenny goal. Seamus Hennessy came on for Woodlock. Kilkenny then got a ridiculous soft free which Hogan pointed to only leave a point in it. Webster was fouled and Callanan pointed the free. A stupid foul by Tomas Stapleton saw Hogan point. Grace found Fogarty and who pointed to level the game. Lar was fouled but Callanan put his effort wide. A Kilkenny sideline cut went wide from Fogarty. With the game in injury time Richie Hogan had a free on the 65 on the sideline and he coolly pointed to put Kilkenny a point up. On the next attack after a throw in James Ryall was penalised for not releasing the ball and Noel McGrath coolly slotted over the free to bring the game into extra time. The ref played 2 minutes of injury time. Score at the end of normal time Tipp 3-14 Kilkenny 2-17.
Tipp made 1 change at the start of extra time with Diarmaid Fitzgerald coming on for Thomas Stapleton at wing back. Kilkenny were first into attack and had 2 bad wides. Larkin passed to Richie Hogan who pointed. Shane McGrath’s effort was wide. Fogarty pointed for Kilkenny. Michael Kavanagh was eventually pulled up for fouling and Callanan pointed the free. Tipp fell asleep as Richie Hogan took a quick free and Brennan pointed. Kavanagh then pulled across John O’Brien’s helmet and only got a yellow card and was replaced by Sean Cummins. Tipp then had a great goal chance when the ball broke in the square to Webster he put it through Ryan’s legs but the shot was too weakly struck and Tommy Walsh got back to clear off the line out for a 65 which Callanan pointed. The sides went in after a minute of injury time 2-20 to 3-16 in Kilkenny’s favour.
Tipp made 1 change at the start of the second period of extra time with Patrick Maher of Lorrha replacing Webster with John O’Brien going full forward. Straight from the puck off the ball went into Lar who managed to flick to from his man and despite being held was able to pass to Noel McGrath who rifled to the net. Instead of inspiring Tipp this spurred on Kilkenny and Aidan Fogarty pointed a sideline cut, after a poor clearance from Benny Dunne, as Kilkenny took over and 2 Richie Hogan points, 1 from play, 1 from Fogarty and 1 from Larkin put Kilkenny 2-24 to 4-16 ahead as the game drifted into injury time. Tipp then had 1 final effort when they won a free about 25 yards out and Brendan Cummins was called up. He went for it but struck it poorly and the ball went over the bar for Tipp’s last score of the day. Tipp had another free which Shane McGrath dropped into the square it was cleared and fell to Tommy Walsh who picked out Eddie Brennan who was well inside his own half but his monster pointed sealed the win. With the game just up Eamon Bucklye replaced Patrick Maher with seconds to go. The ref blew after 1 minute of injury time with Kilkenny ahead 2-26 to 4-17.
While Brian Cody will be happy to have won this game they took a long time to get to adjusted to the Tipp approach of getting into their faces. He can thank Richie Hogan whose impressive haul of 1-10 was the main reason Kilkenny won he was ably assisted by Aidan Fogarty who scored around 1-5 however after that Kilkenny struggled. PJ Ryan conceded 4 goals and can thank Tommy Walsh for clearing another off the line. Cody will not be impressed with discipline of some of his players; he lost Shefflin to persistent fouling, Martin Comerford went after only about 30 seconds for tangling with Fanning. If the ref had any backbone then Eddie Brennan should have got a straight red for a ridiculous high hurley block to Curran’s head and how Tommy Walsh stayed on the field after throwing his hurley at John O’Brien and did not get a yellow card defies logic. They went in as red hot favourites, 5-1, went 2 points up and yet it was only with a minute to go that they retook the lead. Yet they showed why there are going for 4 in a row. They went 8 points down, albeit briefly, at the start of the second half and yet won in the end by 3. They scored 9 times in extra time, Tipp only scored 4 times and were still going at full tilt whereas Tipp had wilted badly. With the bigger players not performing Richie Hogan destroyed Curran at full back in extra time. They will be very, very hard to stop going for the 4 in a row this year.
Liam Sheedy will not be happy with the result of this game however the performance will be a welcome boost after the previous Kilkenny result. Yes Tipp were without the 2 Kelly’s and Conor O’ Mahony, lost Hugh Moloney and Shane Maher through injury and Declan Fanning through a yellow card, meaning that the half back line had to reshaped at least 5 times during the game! Tipp did not stand off Kilkenny and hit them, legally mind despite a lot of the Kilkenny whining during the game witness the amount of times Tipp frees were moved ahead by 10 yards for Kilkenny complaining at the ref, the 2 goals settled Tipp down and let the younger Tipp players, Callanan, Noel McGrath, Paudie Maher hurl with supreme confidence through out the game. With a bit more luck Tipp could have had 2 more goals, but in saying that Cummins save before the break and Fogarty’s goal that was disallowed were a major help. Tipp also showed superb confidence that even though they allowed Kilkenny to come back into the game it was Tipp who went and got the equalising point to put the game into extra time. In truth Tipp were dead on there feet in extra time and it showed as they only scored 4 times only the goal from play.
The positives were the way that Tipp dictated the play for most of the game; closing up the space on the Kilkenny half backs and half forward lines and not allowing Tommy Walsh to clear ball or the much vaunted Kilkenny forwards a clear run at goal. I know Kilkenny dominated extra time but Tipp were gone by then. While only 6 players scored Sheedy again showed that the forwards can score without Eoin Kelly, 17 scores in 70 minutes against the All-Ireland Champions isn’t a bad return. The performances of Noel McGrath and Paudie Maher were very encouraging. Maher was thrown in on Shefflin and went though a 10 minute spell in the first half when he won the high ball into his position and was fouled at least 5 times, it was noticeable that when was shattered in extra time the Kilkenny half forward line took over. Noel McGrath was again superb scored 1-4 from play and a crucial point to put the game into extra time. He looked for the ball and was not afraid to get stuck in. Sheedy also used 22 players today and 33 players altogether in eth League has to be a good sign.
The negatives Tipp were 8 points up and lost by 3. We had a great chance to lay down a marker and despite all the talk about a great performance Tipp still lost. Both Kilkenny goals were soft Richie Hogan, not exactly the biggest of players was allowed a good run through the heart of the Tipp defence to goal and the less said about Hugh Moloney’s attempt to tackle Fogarty for his goal the better. Compare this to the amount of Kilkenny players hopping off Benny Dunne when he burst through and passed to Lar who was hit by 2 more Kilkenny players. Another aspect of the Tip game that has to be improved is to stop passing the ball to a colleague only 2 yards away and marked it happened a good few times today and Kilkenny scored off it. Our full forward line was poor with both Lar and Webster both failing to score and it was only when Noel McGrath went wandering that he scored. Of course all this will be in vain unless we put Cork to the sword in 4 weeks time.
Brendan Cummins: Made 1 superb full length save at the end of the first half. Could not be faulted for the 2 goals. Should vary the puck outs more to pick out the free man. A few times put puck outs to where there Kilkenny had the man extra.
Full back Line: Curran was doing fine coping superbly well with all the high ball into the Tipp full back line and the Tipp backs pushing out until Richie Hogan went in on him in extra time and with the Tipp half backs wilting Hogan went to town. Still up until then was superb. Conor O’Brien had a good game made 1 great interception in the second half to stop a Kilkenny goal cleared a lot of ball. Paddy Stapleton started off nervously but settled into the game although the way Kilkenny rotate their forwards seemed to unsettle him.
Half back line: Paudie Maher started on the wing but went into centre back after Fanning went off. Had a superb 70 minutes and will put serious pressure on the returning Conor O’Mahony. If Tipp had won he would have been close to being Man of the Match. Declan Fanning was yellow carded after only about 15 minutes. While he might be criticised in getting involved with Comerford it was good to see he did not lie down like previous Tipp players would have. Shane Maher only lasted a few minutes longer although was playing well up until then. Hopefully not a long term injury.
Midfield: Shane McGrath started off well and scored 2 very good first half points. Faded out of the game as it went on. His superb cross field pass set up John O’Brien for the second goal. Still not back to his best after the mumps which does not bode well for Conor O’Mahony’s return. Thomas Stapleton went wing back when Benny came on. Was not involved a whole pile as the game seemed to pass him by.
Half forward line: Lar Corbett worked very hard but did not score. He switched between half and the full forward lines. Needs to be scoring as we have so few genuine score threats. Took a heavy knock late on hopefully will be in fine fettle for the Cork game. Callanan was again the man on the frees, scoring 6 and a 65. He also scored a goal in the second half which briefly put us 8 up. Woodlock again faded out of the game. Started superbly scoring 1-1 in the first half taking advantage of Callanan’s flick on Ryall to goal. Needs to produce it consistently for 70 minutes.
Full forward line: John O’Brien scored a cracker of a goal in the first half and a good second half point, but again faded out of the game as Kilkenny launched their comeback, again needs to produce and show for the ball for 70 minutes and also should pass rather than always shooting. Webster was involved in the first 2 Tipp scores and won a free late on other than that was poor got a lot of ball in but I don’t think he won a single clean possession. Better as an impact sub after 50 minutes on the edge of the square. Noel McGrath after a quiet first half got the last score of the half with a point and opened up in the second half scoring 3 from play and the free to send the game into extra time as well as the goal in extra time which should have given the Tipp players another burst of energy. Has had a superb League, hopefully can carry it onto the Championship.
Brendan Maher for Declan Fanning (yellow carded): Came on after 15 minutes and went wing back. Did ok set up a few points.
Hugh Moloney for Shane Maher (injured): Came on after 15 minutes and went wing back. Was badly at fault for Aidan Fogarty’s goal went off injured with 15 minutes to go. Although he cleared a lot of ball struggled with the pace of the game.
Benny Dunne for Hugh Moloney (injured): Came on after about 55 minutes and went midfield. Went on 1 great burst when he came in and nearly set up a goal for Lar. Didn’t do much after that.
Seamus Hennessey for James Woodlock: Came on after about 60 minutes and went wing forward.
Diarmaid Fitzgerald for Thomas Stapleton: Came on at the start of extra time at wing back. Didn’t get to see much of the ball.
Patrick Maher for Michael Webster: Came on at the start of the second period of extra time at wing forward. Only remember the bal coming to him once and he fumbled it before it was cleared by Kilkenny.
Eamon Buckley for Padraig Maher: came on seconds to go at the end of extra time didn’t touch the ball.
So all attention will now switches to the Championship. However Liam Sheedy has 2 more games the first on this Tuesday when Tipp face Limerick in a Tournament in Lattin Cullen and on the 17th May they reface Kilkenny in a Michael Hogan Memorial game in Grangemockler. As well as that there is another round of club games fixed for next Sunday so fingers crossed that all players will come through those games and start concentrating on the main business of the Cork game. Hopefully Sheedy now knows the make up of the team to face Cork and with injuries clearing up this will cause him a lot of headaches. After this encouraging display today we can look forward in hope although I am sure that Dennis Walsh will have dissected this Tipp display and we will have our work seriously cut out for us in the 31st May.
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Tipperary v Kilkenny Division 1 National Hurling League Final 03/05/09 Preview - Knocknagow
Tipp and Kilkenny contest the Division 1 National Hurling League Final on Sunday in Semple Stadium at 4.00; the match will be preceded by the meeting of Wexford and Offaly in the Division 2 Final. The game will be live on TG4 and the ref is John Sexton of Cork. Both sides have been regular combatants in the League over the last few years although it is 2003 since the sides last met in the League Final in Croke Park in a ridiculously high scoring game with Kilkenny eventually coming out on top 5-14 to 5-13. Kilkenny goaled first through Shefflin but Tipp goals from Lar and Eoin Kelly meant Tipp lead 2-9 to 1-7 at the break. Goals from John Carroll and Lar stretched Tipp’s lead with 10 minutes to go to 4-12 to 2-10. However mass panic in the Tipp defence, (without the injured Philip Maher who went off with a serious knee injury in the first half), allowed DJ, Carter and Eddie Brennan all to goal and lead 5-12 to 4-13 with a minute to go. However John Carroll goaled but Shefflin showed his class with a free and on the puck out he caught and soloed to the 21 and kicked over the bar for what was the winning point. The other effect of the game was a knee injury to Philip Maher which effectively ended his reign as the undisputed Tipp full back.
Despite all the ridiculous rubbish in the papers; Kilkenny the best side in the history of the world ever... etc, etc it should be noted that sides have won 6 and lost 1 game in this years League. Kilkenny’s loss was to Waterford and Tipp’s was a humiliating loss to Kilkenny. Since the last League meeting Kilkenny continued on their merry way. They hammered Clare in Ennis; 3-16 to 1-09, with Henry Shefflin and Aidan Fogarty doing all the damage up front. They then annihilated Cork 4-26 to 0-11 with Eoin Larkin and Richie Power leading the scoring stakes. In the last round of games they withstood a Dublin surge to win 1-23 to 3-15. Kilkenny led 0-17 to 1-10 at the break, allowed Dublin in for a few goals but resumed control with a late Eoin Larkin goal to seal the win.
Tipp’s last game was against Limerick and any strenuous analysis of that game should come with a serious health warning given the pedestrian nature of the game. However the backs played well, with hopefully the 9 goals conceded against Kilkenny and Dublin hopefully firmly behind them, again Shane Maher, (until injured), and Paudie Maher both caught the eye. While Fanning performed well at centre back, (until moving to full back), he still seems to be far more comfortable on the edge of the square. Thomas Stapleton had a solid game and scored 2 points from midfield. Again the forwards were mixed Gearoid Ryan ended up with 1-3, taking his scores well, John O’Brien looked lively in scoring 2 points and setting up a few more and Lar scored 3 good points from wing forward. However Padraig Maher, Pa Bourke and John Devane did not enhance their chances of a starting spot.
Since the last round of League games most of the Tipp players have played Championship with their clubs. On the injury front Benny Dunne and Shane Maher came off during the Limerick game with ankle and hamstring injuries, Conor O’Mahony is still suffering from mumps and Paul Kelly is still out with a hamstring injury. On the positive front; Hugh Moloney has returned to training, Eoin Kelly was listed as a sub against Limerick, Paul Curran’s yellow card against Galway was rescinded so he is eligible to play while both Eamon Buckley and Shane McGrath’s one month suspension’s are up so both are available for selection. Pat Kerwick played for his club last weekend. Eoin Kelly, Willie Ryan and Conor O’Mahony will not feature due to injuries and illness and even though Shane Maher came on for Burgess last weekend he will not start.
The Tipp team was picked tonight after training and is again captained by John O’Brien:
Brendan Cummins.
Paddy Stapleton, Paul Curran and Conor O’Brien.
Padraic Maher, Declan Fanning and Shane Maher.
Thomas Stapleton and Shane McGrath.
Lar Corbett, Seamus Callanan and James Woodlock.
Noel McGrath, Michael Webster and John O'Brien.
Liam Sheedy has made 5 changes to the side that started against Limerick. In truth the side that faced Limerick was effectively a shadow side so all the available big guns are returned to the side. Shane McGrath returns at midfield replacing Benny Dunne. In a rearranged half forward line Seamus Callanan and James Woodlock come in for Gearoid Ryan and John Devane with Lar Corbett switching wings. In the full forward line Noel McGrath and Michael Webster replace Pa Bourke and Patrick Maher with John O’Brien moving to the corner. So the defence stays the same although there are still question marks over the fitness of Paul Curran as he did not start for Mullinahone last weekend. Thomas Stapleton makes a welcome return to midfield in place of the injured Benny Dunne. Gearoid Ryan came off with a dead leg for Templederry last weekend so this may have been some of the cause of his demotion. Woodlock returns to wing forward and needs to hassle and harry Tommy Walsh for 70 minutes. In the absence of Eoin Kelly he will be fulcrum of the attack and both he and Lar will be expected to not only show leadership but also lead the scoring stakes. In the full forward line Noel McGrath make a welcome return although there will be serious pressure on Webster to deliver after a few indifferent performances in his League outings to date. Hopefully he will actually get some ball into him and can use his height to break the ball to the 2 lads beside him. Overall it is probably the best team that Sheedy have given the injuries.
There are a number of aspects of the game that Tipp have to improve on if we are to challenge Kilkenny. Firstly physicality; the way in which Kilkenny were able to not only win the ball but also burst through the Tipp players in the first half in Nowlan Park was frightening. The Tipp half backs trying to out jump way taller Kilkenny players instead of pulling on the dropping ball lead to at least 3 Kilkenny goals. The other aspect of the game is using possession smartly. Look at how the likes of Tommy Walsh and Michael Kavanagh when they have time never just balloon a ball 90 yards down the field into a tight marked corner forward. Eddie Brennan got 2 points in the last game by drifting out from centre forward to the sideline, picking up a pass from the full back line and point. There is no point in Conor O’Brien or Paddy Stapleton driving the ball 90 yards into a bunch of players, they need the half forwards to be running into space to get the pass.
How do I see this game going? Well given the way the last encounter went there is serious pressure on Tipp and Sheedy, especially at home, to put in a serious performance to not alone lay down a marker when facing Kilkenny but to send out a message ahead of the Cork game. Another aspect that Liam Sheedy has to consider is that Tipp have to be firmly focused on the Cork game however if Tipp are not 100% focused on Kilkenny they will be blown away on Sunday and could suffer against Cork. Sheedy also will be wary of showing his hand against Kilkenny on Sunday with the possibility of facing them again in the Championship later in the summer. Tipp’s injuries on Sunday will temper Sheedy’s plans this allied to our inability of winning the ball in the half forward line from our puck outs. I do think that the Kilkenny forward line, Larkin, Comerford, Shefflin and Brennan will be too strong for our backline, while on the other hand I don’t think that our forwrads will be able to get enough scores off the likes of Tommy Walsh, Tennyson and Kavanagh. So while I feel that Kilkenny will win; Tipp will put up a good battling performance and a narrow loss after a good performance will put us in good stead for the Championship clash with Cork at the end of May. Kilkenny by 4 points.
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Tipp v Limerick (12-03-09) Preview Knocknagow
Tipp face Limerick in Round 7 of the National Hurling League in Thurles on Sunday at 2.30. The game is referred by Dickie Murphy of Wexford. This game, like all the games in Division 1, is a dead rubber as all the issues have been decided; Tipp and Kilkenny will contest League Final and Clare will be playing Division 2 hurling next year. The last League meeting between the sides was in Thurles last year when Tipp won comfortably 2-20 to 2-9. Tipp with Eoin Kelly on fire lead 1-10 to 0-6 at the break against a weakened Limerick side, 2 Limerick goals from Shaughnessy brought them back into contention but Seamus Callanan’s 1-1 killed the game off. The year before Limerick won in Nenagh 2-13 to 0-16 with Shaughnessy the main tormentor in chief for Limerick. Incidentally this is the third year in a row that Tipp have faced Limerick at a Tipp venue.
Since the Galway game Tipp have been on a week’s training camp in Spain. They surely must have been a happy bunch going on this trip after not alone a great win but also a great performance against Galway in the last round. Tipp played the game with 10 players either unavailable or injured yet they fought superbly coming back from being 5 points down and conceding 1-4 without reply and being a man short for the last 8 minutes to win by 2 points. The 2 newcomers were superb, Darren Gleeson made a couple of smart saves and was unlucky with the goal as he saved the initial shot. Padraic Maher was very calm and assured at centre back despite this being his first start at this level. The backs certainly upped the game after the last 2 performances and Shane Maher is back to his best displays of last year. Declan Fanning also performed well at full back when called in to replace Curran although by that stage Joe Canning should have been yellow carded for his involvement in the incident in which Curran was yellow carded. Woodlock and McGrath performed well at midfield. Both Lar Corbett and Seamus Callanan led the forwards well scoring 1-2 and 0-3 from play. Indeed Ollie Canning is lucky he is not facing a few months ban after throwing his hurley at Corbett’s head as he scored the goal. The other starting forwards struggled, Scroope scored early but faded out, Padraig Maher and Webster did not get on the ball and John O’Brien was poor.
It was the subs who played well and steadied the ship in the second half. Noel McGrath set up the goal and his run at goal was cynically stopped for a Tipp free, (again no yellow card for the Galway corner back), Seamus Hennessey scored a good point to seal the win and Brendan Maher’s dramatic interception deep in injury time saved the day, (if Gantley had scored even though he was so far in the square when the ball came to him would a square ball have been given? Well considering the way the ref was going I doubt it). The last 10 minutes were a serious backs to the wall job especially once Buckley was sent off. Yet Tipp dug deep and showed serious character to pull it out of the bag. That joy must have receded when they reached the dressing room to be told they were facing a Kilkenny side that had white washed Cork in the League Final.
Limerick have 3 wins and 3 losses to date. They narrowly beat Clare the first day out, lost to Kilkenny by a point, bet Dublin by 2 points, lost to Galway by 2 points, lost by a point to Cork and bet Waterford by 4 points and sit in mid-table. Justin McCarthey has been keeping them off the radar and out of sight no doubt concentrating on the Munster Semi Final against Waterford. While they have lost 3 games all the results have been close and indeed the Kilkenny result is noteworthy losing by only a point in Nowlan Park. They have been without the injured Ollie Moran for most of the League although he is due back shortly but have been getting impressive displays from Brian Geary at centre back, Seamus Hickey at wing back and in the last 2 games at midfield and new man in David Breen at full forward.
On the injury front Eoin Kelly has resumed training and will surely see action on Sunday or the League Final, Hugh Moloney is due to resume training shortly, Paul Kelly’s injury is taking longer to come right that originally expected and Willie Ryan, Darragh Egan and Pat Kerwick are expected to recover from hand injuries shortly. Conor O’Mahony is out with mumps. With all these injuries and in light of recent defensive frailties Thurles Sarsfield’s Michael Cahill has been drafted into the panel.
The Tipp team was picked last night after training and is again captained by John O’Brien:
Brendan Cummins.
Paddy Stapleton, Paul Curran and Conor O’Brien.
Padraic Maher, Declan Fanning and Shane Maher.
Thomas Stapleton and Benny Dunne.
Gearoid Ryan, John Devane and Lar Corbett.
Pa Bourke, John O'Brien and Patrick Maher.
Not surprisingly Liam Sheedy has made 7 changes to the side that started against Galway given that Tipp are already through to the League Final. Fall out from the Galway game means that Eamon Buckley’s straight earns him a month’s suspension and Shane McGrath has also been suspended for a month for his involvement in the first half schmozzle with the Tipp County Board fined € 5,000. Brendan Cummins replaces Darren Gleeson in goals. Paddy Stapleton drops back from wing back to take over for the suspended Eamon Buckley in the corner with the impressive Padraic Maher moving across from centre back to wing back with Declan Fanning taking the number 6 jersey. Changes were necessary at midfielder with Shane McGrath suspended and James Woodlock having played all the League games to date so both are replaced with Benny Dunne and Thomas Stapleton. Lar Corbett is the only player left from the half forward line with John Devane and Geraoid Ryan coming in. There is all change again in the full forward line with John O’Brien moving to full forward and Pa Bourke and Patrick Maher either side of him.
With injuries and suspension Sheedy’s hand was forced with a few of his changes although I am surprised to see Declan Fanning being tried at centre back considering how impressively Padraic Maher played there last time out. Fannning was tried out a few years ago at wing back during a few League games. He will be disappointed considering that he impressed when introduced against Galway. While Gearoid Ryan will be glad to get back in I am not too sure about his placing at wing forward. Seamus Hennessey and Noel McGrath will also be disappointed not to be starting. This is last chance saloon for both Patrick Maher and Pa Bourke. While Patrick Maher’s bustling style impressed in the first few League games he has somewhat disappointed in his last few starts and needs a good game on Sunday although his style of play is more suited to the wing where he can win ball and burst at goal. Pa has oodles of potential but has never produced a good solid game for Tipp at Senior level. After a quiet game against Galway John O’Brien needs to step up with his scoring rate especially with Seamus Callanan on the bench.
How do I see this game going? Well given that both sides have nothing left to play for in the League Liam Sheedy has picked a very experimental side and given some so called fringe players a chance to impress ahead of the League Final on the 3rd May. I think that Tipp will have too many players vying for places and will be too strong for a Justin McCarthy led Limerick side who will concentrating on the Munster Semi Final game versus Waterford. So Tipp to win by 3 points.
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Galway v Tipperary (5-04-2009) Preview Knocknagow
Galway and Tipp meet in the sixth round of the National Hurling League in Pearse Stadium Salthill on Sunday. Throw in is at 2.30 and the ref is Westmeath’s Barry Kelly. The game is live on TG4. The second last meeting between the sides in Salthill was in 2007 Galway won 0-26 to 3-13. A series of Galway points saw them go 0-20 to 1-10 ahead after 50 minutes until an Eoin Kelly goal brought Tipp back into it. With 5 minutes to go Tipp goaled again through Paul Kelly and the score was down to 3 points, however Galway powered ahead and got the last 3 points to hold out for a deserved win over a poor Tipp side. The sides met twice in the League; in the group stage in Salthill when it ended level 16 points each. Tipp struggled through the loss of Hugh Moloney through injury and Ryan O’Dwyer sending off before the break as Tipp led by 4 despite playing with a strong wind. Galway were unable to capitalise and with Ger Farragher shocking on frees Eoin Kelly was able to earn a draw with along range free into a strong wind in injury time. The sides also met in the League Final when Tipp won a high scoring game 3-18 to 3-16. The crucial turning point came with 10 minutes to go when Damien Hayes missed the goals when clean through and straight from the puck out Lar Corbett got the ball and buried it. Again it was the solidness of the defence especially Curran and O’Mahony that laid the foundations for the win as both Lar and a great second half from Seamus Butler, 5 second half points, won the game for Tipp.
Galway have 3 wins to date and 2 losses. In their first game they were comprehensively outplayed by Dublin and lost 2-21 to 0-15 and had 2 players sent off for wild pulls. Ger Farragher did most of their scoring with 6 points. In their next game they played the weakened Cork side and had no bother in comfortably beating them 4-16 to 1-11, 2 first half goals, 1 from David Tierney, saw them lead 2-11 to 0-5 and further goals from Callanan saw Galway win comfortably. They then met Kilkenny in a rearranged game in Salthill and were well beaten 1-20 to 0-12. Galway were competitive until the break through Ger Farragher and went a point behind; 7-6. However Kilkenny cut loose in the second half and once Richie Power goaled the game was effectively over. Galway then played Limerick 2 weeks ago and won a tight game 1-14 to 1-12 with Joe Caning back ruling the roost at full forward scoring 1-8 including the last 2 scores from frees to win the game. Last Sunday was their most impressive to date when the beat Waterford in Dungarvan by 1-21 to 2-12. Centre forward Donnellan got a first half goal to see them lead at the break 1-8 to 0-8. They dominated the second half and scored points at will through Healey and Donnellan however they conceded 2 sloppy goals to make for a nervy end to the game.
In analysing Galway to date there are 2 stages; the Galway team that played the first 3 games, (without the Portumna players), and then the last 2 games. Portumna were very impressive in blowing away both Ballyhale and De La Sal to win the All-Ireland and they have 4 of those players in the Galway side last Sunday, the 2 Cannings, full back McEntee and Smith at wing forward. Both of the Cannings have improved things drastically with Ollie again outstanding in the corner against Waterford and Joe who scored 9 points against Waterford, (only 1 from play), and 1-8 against Limerick, (1-1 from play). He has been unerringly accurate from frees and has pointed from sideline cuts on both days. They are now coming into form and with the likes of Cyril Donnellan and Niall Healy scoring freely they are definitely going in the right direction. They do appear to still have a few problems in the backs as was witnessed by the 2 goals gifted to Waterford late on however the news that John Lee is on the way back to man the centre back jersey will please John McIntyre no end.
Liam Sheedy will not be looking forward to this game facing a high scoring resurgent Galway side away from home after conceding 9 goals in 2 games. This game is effectively a play off with the winner being odds on to make the League Final, (although would Tipp want to face Kilkenny again after what happened 2 weeks ago!). Tipp do need the games as opposed to last year we are a very unsettled side. We are still not playing well. The best game we played last year was in the Munster when Tipp played to a game plan of passing the ball to a better placed colleague. This seems to have been forgotten as in the last 2 games the amount of ball that is just walloped out of defence falling from the clouds into our slight half forward line who have very little hope of winning it as they are crowded out of it. Last Sunday Webster was put at the edge of the square and how many balls were played into him in that position; 1 in the second half and his goal was ruled out for a square ball. If we play Webster than the full forward line needs to stay inside the 21 and the ball needs to be played INTELLIGENTLY into them.
Injury update; both Thomas Stapleton and Declan Fanning are out with ankle injuries, Paul Kelly and Hugh Moloney are out with hamstring injuries while Willie Ryan, Darragh Egan and Pat Kerwick are still out with broken thumbs. Positive news with Eoin Kelly though as he is just back training this week after a back injury although it will be a number of weeks before he will be match fit.
The Tipp team was picked tonight after training and is again captained by Conor O’Mahony:
Darren Gleeson.
Eamon Buckley, Paul Curran and Conor O’Brien.
Paddy Stapleton, Conor O'Mahony (Captain) and Shane Maher.
James Woodlock and Shane McGrath.
Patrick Maher, Seamus Callanan and Lar Corbett.
Tony Scroope, Michael Webster and John O'Brien.
Not surprisingly Liam Sheedy has made 5 changes to the side that started against Dublin last Sunday. Sheedy’s club mate, Darren Gleeson, gets his competitive first start for Tipp in goal. Brendan Maher is replaced by his club mate Paddy Stapleton at wing back. James Woodlock switches to midfield. In the half forward line Patrick Maher and Lar Corbett replace Seamus Hennessey and Gearoid Ryan while in corner forward Tony Scroope surprisingly replaces Noel McGrath.
I must admit I am very surprised with this team selection. Personally I think that Mathew Ryan is the second best goalie in the county yet he is not on the panel. Paddy Stapleton is more of a specialised wing back than Brendan Maher. Midfield is a return to the one that started all the Championship games last year. Patrick Maher gets another shot on Sunday and hopefully his bustling physical presence will be used to its full potential. Hopefully Lar has his injuries behind him and can use his height to maximise ball winning under our own puck outs. Noel McGrath was the best Tipp player last Sunday and while Tony Scroope did score a good point when he came on surely he has far more to offer than Scroope. A lot will be asked of John O’Brien again on Sunday as he will probably be marked by Ollie Canning. Another big test for Webster on Sunday, he did not have the best of showings against Dublin although to be fair very little quality ball went into him. I think looking at the side picked that Sheedy is not too concerned about getting to the League Final.
How do I see this game going? Well it is a serious test for both sides. Galway have the momentum after 2 good wins and Tipp are trying to get some after the mauling from Kilkenny and just edging Dublin out the last day. While Galway are not the finished article yet they have leaders in both defence and attack with the 2 Canning’s, players who demand the ball and lead by example, due to injuries and retirement Tipp are lacking this so far this year. Galway will have 6 Portumna players involved on Sunday although Damien Hayes is still out with injury and remarkably only 2 of the players who played versus Tipp at this stage last year are starting on Sunday. What Sheedy wants on Sunday is a good performance, not in 20 minute spells like last Sunday and when we are ahead to be able to close the game out and not squander leads. Also he will want to see leadership, players looking for the ball when the going is tough. We need to use the ball intelligently in the forward line. So Galway’s current form to see them ease past Tipp by 3-4 points.
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Tipperary 2-19 Dublin 4-11 (29-03-2009) Match Report Knocknagow
Tipp just about got their 2009 League campaign back on track after a win over Dublin in Semple Stadium this afternoon. The match was preceded by the Tipp and Louth National League Division 3 football game, with Tipp coming back to win an exciting game by 4 points. Both sides made changes before the start; Dublin brought in David Treacy and Peter Kelly for Simon Lambert and Michael Carton, while Gearoid Ryan replaced his club mate Thomas Stapleton at midfield. Dublin played with a slight wind advantage in the first half on what was a very greasy pitch.
Dublin were first into action when Brendan Maher fouled, but the free was short and Cummins was able to catch and clear. Dublin got the first score soon after when poor back play allowed the ball to break to Shane Durkhan and he pointed. Straight from the puck out the ball came to James Woodlock and he ran and pointed. Both Callanan and Noel McGrath had wides before a Dublin free by Alan McCrabbe put them ahead. Noel McGrath then opened his point with a great score from a tricky angle out on the sideline. Brendan Cummins caught a high ball into the Tipp square and won a free out. David Treacy nudged Dublin in front with a point after 12 minutes. Both Noel McGrath and James Woodlock had goal chances but neither shot in time and the ball eventually went for a 65 which Seamus Hennessey put wide. Dublin then had a point chance but the ball was cleared; it fell to Callanan and he sped towards goal and rifled to the net to give Tipp a 1-2 to 0-3 lead after 15 minutes.
Liam Ruche had a wide for Dublin before John O’Brein got the ball and set up Shane McGrath who pointed after a strong run. Anthony Daly then made his first change with Ruairi Tranor being replaced by former Limerick player Maurice O’Brien. John O’Brien got his first of the day and Noel McGrath pointed. Dublin responded with David O’Callaghan point. John O’Brien got his second after a Shane McGrath pass. Alan McGrabbe got a Dublin free. From the puck out Gearoid Ryan got the ball ran along the sideline and sent in a shot that seemed to be going over but it crept into the corner of the goal. Straight away Hennessey won a 65 which Conor O’Mahony pointed to leave Tipp 2-7 to 0-5 ahead. Great build up play saw David Treacy blast the bal past Cummins. Seamus Hennessey then eased Tipp nerves with 2 frees. A Dublin free was poorly tacken; it fell to Shane McGrath who passed to Callanan who pointed. Paul Curran then dived in on a ball and it came to Treacy and he got his second of the half. After 1 minute of injury time the ref blew as Tipp lead 2-10 to 2-5.
Dublin made 1 change at the start of the second half with Joey Boland being replaced by Simon Lambert. Tipp had the first score after 17 seconds when Noel McGrath pointed. Good play by Webster set up John O’Brien and he pointed. Gearoin Ryan stopped a Dublin run at goals illegally and McCrabbe pointed the free. Hennessey then made a mess of a fee. Dublin then cut loose in a 5 minute spell. Firstly David O’Callaghan pointed; then David Treacy easily waltzed through for his third goal and then scored a superb point fro the sideline and Alan McCrabbe then scored a great sideline cut. The score was now level 2-12 to 3-9. Tipp then made the first change with Patrick Maher replacing Gearoid Ryan, Hennessey went midfield. Woodlock got a point to nudge Tipp a point ahead.
Tipp had a temporary blood sub Tony Scroope for Noel McGrath for about 1 minute. McCrabbe put a fee wide. Webster had the ball in the net but it was rightly ruled out for a square ball. David O’Callaghan got Dublin’s fourth goal after 51 minutes. Tipp brought on Tony Scroope for Seamus Hennessey and Dublin surprisingly brought off McCrabbe and put on Kevin Flynn. Patrick Maher then had his run to goals stopped illegally and Callanan pointed the free to make it 2-14 to 4-9. Dublin then missed 2 scoreable chances. Sheedy brought on Padraig Maher at wing back for Shane Maher. Webster was then yellow carded for a silly foul and was replaced by Lar at full forward. Noel McGrath gained possession and scored a good point to level the scores at 2-15 to 4-9 with 10 minutes left.
Tony Scroope was fouled by being hauled to the ground and Callanan pointed the free to put Tipp ahead. Maurice O’Brien was yellow carded and was replaced by Ger O’Meara. Brendan Maher fouled and David O’Callaghan pointed the free to level the game. Tony Scroope gained possession and got through a few tackles before putting the ball over the bar for his first point. Noel McGrath got another good point to put Tipp 2-18 to 4-10 ahead with the game heading for injury time. Liam Sheedy made the final change with Benny Dunne replacing Woodlock. David O’Callaghan got Dublin’s last point with free. Daly made his last change with Shane Durkhan being replaced by Declan O’Dwyer. Padraig Maher was hauled down in midfield and got no free. A Conor O’Mahony free was caught by Tony Scroope but he put his effort wide. Another Patrick Maher run on gaols was stopped and Callanan pointed the free for Tipp’s last score of the game. The ref signalled 3 minutes but played 4 minutes of injury time. He blew up with Tipp 2-19 to 4-11 ahead.
Anthony Daly will not be happy with this result. They came to Thurles ahead of Tipp in the League standings and were tipped by many of the newspapers to win this game. Yes they performed well in patches but Tipp were there for the taking and they were not able to take advantage. They only seemed to play well when they were well behind. 5 minutes before the break Tipp went 8 points clear; within 10 minutes of the second half Dublin were level. Yet Dublin did not push on and go for the jugular, even when they got their last goal to go ahead by 2 points there was 51 minutes gone they only scored 2 points from play in the next 23 minutes! And missed a few scoreable frees as well. They did have some outstanding displays from Liam Rushe, who won a lot of ball all over the forwards and my Man of the Match David Treacy who finished up with 3-1 to his name. Their naivety and lack of match practice at this level was what counted against them when the pressure came on.
Liam Sheedy will be glad to have got back on track after the Kilkenny game with this win. However the performance was anything but convincing. Dublin scored 4 goals and everytime the ball came into the Tipp full back line there was always a threat of goal. That’s 9 goals conceded in 2 games just not good enough at this level. The positives was that Tipp got the Kilkenny game somewhat out of the system, the display of Noel McGrath, (Tipp’s best player), who scored 5 points, improved performances from Shane McGrath and the fact that Tipp scored 2-13 from play on what was a difficult day for hurling.
Again the lack of calmness in the backs is a hugely worrying sign and Declan Fanning’s commanding display under the dropping ball was badly missed. As backs both Michael Ryan and Sheedy must be tearing their hair out at how many easy goals we are conceding. Tipp were very lucky to win this game as the second goal was a very lucky one from Gearoid Ryan. Tipp should have killed this game off in the first half being 2-7 to 0-5 up after the second goal, yet Dublin were not only allowed back into the game they went 2 points ahead after their fourth goal! That’s a 10 point turn about and at this level of hurling that is not acceptable. It is a moot point as did Dublin lose this game or did Tipp win it. The calmness and leadership that Eamon Corcoran brought to the Tipp backs is badly missed.
Brendan Cummins: Again could not be faulted for the 4 goals that went past him. Was good under the high ball on the greasy surface. 2 of his clearances set up scores. Should have picked out Seamus Hennessey with more on his puck outs.
Full back line: Paul Curran returned to full back after playing the last few games in the corner. Was not as commanding as Fanning is and no bustling runs out of defence. Struggled with Liam Rushe. Eamon Buckley was back in the corner and as the game wore on got more and shakier when the ball came into his corner. Needs to get the ball into his hand sooner. Conor O’Brien was not as commanding as usual and did not exert his usual air of calm and confidence.
Half back line: Shane Maher resumed in his All-Star nominated position of last year. Started off well but faded as the game went on and was replaced by Padraig Maher. Not that much ball came into Conor O’Mahony. He did score a 65 in the first half. Brendan Maher struggled when Liam Rushe went out to the half forward line in the second half.
Midfield: Shane McGrath returned to his usual bustling self that was missing in Nolan Park last Sunday. Scored a point after a good run in the first half and set up Callanan for another. Gearoid Ryan was busy in the first half and got lucky when his point effort went into the net for a goal faded out of the game before being replaced in the second half.
Half forward line: Seamus Hennessey started at wing forward but he too faded out the game. Scored 2 points from frees in the first half. Seamus Callanan led the line from centre forward; scored a cracking goal and point in the first half and 3 points from frees when he took over the free taking duties. Again way too much tippy tappy from him and not rising the ball. Still has that bit of danger as he showed when he got the first half goal. James Woodlock again worked very hard throughout. Scored a point in each half and ended up at midfield.
Full forward line: Noel McGrath had his first start at corner forward and was very impressive. Scored 5 points all from play; looks for the ball and not scared to have a crack at a point. When Tipp were under pressure when Dublin went a head he scored 2 very crucial points. Michael Webster on the edge of the square but got very little ball into him. Had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for a square ball. Again when the ball did come into him both corner forwards came towards him rather than away from him and the breaking ball was cleared. Was yellow carded after a silly foul. John O’Brien started in the corner and scored 3 points as well as setting up a few more. Again needs to contribute more.
Patrick Maher for Gearoid Ryan: Came on after about 45 minutes. While he didn’t score went on 2 runs at goal that led to 2 frees.
Tony Scroope for Seamus Hennessey: Came on after 52 minutes at wing forward. Scored 1 good point and had another wide. Was far more involved in the few minutes today than all of last Sunday.
Padraig Maher for Shane Maher: Came on after 59 minutes. A much belated debut for the Thurles man. Got on the ball a few times and played it sensible laying off the ball to a better placed colleague, hopefully will start the next day.
Lar Corbett for Michael Webster (yellow card): Came on with only minutes left at full forward, didn’t have much time to impress. Glad to see he has recovered from his latest hamstring injury.
Benny Dunne for James Woodlock: Came on with only 2 minutes left, didn’t have much time to make an impression.
So Tipp move on to Salthill next Sunday to face a rejuvenated Galway side who, similar to today, have Tipp connections on the sideline with former Tipp centre back and Lorrha man John McIntyre managing them. Liam Sheedy has a lot of work to do during the week. When Dublin got going in the second half there were no leaders who stood out for Tipp and demanded the ball and took the game by the scruff of the neck. While Tipp did ultimately win today’s game the uncertainty and lack of confidence is surely a worry heading to Salthill to play a Galway team who comfortably dispatched Waterford this afternoon.
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Kilkenny 5-17 Tipperary 1-12 (22-03-09) Match Report- Knocknagow
Tipp’s long unbeaten run in the League came to a shuddering halt in Nowlan Park this afternoon with a 17 point beating. Kilkenny lined out with one change; Henry Shefflin was replaced by Aidan Fogarty; however it was Eddie Brennan who spent most of the time at centre forward. Tipp lined out as selected. The wind was across the field and favoured neither side.
Kilkenny had the first score when Richie Hogan pounced on some sloppy Tipp back play and pointed. The Tipp backs blocked a Kilkenny point effort but Gorta was first onto it and he ran and goaled easily passed Cummins. Woodlock gained possession out near the middle of the field, passed to Noel McGrath who got Tipp’s first point. The next high ball into the Tipp full back line was not dealt with, Fanning pulled way too early and allowed Aidan Fogarty to gain possession and goal 2-1 to 0-1. John O’Brien then had 2 great chances. The first was a catch from a long Brendan Cummins free which he shot narrowly; the second when in great position he passed poorly to Tony Scroope and the ball trickled wide. Callinan then had a great run up the line and was fouled he took the free but it went wide as well. Noel McGrath had a very poor wide. Richie Power pointed a free for Kilkenny before John O’Brien missed a point chance.
Fanning then flicked away the ball when Kilkenny looked set to goal. Richie Power pointed another free. In the 20th minute Eddie Brennan pointed to make it 2-4 to 0-1. Conor O’Mahony pointed a long range free for Tipp. Great pressure by the Kilkenny backs saw both John O’Brien and Scroope unable to shoot and passed to Noel McGrath who missed. Tommy Walsh passed to Brennan who pointed. James Ryall fouled the ball and Callanan pointed the free to make it 2-5 to 0-3 after 27 minutes. Richie Hogan pointed for Kilkenny and Scroope passed to Woodlock who pointed. Richie Power ran easily through the Tipp defence and flicked the ball across the square and TJ Ried expertly flicked it to the net. Within the next minute Reid added 2 more points from play.
In the 33rd minute Gorta goaled after very poor play by Diarmaid Fitzgerald flicked the ball into his hand. He followed up with a point to leave it 4-9 to 0-4. Shane McGrath had a wide before Gorta again goaled; he had so much time he was able to flick the ball nonchalantly over the advancing Cummins. The ref thankfully blew up after 2 minutes of injury time with Kilkenny leading 5-9 to 0-4.
Tipp made a whole host of changes at the start of the second half. Off went Diarmaid Fitzgerald, Benny Dunne and Shane McGrath. Shane Maher came on and went wing back as did Brendan Maher. Woodlock and Gearoid Ryan, (sub in), started on midfield. The half forward line was Noel McGrath, Callanan and Paul Kelly with Scroope, Webster (sub in) and John O’Brien. Kilkenny made 1 change with Michael Grace for Richie Power. Richie Hogan and Rice pointed in between a poor Scroope point effort. Noel McGrath was fouled and Callanan pointed the free. Seamus Hennessey came of for Paul Kelly at wing forward. Kilkenny replaced PJ Ryan with David Herrity as Woodlock had a wide. Webster fumbled and the chance was cleared. Hennessey pointed from a long way out. A Conor O’Mahony pass eventually came to John O’Brien and he pointed. Hennessey put a great goal chance wide.
Kilkenny had to make another change when Michael Fennelly was rightly yellow carded for a dangerous frontal charge on Brendan Maher and was replaced by David Fogarty. Hennessey put a sideline cut wide. Gearoid Ryan had a wide soon after. Webster passed to Callanan and he pointed. Hennessey pointed from long range to leave it 5-11 to 0-10. Michael Grace pointed for Kilkenny. Eoin Larkin replaced Eddie Brennan. Kilkenny eased back into it again with points from Aidan Fogarty, Richie Hogan and David Fogarty. Tipp got a goal that was scarcely deserved when Webster caught a pass from Callanan and delicately flicked the ball over Herrity; 5-15 to 1-10. Both sides made their last changes with Patrick Maher replacing Seamus Callanan and Tommy Walsh replaced by John Cummins. Webster had a goal effort blocked for a 65 which Conor O’Mahony pointed. Both Noel McGrath and Scroope pointed. Richie Hogan pointed for Kilkenny. John O’Brien had a good goal shot tipped over the bar. Gorta got the last score of the game as the ref blew up after 1 minute of injury time with Kilkenny comfortable 5-17 to 1-12 winners.
Off the top of my head this is worst defeat by Tipp in the League since the 2006 loss to Kilkenny by 12 points in the League Semi Final and definitely one of the worst EVER performances I have seen by Tipp. Yes while I do know that every team has a bad day at the office the fact that Kilkenny were without Noel Hickey, J.J. Delaney Cha Fitzpatrick and Henry Shefflin makes it worse. Kilkenny dominated from the first whistle until the end never letting up. They have defiantly got the Waterford loss out of their system and they look odds on to ease to a four in a row. However Cody will not be happy with a lot of their passing in the second half which while being fancy and drew yahoos from the masses served little purpose other than to give Tipp players chances to steal the ball. They backs tackled aggressively all day and allowed the Tipp inside forwards no time on the bal meaning they had to come out the field to try to win the ball. They dominated midfield and what else can be said of the forwards other than they scored 5-17; Martin Comerford ended the game with 3-2! They now are in prime position to qualify for the League Final.
This is a serious slap for the development of this Tipp side. As I said in my preview I felt the forwards were poor and this was true; however the ease at which the half backs were destroyed is a worrying sign. The half forwards won no ball in open play and why the aggressive likes of Seamus Hennessey and Patrick Maher were not started beggars belief. Tipp looked leaden footen and were second to every ball, even Shane McGrath who relishes getting stuck in looked well off the pace. They seemed to be a side that are in the middle of some serious training, (or else I am grasping at straws!!) Even the backs who were outstanding in the 3 games to date were diced to bits when Kilkenny ran at them in the first half scoring 5 goals! The ease at which the Kilkenny players were able to gain the ball in the Tipp half back line, and run unhindered to the edge of the square was frightening. There were very little positives to be taken from the game as Tipp were destroyed in every single area on the pitch.
Brendan Cummins: It says some thing about how easily the Tipp backs were destroyed that he could not be faulted for any of the Kilkenny goals!
Full back line: Fanning did make 2 or 3 vital interceptions to stop further goals and did manage to come out a few balls however not one he will have in his dvd collection. Curran again was not helped by the lack ok cover outside him. Troubled throughout. Conor O’Brien struggle don Richie Hogan who while never showing for the ball still ended up with a handful of points from play.
Half back line: Captain Conor O’Mahony scored a free in the first half and a 65 in the second but was also troubled under the high ball in the first half, and Eddie Brennan if he didn’t win primary possession broke it to a colleague. Benny Dunne was very poor and taken off at the break, striking was very slow and was blocked a few times due to being way too slow on his clearances, time after time went to catch a Kilkenny puck out from behind the much bigger Kilkenny man and lost the vast majority of them. Diarmaid Fitzgerald had another bad day at the office. Was unable to win any ball in the first half which not only derived the Tipp forwards of possession it also meant that Kilkenny were able to run easily through for 5 first half goals. Was directly at fault for 2 of the Kilkenny goals. Even when he got the ball his distribution was poor, replaced at the break.
Midfield: Shane McGrath was taken off at the break. Very poor game. Brendan Maher; I cannot remember him touching the ball in the first half although did play better in the second half when he went back to wing back. Although the play had fractured by then.
Half forward line: Callanan was poor again. First touch was way off. Missed a few scores in both halves; scored a free in both halves and a point from play in the second half. Noel McGrath got Tipp’s first point of the game but had 2 wides in the first half and this with his lack of physicality meant he did very little for the rest of the game. Woodlock scored a point in the first half when at wing forward and 1 in the second when at midfield. Again had a couple of solo’s which ended with him being boxed up and losing possession when there were players at either side screaming for the pass.
Full forward line: I do have sympathy for the full forward line as they got zero decent ball due to the dominance of the Kilkenny half forwards. Tony Scroope had a few chances but did not score, not up to this level. Paul Kelly very poor even when moved to wing forward. John O’Brien had a goal chance in the first half which he blazed wide, scored a point in the second half when in the corner.
Shane Maher for Benny Dunne: Solidified this area some bit cleared a lot of ball.
Gearoid Ryan for Diarmaid Fitzgerald: Had 1 wide in the second half did not get on the ball that much.
Michael Webster for Shane McGrath: Went to the edge of the square. While he did score has a shocking first touch. Got a lot of good ball into him but wasted the vast majority of it due to fumbling, poor pass or lack of control of the ball. Sorry but not up to this level.
Seamus Hennessey for Paul Kelly: While he did score 2 good points he also had 2 wides. While his physicality was welcomed he kept going for his own score instead of looking to try and work a goal.
Patrick Maher for Seamus Callanan: Came on with time just up. Did not have any time to impress.
This loss will test Liam Sheedy’s ability as a manager. In truth Tipp had the chances and 9 first half wides to Kilkenny’s 2 tells its own story, and most of those were score able chances. 6 scores from play from the starting forwards is not good enough either. Hopefully in September we will be able to look back at this game and say it was the day that Tipp turned a corner. Again out lack of physicality in many areas of the field was cruelly punished. While it is not time for wholesale culling of players from the team and panel certainly a few players today let themselves and Tipp down badly. Tipp are joined on top if the League by both Dublin and Kilkenny but due to the heavy beating they will need to win all of the rest of the games to get to the League Final. Tipp now have to face a Dublin side who beat Waterford by a point in Thurles next Sunday.
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Tipperary 2-19 Dublin 4-11 (29-03-2009)
Tipp just about got their 2009 League campaign back on track after a win over Dublin in Semple Stadium this afternoon. The match was preceded by the Tipp and Louth National League Division 3 football game, with Tipp coming back to win an exciting game by 4 points. Both sides made changes before the start; Dublin brought in David Treacy and Peter Kelly for Simon Lambert and Michael Carton, while Gearoid Ryan replaced his club mate Thomas Stapleton at midfield. Dublin played with a slight wind advantage in the first half on what was a very greasy pitch.
Dublin were first into action when Brendan Maher fouled, but the free was short and Cummins was able to catch and clear. Dublin got the first score soon after when poor back play allowed the ball to break to Shane Durkhan and he pointed. Straight from the puck out the ball came to James Woodlock and he ran and pointed. Both Callanan and Noel McGrath had wides before a Dublin free by Alan McCrabbe put them ahead. Noel McGrath then opened his point with a great score from a tricky angle out on the sideline. Brendan Cummins caught a high ball into the Tipp square and won a free out. David Treacy nudged Dublin in front with a point after 12 minutes. Both Noel McGrath and James Woodlock had goal chances but neither shot in time and the ball eventually went for a 65 which Seamus Hennessey put wide. Dublin then had a point chance but the ball was cleared; it fell to Callanan and he sped towards goal and rifled to the net to give Tipp a 1-2 to 0-3 lead after 15 minutes.
Liam Ruche had a wide for Dublin before John O’Brein got the ball and set up Shane McGrath who pointed after a strong run. Anthony Daly then made his first change with Ruairi Tranor being replaced by former Limerick player Maurice O’Brien. John O’Brien got his first of the day and Noel McGrath pointed. Dublin responded with David O’Callaghan point. John O’Brien got his second after a Shane McGrath pass. Alan McGrabbe got a Dublin free. From the puck out Gearoid Ryan got the ball ran along the sideline and sent in a shot that seemed to be going over but it crept into the corner of the goal. Straight away Hennessey won a 65 which Conor O’Mahony pointed to leave Tipp 2-7 to 0-5 ahead. Great build up play saw David Treacy blast the bal past Cummins. Seamus Hennessey then eased Tipp nerves with 2 frees. A Dublin free was poorly tacken; it fell to Shane McGrath who passed to Callanan who pointed. Paul Curran then dived in on a ball and it came to Treacy and he got his second of the half. After 1 minute of injury time the ref blew as Tipp lead 2-10 to 2-5.
Dublin made 1 change at the start of the second half with Joey Boland being replaced by Simon Lambert. Tipp had the first score after 17 seconds when Noel McGrath pointed. Good play by Webster set up John O’Brien and he pointed. Gearoin Ryan stopped a Dublin run at goals illegally and McCrabbe pointed the free. Hennessey then made a mess of a fee. Dublin then cut loose in a 5 minute spell. Firstly David O’Callaghan pointed; then David Treacy easily waltzed through for his third goal and then scored a superb point fro the sideline and Alan McCrabbe then scored a great sideline cut. The score was now level 2-12 to 3-9. Tipp then made the first change with Patrick Maher replacing Gearoid Ryan, Hennessey went midfield. Woodlock got a point to nudge Tipp a point ahead.
Tipp had a temporary blood sub Tony Scroope for Noel McGrath for about 1 minute. McCrabbe put a fee wide. Webster had the ball in the net but it was rightly ruled out for a square ball. David O’Callaghan got Dublin’s fourth goal after 51 minutes. Tipp brought on Tony Scroope for Seamus Hennessey and Dublin surprisingly brought off McCrabbe and put on Kevin Flynn. Patrick Maher then had his run to goals stopped illegally and Callanan pointed the free to make it 2-14 to 4-9. Dublin then missed 2 scoreable chances. Sheedy brought on Padraig Maher at wing back for Shane Maher. Webster was then yellow carded for a silly foul and was replaced by Lar at full forward. Noel McGrath gained possession and scored a good point to level the scores at 2-15 to 4-9 with 10 minutes left.
Tony Scroope was fouled by being hauled to the ground and Callanan pointed the free to put Tipp ahead. Maurice O’Brien was yellow carded and was replaced by Ger O’Meara. Brendan Maher fouled and David O’Callaghan pointed the free to level the game. Tony Scroope gained possession and got through a few tackles before putting the ball over the bar for his first point. Noel McGrath got another good point to put Tipp 2-18 to 4-10 ahead with the game heading for injury time. Liam Sheedy made the final change with Benny Dunne replacing Woodlock. David O’Callaghan got Dublin’s last point with free. Daly made his last change with Shane Durkhan being replaced by Declan O’Dwyer. Padraig Maher was hauled down in midfield and got no free. A Conor O’Mahony free was caught by Tony Scroope but he put his effort wide. Another Patrick Maher run on gaols was stopped and Callanan pointed the free for Tipp’s last score of the game. The ref signalled 3 minutes but played 4 minutes of injury time. He blew up with Tipp 2-19 to 4-11 ahead.
Anthony Daly will not be happy with this result. They came to Thurles ahead of Tipp in the League standings and were tipped by many of the newspapers to win this game. Yes they performed well in patches but Tipp were there for the taking and they were not able to take advantage. They only seemed to play well when they were well behind. 5 minutes before the break Tipp went 8 points clear; within 10 minutes of the second half Dublin were level. Yet Dublin did not push on and go for the jugular, even when they got their last goal to go ahead by 2 points there was 51 minutes gone they only scored 2 points from play in the next 23 minutes! And missed a few scoreable frees as well. They did have some outstanding displays from Liam Rushe, who won a lot of ball all over the forwards and my Man of the Match David Treacy who finished up with 3-1 to his name. Their naivety and lack of match practice at this level was what counted against them when the pressure came on.
Liam Sheedy will be glad to have got back on track after the Kilkenny game with this win. However the performance was anything but convincing. Dublin scored 4 goals and everytime the ball came into the Tipp full back line there was always a threat of goal. That’s 9 goals conceded in 2 games just not good enough at this level. The positives was that Tipp got the Kilkenny game somewhat out of the system, the display of Noel McGrath, (Tipp’s best player), who scored 5 points, improved performances from Shane McGrath and the fact that Tipp scored 2-13 from play on what was a difficult day for hurling.
Again the lack of calmness in the backs is a hugely worrying sign and Declan Fanning’s commanding display under the dropping ball was badly missed. As backs both Michael Ryan and Sheedy must be tearing their hair out at how many easy goals we are conceding. Tipp were very lucky to win this game as the second goal was a very lucky one from Gearoid Ryan. Tipp should have killed this game off in the first half being 2-7 to 0-5 up after the second goal, yet Dublin were not only allowed back into the game they went 2 points ahead after their fourth goal! That’s a 10 point turn about and at this level of hurling that is not acceptable. It is a moot point as did Dublin lose this game or did Tipp win it. The calmness and leadership that Eamon Corcoran brought to the Tipp backs is badly missed.
Brendan Cummins: Again could not be faulted for the 4 goals that went past him. Was good under the high ball on the greasy surface. 2 of his clearances set up scores. Should have picked out Seamus Hennessey with more on his puck outs.
Full back line: Paul Curran returned to full back after playing the last few games in the corner. Was not as commanding as Fanning is and no bustling runs out of defence. Struggled with Liam Rushe. Eamon Buckley was back in the corner and as the game wore on got more and shakier when the ball came into his corner. Needs to get the ball into his hand sooner. Conor O’Brien was not as commanding as usual and did not exert his usual air of calm and confidence.
Half back line: Shane Maher resumed in his All-Star nominated position of last year. Started off well but faded as the game went on and was replaced by Padraig Maher. Not that much ball came into Conor O’Mahony. He did score a 65 in the first half. Brendan Maher struggled when Liam Rushe went out to the half forward line in the second half.
Midfield: Shane McGrath returned to his usual bustling self that was missing in Nolan Park last Sunday. Scored a point after a good run in the first half and set up Callanan for another. Gearoid Ryan was busy in the first half and got lucky when his point effort went into the net for a goal faded out of the game before being replaced in the second half.
Half forward line: Seamus Hennessey started at wing forward but he too faded out the game. Scored 2 points from frees in the first half. Seamus Callanan led the line from centre forward; scored a cracking goal and point in the first half and 3 points from frees when he took over the free taking duties. Again way too much tippy tappy from him and not rising the ball. Still has that bit of danger as he showed when he got the first half goal. James Woodlock again worked very hard throughout. Scored a point in each half and ended up at midfield.
Full forward line: Noel McGrath had his first start at corner forward and was very impressive. Scored 5 points all from play; looks for the ball and not scared to have a crack at a point. When Tipp were under pressure when Dublin went a head he scored 2 very crucial points. Michael Webster on the edge of the square but got very little ball into him. Had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for a square ball. Again when the ball did come into him both corner forwards came towards him rather than away from him and the breaking ball was cleared. Was yellow carded after a silly foul. John O’Brien started in the corner and scored 3 points as well as setting up a few more. Again needs to contribute more.
Patrick Maher for Gearoid Ryan: Came on after about 45 minutes. While he didn’t score went on 2 runs at goal that led to 2 frees.
Tony Scroope for Seamus Hennessey: Came on after 52 minutes at wing forward. Scored 1 good point and had another wide. Was far more involved in the few minutes today than all of last Sunday.
Padraig Maher for Shane Maher: Came on after 59 minutes. A much belated debut for the Thurles man. Got on the ball a few times and played it sensible laying off the ball to a better placed colleague, hopefully will start the next day.
Lar Corbett for Michael Webster (yellow card): Came on with only minutes left at full forward, didn’t have much time to impress. Glad to see he has recovered from his latest hamstring injury.
Benny Dunne for James Woodlock: Came on with only 2 minutes left, didn’t have much time to make an impression.
So Tipp move on to Salthill next Sunday to face a rejuvenated Galway side who, similar to today, have Tipp connections on the sideline with former Tipp centre back and Lorrha man John McIntyre managing them. Liam Sheedy has a lot of work to do during the week. When Dublin got going in the second half there were no leaders who stood out for Tipp and demanded the ball and took the game by the scruff of the neck. While Tipp did ultimately win today’s game the uncertainty and lack of confidence is surely a worry heading to Salthill to play a Galway team who comfortably dispatched Waterford this afternoon.
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Kilkenny v Tipperary (21-03-09) preview
Tipp and Kilkenny face off in Round 4 of Division 1 National Hurling League in Nowlan Park next Sunday at 2.30 with Cathal McAllister from Cork the ref. The game is being shown deferred on TG4. This is the second year in a row Tipp have to play Kilkenny in the League in Nowlan Park. Last year it was in the League semi-final. Kilkenny started off well and goaled through Eddie Brennan, soon after Lar Corbett responded with a similar score. Tipp got 4 unanswered points and led 1-9 to 1-5 at the break having played with the aid of a strong wind. Eoin Kelly and Seamus Callanan got the main second half scores as Tipp extended the lead to win 1-15 to 1-10. Two years ago Tipp won 3-13 to 2-13 in the group stage. Tipp got off to a great start with a Danny O’Hanlon goal; this was followed soon after by a Paul Kelly goal and further points from the Kelly’s saw Tipp lead comfortably at the break 2-8 to 0-7. Danny O’Hanlon put an Eoin Kelly rebound to the net and the Tipp lead was 10 points with 20 minutes to go. Martin Comerford and Eddie Brennan goaled to reduce the gap to only 2 points with a minute to go but then a late free sealed a 3 point win for Tipp.
Kilkenny have played 3 games to date. Their first game against Galway was postponed and was played 2 weeks ago. So in their first game they narrowly overcame Limerick in Nowlan Park 0-15 to 0-14. With Ritchie Power motoring well at centre forward they led 11 to 7 at the break. Limerick dominated the second half but some poor shooting let them down as Kilkenny won by a point. Kilkenny then lost to Waterford in Walsh Park, 2-17 to 1-16. It was an ill-tempered game in which Tommy Walsh and Jackie Tyrell both saw yellow and Eddie Brennan red. This along with a few injuries meant that Kilkenny trailed 1-11 to 0-11 at the break. Despite a late James Ryall point and a Ritchie Power goal Waterford held on for the win. 2 weeks ago Kilkenny played Galway in Salthill in the refixed game and had a comfortable win; 1-20 to 0-12. Despite missing a penalty Kilkenny led by a point at the break 7-6. A Richie Power goal at the start of the second half effectively killed the game as Kilkenny finished strongly. While Kilkenny do have a whole host of injuries, Cha Fitzpatrick, JJ Delaney and Noel Hickey they are expected to have Henry Shefflin back for Sunday.
Since the last Tipp game 3 weeks ago only one player from the current Senior panel; Thomas Stapleton, was involved in the Fitzgibbon Cup, he captained the UL side that lost the final. Shane McGrath and Brendan Maher were involved with the Mary I side that won the Ryan Cup. Last weekend a number of the squad members played in County League games and a fairly experimental Tipp side also played Offaly in a challenge match winning, 4-27 to 0-16 with Padraic Maher, Pa Bourke, Seamus Hennessy and Tony Scroope all impressing. While Tipp do sit on top of the League it should be noted that we played a weakened Waterford side, a Cork side who everyone have comfortably beat and a disinterested Clare team. In the rest of the games we will have to play both Galway, (who will have their All-Ireland club players back), and Kilkenny away as well as both Dublin and Limerick at home. So in order to get to the League Final we would need to beat at least one of Galway or Kilkenny. Injury update; Willie Ryan went off with an injury at half time in the Clare game and is out for an additional month with a broken bone in his thumb. Both Lar and Callanan came through their first games of the year ok and they along with Michael Webster are all available. Darragh Egan, Eoin Kelly and Hugh Moloney are not yet match fit.
The Tipp team was picked tonight after training and is captained by Conor O’Mahony:
Brendan Cummins.
Conor O’Brien, Declan Fanning and Paul Curran.
Benny Dunne, Conor O'Mahony (Captain) and Diarmaid Fitzgerald.
Brendan Maher and Shane McGrath.
Noel McGrath, Seamus Callanan and James Woodlock.
Tony Scroope, John O'Brien and Paul Kelly.
Liam Sheedy again continues his policy of changing the side so the team shows 3 changes from the side that beat Clare 3 weeks ago. All 3 are due to injury with Conor O’Brien replacing Paddy Stapleton at corner back, Brendan Maher replacing Thomas Stapleton at midfield and Tony Scroope coming in for Willie Ryan in the forwards. Of the 3 Tony Scroope coming in is the most surprising as he had seemed to have drifted off the radar after only getting a few cameos under Babs regime. Still a good showing on Sunday against Kilkenny will show that he has what it takes.
Again the backs look solid although Shane Maher must be getting worried on the sideline as both Benny Dunne and Diarmaid Fitz both seem to have gone ahead of him. The search continues for a midfield partner for Shane McGrath with Brendan Maher getting his chance after impressing in the second half of the Cork game. The half forward line has a very inexperienced look to it with Noel McGrath starting his second League game, Seamus Callinan returning for his second game of the year and Woodlock who is better suited to midfield. Woodlock needs to produce a consistently good 70 minutes as he has faded badly out of the 3 games to date. Sunday will be another step up for Noel McGrath and while he scored against Clare he needs to exert himself more especially under the dropping ball, given the nature of the Kilkenny backs we will know a lot more about him by Sunday evening. Seamus Hennessy, Lar Corbett and Padraic Maher, (Sars), will all be disappointed not to be starting although we should hopefully see some of them during the 70 minutes.
There are a number of interesting aspects of the game; Tipp are unbeaten in the League since losing to Waterford in the Semi-Final in Nowlan Park in April 2007 and are on an 11 game unbeaten run and they were the only side to beat Kilkenny in League or Championship last year and of course Paul Kelly is coming back to the city where he does his club hurling! Kilkenny will be well up for this game having lost to Waterford although they got that game out of their system ruthlessly putting away a weak Galway side on their last outing. They will not want to lose to Tipp at home for the third year in a row and a loss on Sunday would seriously dent their prospects of getting to a League Final. This game is a serious step up in class for Tipp and while Kilkenny may have a few injuries it is a pretty inexperienced Tipp forward line that will take the field on Sunday. We need to get quality ball into John O’Brien and Paul Kelly; 2 experienced campaigners who be relied upon to take the scoring chances and to date we have struggled to do this. The half forward line also need win primary possession and with both wing men light we could struggle. This physical aspect of Sunday’s game may have suited Seamus Hennessy in at wing forward. With Liam Sheedy continuing his policy of trying out players I think that Kilkenny, despite missing a few, will be just too strong and will end our unbeaten run by about 2 points.
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Tipperary 0-23 Clare 0-16 (1-03-2009) Knocknagow
Tipp beat Clare by 7 points in Semple Stadium this afternoon in front of a poor attendance of only 3,095. There was no negligible wind advantage to either side in the first half although it did pick up during the break and favoured Tipp in the second half. Tipp made 1 change before throw in with Seamus Hennessy being replaced at wing forward by Loughmore’s Noel McGrath; making his first Senior competitive start for Tipp. Clare made no changes.
Tipp had the first attack of the game which resulted from a poor Pat Vaughan clearance being caught by Paul Kelly who passed to Seamus Callanan whose shot came back off the base of the post and was cleared to safety. Gilly had a Clare wide before fumbling in the Tipp backs let Diarmaid McMahon point. Callanan had a bad wide. John O’Brien was then through on goals, (and also had Willie Ryan on his shoulder), but he was hauled to ground by Dillon who amazingly was not yellow carded. Willie Ryan pointed the free. Straight away Paul Kelly intercepted a pass and pointed he followed this up with a point before Shane McGrath robbed a ball in midfield and was fouled; Willie Ryan did the needful from the free. Barry Nugent pointed for Clare. Both free takers then missed easy chances. Diarmaid McMahon pointed to level the game at 3 each.
In the 14th minute a Benny Dunne clearance was caught by Callinan and after a good run he pointed. Noel McGrath found his path blocked on the 40 and he spotted Tom Stapleton in acres of space out in the midfield and passed the ball out to him and Stapleton pointed. Conor O’Mahony passed to Fitzgerald who picked out Paul Kelly who pointed. Callinan then got the ball and after a run he pointed to Tipp 7-3 up. Alan Markham caught and passed to Tony Griffin who pointed. Clare then made their first switch with Conor McMahon replacing Pat Vaughan at corner back.
Shane McGrath passed to Willie Ryan who pointed as did Jonathon Clancy from long range. John O’Brien was fouled and Willie pointed the free. John O’Brien was again hauled down by Dillon, again no yellow card and Willie Ryan took the quick free and buried it but the ref made him retake it and he put the ball over the bar. A Conor O’Mahony pass to Thomas Stapleton was intercepted and Clancy pointed. Callinan passed to Noel McGrath and he got his first point. Clare made their second change with Enda Barrett being replaced by James McInerney. Barry Nugent pointed for Clare. This was followed by another Gilligan point after a poor Tipp clearance. Paul Curran then made a great catch and clearance. Gilly had a wide before a great block by Benny ultimately led to a Clare free which Colin Ryan pointed. Jonathon Clancy passed to Gilligan who got the last score of the half to leave it 12 to 10 in Tipp’s favour after 37 minutes of the first half.
Tipp made a change at the start of the second half with Lar Corbett replacing Willie Ryan. John O’Brien was fouled and Callanan pointed the free. Gilly then had a wide and Curran blocked a Clare goal effort. Gerry Quinn took a free and pointed it. A Clare pick up off the ground was a Tipp free and it was pointed by Callanan. Conor O’Mahony then put a free wide as did Callinan when he should have passed to Woodlock. A wild swing by Tony Griffin on Shane McGrath saw him yellow carded and he was replaced by Camin Morey; Callanan took the free short to Noel McGrath who pointed. Lar Corbett passed the ball from 1 sideline to the other and Callanan pointed so Tipp led 16 to 11 after 47 minutes. Shane McGrath passed to Thomas Stapleton who pointed. Poor play by the Tipp backs allowed Barry Nugent to point. A late and dirty pull on Conor O’Mahony’s fingers saw Diarmaid McMahon yellow carded and he was replaced by Brian O’Connell; Callanan scored the free to extend Tipp’s lead to 6 points.
Tipp then had their first yellow card of the League when Benny Dunne was carded for a late pull and was replaced by Shane Maher, Colin Ryan pointed the free. John O’Brien caught the ball, turned and pointed. Thomas Stapleton had a wide. Lar, now at centre forward, turned and pointed. Jonathon Clancy pointed for Clare. Callanan then pointed a free after his club mate Woodlock was fouled. Sheedy made his third change when Woodlock was replaced by Pat Kerwick. Paul Kelly’s effort was blocked for a 65 which Callanan pointed to put Tipp 22 to 14 after 60 minutes. John Devane came on for Noel McGrath and went centre forward. Fanning fouled and Colin Ryan pointed.
Both Gilly and Callanan had poor efforts wide. Sheedy made his final change with Gearoid Ryan replacing Shane McGrath at midfield. That made 2 Templederry men in Tipp’s midfield! Barry Nugent got Clare’s last score with a point. Clare made their last change with Alan Markham replaced by mark Flaherty. John Devane won a free which Callanan pointed for the last score of the game. With the game just up Clare won a penalty which Colin Ryan took but both Cummins and Curran cleared out for a 65 which Colin Ryan missed as well. Callanan had Tipp’s last chance but put the 65 wide after a weak Lar shot was allowed to trickle under Philip Brennans legs. Fanning had a great catch and clearance at the end as the ref blew up after 3 minutes of injury time with Tipp 0-23 to 0-16 ahead.
While Liam Sheedy will be happy with the win and first starts for Noel McGrath and Paddy Stapleton there will be aspects of the game that will have frustrated him. Tipp conceded way too many frees and also the backs gave away possession too easily at times. Conor O’Mahony hit the ball short on 2 occasions and Clare pointed Fanning was also caught as well and Clare pointed. While it is all well and good to work the ball out of defence there are also times when the ball should just be cleared. Tipp only had 1 goal effort when Callanan’s shot came back off the post after that Tipp had no goal effort. Considering how dodgy Philip Brennan has been recently Tipp should have had a few more pots at goal. On the positive the backs as a unit played well with both Fanning and O’Mahony holding the line well. In the forwards there was a good spread of scores with all of them bar Woodlock scoring.
Mike McNamara will not be happy after this game. He hastily replaced 2 players in the first half and then with the 2 yellow cards he could not give many more players a run out later on. To my eye Clare physically look very unfit; Barry Nugent, Diarmaid McMahon and Niall Gilligan all look seriously over weight and considering there is less than 3 moths to the Championship this has to be a worrying sign for them. Jonathon Clancy was their best Clare scoring at will and a constant thorn in Tipp’s side. Gerry Quinn and Barry Nugent were also ones to catch the eye. They now are in serious relegation trouble with no points from 3 games.
Brendan Cummins: Used the wind well with his puck outs in the second half and was landing them in the Clare 21 yard line. Along with Curran cleared the Clare penalty at the end.
Full back line: Paddy Stapleton on his first start had a good tidy game, nothing flash or fancy he cleared the ball if he could and was bottled up passed to a better placed colleague. Declan Fanning had Alan Markham in his pocket another good game from the Killenaule man. Paul Curran had another good game strong in the tackle and cleared his lines well.
Half back line: Benny Dunne played well until his yellow card set up John O’Brien for a good point and caught the ball well in the air a few times. Conor O’Mahony acted as a sweeper in between the half backs and full back line; was imperious in the air but his clearances were not up to their usual high standard. Diarmaid Fitzgerald had another good game covered acres and acres of ground and drove the ball out time and time again; made himself free for a pass when needed.
Midfield: Thomas Stapleton scored a point in each half seriously upped his performance for the Waterford game and hurled a lot of ball. Shane McGrath had another good game. Still does not appear to be at 100% but this game will have brought him on a lot; faded in the second half.
Half forward line: Noel McGrath in his first start for the Tipp seniors scored a point in each half. Did not win much under the high ball but showed superb awareness to throw the ball out to Thomas Stapleton in the first half when he knew he could not score himself. James Woodlock; not much of the ball came his way; he won a free just before he came off. Seamus Callanan in his first Tipp start of the year had a good game; scored 9 points in total; 2 points from play in the first half and 1 in the second half. He took over the free taking duties in the second half and scored 5 as well as a 65. Only missed 1 and that was 65 well into injury time. Went into the corner near the end. Showed well all day and good to have him back at centre forward.
Full forward line: Captain Willie Ryan was replaced at the break; scored 4 points from play in the first half and 1 free. Had the ball in the net from a 21 yard effort but was called back by the ref. Needs to do more in open play. Paul Kelly scored 2 good points in the first half and nearly set up Lar for a goal in the second half only for effort to be blocked out for a 65, was very quiet in the second half due to seeing very little of the ball. John O’Brien scored 1 point in the second half, a lot of ball came his way but he didn’t do much with it. Was hauled down twice when straight through on goals. Full forward is his best position.
Lar Corbett for Willie Ryan: Came on at half time and went corner forward and for the last quarter went to wing forward. Scored a good point and was well involved in the play. Needs more game to get up to back Championship sharpness.
Shane Maher for Benny Dunne (yellow card): Came on after 50 minutes and went wing back, didn’t see much of the play.
Pat Kerwick for James Woodlock: Came on after 56 minutes at wing forward and didn’t do much.
John Devane for Noel McGrath: Came on with just over 10 minutes to go at wing forward. Was fouled in the lead up to Tipp’s last point.
Geraoid Ryan for Shane McGrath: Came on with 6 minutes to go. Don’t think he touched the ball.
So Tipp ultimately recoded a 7 point win in what was a poor game that never really sprung to life or had any intensity. Once Willie Ryan got Tipp’s second point Clare never went ahead. Sheedy will be glad that he was able to change over half the team and Tipp did not look unduly bothered by that. While there is still a lot of work to do, our half forward line is not winning vaguely enough ball from puck outs and this is having the effect of depriving the inside line of decent quality ball. Still Tipp are motoring along nicely in the right direction although the next game against Kilkenny will tell an awful lot.
So Tipp move onto the fourth round of the League against Kilkenny, (presumably with their Ballyhale boys back), in Nowlan Park in 3 weeks time. Tipp are top of the League as the only unbeaten side and despite the result of the Kilkenny v Galway re-fixture will remain there until the Kilkenny game. Sheedy will be glad that the Fitzgibbon final next weekend will not hamper his training as there are not that many of the senior panel involved. He will however be disappointed with the stop start nature of the League as Tipp have 3 weeks off and then 2 games in 7 days. Anyways on to Nowlan Park in 3 weeks time!
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Tipp v Clare (1-03-2009) Knocknagow
Tipp and Clare meet in Division 1 Round 3 of the 2009 National Hurling League in Semple Stadium Thurles on next Sunday at 2.30 with John Sexton of Cork the ref. The last league meeting between the sides was in Cusack Park, Ennis last year which ended in a draw; 0-17 to 1-14. Tipp with the aid of the wind lead 1-6 to 0-4 at the break with a goal from Tommy Fitzgerald. Despite leading by 4 points with 10 minutes to go, Clare through Mark Flaherty 3 frees and Fergal Lynch drew level as the game finished up Tipp 1-14 Clare 0-17. Incumbent Waterford manager was a sub on the Clare bench that day. The last meeting in Thurles was in 2005 when Clare won 1-16 to 0-15. Clare lead 1-8 to 0-6 at the break due to an Andrew Quinn goal. Tipp struggled for most of the second half and actually were behind by 9 points and reduced the gap to 3 but Clare were always in control and won by 4 points.
Clare have played two games to date. In Round 1 they lost a high scoring match to a very inexperienced Limerick side in the Gaelic Grounds 3-11 to 1-18. 3 first half Limerick goals had Clare struggling 3-9 to 0-7 at the break. While the third goal was a great effort from Shaughnessy the other 2 were Philip Brennan’s fault; conceding a needless penalty and then dropping a ball in the square allowing Wayne McNamara to flick to an empty net. Clare rallied in the second half, despite being 3-10 to 0-7 down at one stage, and dominated for longs spells through points from Colm Ryan and Diarmaid McMahon and a Barry Nugent goal leaving only a point in it. Limerick went 2 ahead before a Tony Carmody reply left only a point in it at the end of high scoring game. Last Sunday they played Waterford in Ennis in Round 2 and lost by 0-20 to 0-13. Clare who had to line out without centre back Gerry Quinn were sluggish in the first half and were behind 11 to 6 at the break. Despite a second half push Waterford closed the game out to win by 7 points. Top scorers for Clare were Niall Gilligan, 5 points, Colm Ryan and Barry Nugent with 3 points each. Clare will have centre back Gerry Quinn available again after missing the Waterford game with a broken nose.
There has been a lot of critical analysis of Tipp’s 2 games to date which is very harsh considering that’s its only February and it’s the Championship that Sheedy is aiming for. The aim of the League is to find a few new players, give new players game time, build up a bit of momentum and win a few games. In just 2 games Patrick Maher has played both games and scored in both. While he is not the easiest hurler on the eye or the prettiest to watch we have had enough “tippy-tappy hurlers”, (sorry Paddy Finucane!), in the half forward line who have failed to either win primary possession or be a consistent goal threat. We need a ball winning, marauding half forward, (in the style of Niall McCarthy or Martin Comerford), who offers something different. Patrick Maher is young and raw and while he might not make the Tipp team this year he is one for the future. Of the other debutants both Brendan Maher and Gearoid Ryan both impressive cameos at midfield, Seamus Hennessy score 2 points and set up another in his first introduction to intercounty hurling from the troublesome wing forward spot, and most promisingly of all Noel McGrath quietly made his Senior intercounty debut. Along with such “seasoned” campaigners as Pa Bourke; 3rd year on the panel, Seamus Callinan; 2nd year on the panel and Padraig Maher, Sars, yet to make his debut that is eight high quality players on the Tipp panel aged between 19-22. Add into that Paul Kelly returning to form, he has missed the last 2 Championship campaigns due to injury, and Tipp are in a position that most counties would willingly trade for.
It has been the backs that have been most impressive to date. In the 2 games they have conceded only 7 points to the starting 12 forwards of both Cork and Waterford. Yes I know the ground conditions were shocking against Waterford and that is was only the diet Cork side they were up against but that still is a good return. Last year Sheedy built the team from the back around the spine of Curran, O’Mahony and McGrath and I expect it will be the same this year. Again it is the forwards that are causing the most headaches and I suspect that the half forward line will not be 100% settled come the 31st May. Both teams had players on the Interpro side, (Tipp had 7), who played last weekend and on the various Fitzgibbon sides who played yesterday.
The Tipp team was picked last night and is captained by Willie Ryan:
Brendan Cummins.
Paddy Stapleton, Declan Fanning and Paul Curran.
Benny Dunne, Conor O'Mahony and Diarmaid Fitzgerald.
Thomas Stapleton and Shane McGrath.
Seamus Hennessy, Seamus Callanan and James Woodlock.
Willie Ryan, John O'Brien and Paul Kelly.
The Tipp side shows 8 changes from the side that beat Cork 2 weeks ago. Brendan Cummins returns in goals. Paddy Stapleton of Borrisileigh gets his first start with Tipp. Benny Dunne is restored to wing back in place of Brendan Maher. In midfield Thomas Stapleton partners Shane McGrath in place of Shane Maher. In the forwards Kilruane’s Seamus Hennessy gets his first start after his impressive showing when introduced as sub against Cork. Seamus Callanan gets his first start of the year at centre forward after impressing in recent weeks with LIT. Willie Ryan has recovered from a calf injury and resumes at corner forward where he is joined by John O’Brien at the edge of the square. The 3 forwards to lose out are Pat Kerwick, Patrick Maher and Pa Bourke. Eoin Kelly has only just returned to training from a back injury so was not considered, while Hugh Moloney is still a few weeks away from returning with a hamstring injury and Michael Webster is still out with a thigh injury.
Sheedy has again made a whole raft of changes from the Cork game. Again the backs look solid, with Paddy Stapleton getting his chance after his cameo against Waterford at wing back in the All-Ireland Semi Final last year. Given the amount of wing backs we have midfield is the only place that Thomas Stapleton can realistically gain a place. I would consider James Woodlock luck to start as in both League games to date after very good starts he has faded drastically. It will be interesting to see how Hennessy fairs on the wing and in the step up in class, a big strong robust player well able to catch and score. Has performed superbly for Tipp at minor under Sheedy in the forwards and captained the U21’s from midfield last year. It is good to see Callanan back, he was a late blossomer last year only coming to prominence at the very end of the League. Good to see Paul Kelly get another game under his belt in the corner and hopefully he will see more ball this week. If that full forward line get enough ball then can do serious damage.
Given that Clare have lost both of their League matches to date, Mike McNamara is under pressure to win this game and will be gunning for Tipp’s scalp. Clare have beaten Tipp in the Crystal Final last month and will be relishing a crack off Tipp. Tipp need to be cuter than against Cork, way too many times in the Cork game balls were just cleared out of defence without any thought. The ball needs to go into the corner forwards low and early to give them time to be able to use it rather than big high balls into small forwards. However given the fact that the game is at home, the number of newer players in this Tipp selection pushing for starting jerseys, and the Tipp players wanting to step up from the poor performance against Cork, I expect that Tipp will have just enough to see Clare off by 2-3 points.
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Tipperary Cork (14-02-2009) Match report Knocknaogow
Tipp got their second win of the National Hurling League this evening in Semple Stadium with an unconvincing 12 point win over Cork in front of a crowd of 9,150. After all the razzmatazz with switching on of the floodlights and the Thurles Gospel Choir it was down to the main action with the game. Tipp lined out as selected but Cork made one change with Joe Moran on for Eoin Clancy at corner back. There was no negligible wind advantage to either side. Cork played with a 2 man full forward line and pulled an extra player to sweep between their full and half back lines.
Tipp had the first attack when a Brendan Maher sideline cut was caught by Paul Kelly but his effort was wide. Cork had the first score of the day when Tadgh Og Murphy pointed from wing forward. They nearly had another after a poor Gerry Kennedy puck out was narrowly wide. Tipp got their first score when Woodlock’s run on goals was thwarted and Pa Bourke pointed the free. Shane McGrath fouled but Barry Johnson put the free wide. Shane Maher had a wide from a long way out. Paul Kelly then hit a goal effort from a long way out and the Cork goalie fumbled under pressure from Patrick Maher, Conor O’Mahony put the 65 wide. Tipp took the lead for the first time after 12 minutes when James Woodlock reacted first to a Paul Kelly point effort that was blocked and he pointed. He then had a wide. Tipp worked the ball up the Old Stand side with Patrick Maher passing to Pa Bourke who despite being under severe pressure found John Devane and he pointed.
A poor clearance from Fanning came straight to Barry Johnson and he pointed. Great play from Diarmaid Fitzgerald failed to get a score. A Brendan Maher foul led to Barry Johnson equalising after 19 minutes. Tipp then got 2 points the first a Pa free before Shane Maher caught a ball in midfield and pointed. Gerry Kennedy had to scramble a shot away from goals. Pat Kerwick had a wide. Tipp made the first change after only 28 minutes with John O’Brien on for Kerwick. Straight away Sheedy had to make another change when John Devane got a yellow and had to be replaced by Seamus Hennessy, (making his competitive debut). Tadgh Og Murphy pointed for Cork after a long clearance. Cork then had Craig Leahy yellow carded and was replaced by Ger O’Driscoll. Pa missed the easy free. Seamus Hennessy then had a great catch from Gerry Kennedy puck out and pointed from the sideline. He then set up Woodlock for his second point. Patrick then had a solo run but lost control of the ball and his shot went wide of the Cork goal. After 1 minute of injury time Tipp were ahead 7-4.
Tipp had a bit of restructing at the start of the second half with Shane Maher and Brendan Maher swapping positions, Patrick Maher to centre forward, Hennessy on the wing and John O’Brien at the edge of the square. Another Barry Johnson point narrowed the gap to 2 points. A clearance from Fanning found Pa and he pointed for his first from play. However Fanning then fouled and Barry Johnson pointed the free. Patrick Maher set up Hennessy for his second of the game. Shane McGrath was upended on his run to goals and Pa pointed the free, 10-6. Sheedy then brought on Benny Dunne at wing back for Shane Maher. Cork also made a change with Tony Murphy replacing Adrian Mannix at corner forward. Tipp got 2 points from Pa Bourke frees after both Hennessy and Paul Kelly were fouled; Cork replied in kind with a free from Johnson.
The most crucial score of the game came after 54 minutes when a long weighted clearance from Benny Dunne found John O’Brien and rifled in and unstoppable shot to the roof of the net to leave Tipp ahead 1-12 to 0-7. Cork brought on Robert O’Driscoll for Darren Crowley. Pa had a wide before Sheedy made another change with Noel McGrath coming on for Woodlock at wing forward. Benny then had a wide before Paul Kelly got his first score of the day with a point; 1-13 to 0-7 with 60 minutes gone. Shane McGrath was replaced in the middle of the field by Gearoid Ryan, the Templederry man making his debut. Buckley fouled when coming out with a clearance and Barry Johnson got another pointed free. Cork replaced Michael Collins with Cian McCarthy and Wes O’Brien for Eoghan Cronin. Barry Johnson got Cork’s last score of the game. A Conor O’Mahony clearance found John O’Brien and he pointed he could have had another soon after only for his shot coming back off the post. With time nearly up Tony Scroope came on for Paul Kelly. A bustling run by Patrick Maher saw him through on goals, it initially looked like he had lost control of the ball but he pulled on it and goaled to leave the score 2-14 to 0-9 with a minute to go. Cork made their final change with Eoin Clancy replacing Joe Moran at corner back. Gearoid Ryan then coolly slotted over his point in injury time, (1 minute), to leave the final score 2-15 to 0-9 in Tipp’s favour.
While Liam Sheedy will be happy with the win, successful debuts for 4 of last years U21 side and another 2 League points there are many aspects of the game which will not please him. Probably the main one is of how lethargic Tipp were. Of the 4 debutants Seamus Hennessy definitely had the best game scoring with his first touch and setting up a point soon after, his physique is well suited to the half forward line. Brendan Maher struggled at wing back; both Noel McGrath and Gearoid Ryan came on with about 10 minutes to go.
While Cork set out their defensive stall early on and rarely threatened anything in their forwards, (only 1 Cork forward scored, wing forward Tadgh Og Murphy with 2 points) Sheedy will be disappointed that it took Tip so long to break Cork down. It was only in the last 10 minutes, when Cork players were visible tiring and cramping that Tipp ratcheted up the scores. By Tipp only winning by 12 points they missed a chance to improve their scoring averages, (as they could come into play to decide who advances to the League Final). Still more was learned from this win than if Tipp had gone out and walloped Cork. Certainly Sheedy was dissatisfied and the length of time Tipp took at half time and the amount of subs emphasised this.
Gerald McCarthy was in a no win situation with this game. If they were hammed then serious questions would be asked of him instead they set out their stall early on with a very defensive formation; pulled a man out of the full forward line and putting a sweeper in between the Tipp full and half back lines. They were helped by the vast majority of the Tipp clearances being skied into that crowed zone and it was only when Cork tired late on that Tipp scored at will. Gerald must have been delighted with their position at half time with only 3 points between the sides and also the displays of their centre back Ray Ryan, Barry Johnson who was the games top scorer with 7 points from midfield and Tadgh Og Murphy who scored 2 points from play in the first half. While at times their first touch and lack of experience let them down they battled well throughout the game and can be disappointed that Tipp hit 1-1 in injury time to give the score line a unfair look from a Cork point of view.
Gerry Kennedy: Should have varied his puck outs more and not played them into the crowed Cork half forward zone, where time and time again the free Cork man was able to disrupt the Tipp player attempting to win the ball in the air. Caught a few high balls and had a few scrambled efforts to clear.
Full back line: played well kept their men scoreless from play. Eamon Buckley did ok but gave away a few silly frees when coming out with the ball. Declan Fanning was superb again. Time after time he either caught the ball or flicked it away from danger. Paul Curran had a quieter day at the office but went about his business efficiently and the minimum of fuss.
Half back line: Debutant Brendan Maher struggled on the taller Murphy and got away with a lot of fouling. Started the second half at midfield and did better there. Captain Conor O’Mahony did well. Again acted as the spare men when the full back line were in trouble. Not much his play came his well. Diarmaid Fitzgerald cleared a lot of ball in the first half but did not see much play in the second half. Hopefully the two times he had to get treatment will not be a sign of return to his injury ravaged last few years.
Midfield: Shane Maher started off well with a long range point but faded. Went back to wing back before being replaced by Benny Dunne. Shane McGrath stated well and had a few surging runs but faded again before being replaced. Has only recently returned to training and still is not near his All-Star pace of last year.
Half forward line: James Woodlock; same as last Sunday started off well winning the first free and then scoring soon a point soon after. He scored 2 first half points. Won no puck outs and possible should have been moved to midfield. John Devane scored a lovely point early on but a clumsy challenge saw him yellow carded and replaced after only 30 minutes. Pat Kerwick never got going but it was still harsh to take him off so early with all the half forward line struggling.
Full forward line: Paul Kelly due to the poorness of the half forward line saw very little ball still scored a second half point. Patrick Maher was moved out to centre forward with the yellow carding of Devane. Worked his socks off but has a very poor first touch and failed repeatedly to rise the ball; his Trojan work was rewarded with a goal near the end. Still not suited to full or centre forward and needs a lot of improvement if he is to make the Championship 15. Pa Bourke scored 5 frees and 1 point from play in the second half. Got a decent amount of possession but takes an extra touch on the ball which means he gets closed won way too easily. He will be disappointed not to have done better with this chance.
John O’Brien for Pat Kerwick: Came after only 28 minutes and went full forward. Got very little ball but scored 1-1 in the second half.
Seamus Hennessy for John Devane: Came on with 50 minute to go in the first half after Devane got a yellow card and had to be replaced by a sub. Got a great first catch and turned and drove a monster point, scored a point in the second half and worth another look at wing forward as he won first time ball.
Benny Dunne for Shane Maher: Came on after 45 minutes at wing back set up John O’Brien for his goal and cleared a lot of ball. Had a few point efforts that went wide when better timed ball into the full forward line was the best option.
Noel McGrath for James Woodlock: Came on with just over 10 minutes to go at wing forward. Cannot remember him touched the ball.
Gearoid Ryan for Shane McGrath: Came on with a few minutes to go in midfield. Got one chance of a score, rode the Cork challenge and pointed for the last score of the game.
Tony Scroope for Paul Kelly: Came on with only a few minutes to go which was a surprise as I didn’t know he was back on the panel. Don’t think he touched the ball
As I have said above; Sheedy will be disappointed with this performance. The half forward line was poor through out although did improve with the introduction of Hennessy. With the extra player in the Cork backs Tipp still drove ball after ball high into that area where Cork with the extra man were able to break the ball and clear. Given the amount of time the backs had the ball should have been played to the wing backs or midfielders and driven into the full forward line where they were starved of possession. This was obviously told to the Tipp players at half time as the first 2 balls into the full forward line were low into the corners however this policy was soon abandoned and Tipp resorted to what had failed so much in the first half. In truth given the class of opposition Tipp alarmingly struggled for most of the game and despite the good sod only scored 12 times from play, and while 5 of the 6 forwards scored from play they only got 6 points. This is not good enough
So Tipp move onto the third round of games in the League against Clare in Semple Stadium in 2 weeks time which while hopefully having the same result will be of far better fare and performance!
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Tipp v Cork (14-02-2009) preview Knocknagow.
Tipp and Cork meet in Division 1 Round 2 of the 2009 National Hurling League in Semple Stadium Thurles on next Saturday at 7.30 with Michael Wadding of Waterford the ref The game will be televised live on Setanta. The switching on of the new floodlights by GAA president Nicky Brennan before the game will mark the culmination of a refurbishment programme costing €18m that commenced in September 2006. Sadly given the recent ongoing developments in Cork this match will not be the high profile encounter that the GAA were hoping for when the fixtures were announced. Normally I would give a review of when the counties last met in the League but given that Gerald McCarthy does not have any of the 2008 players involved then references to previous fixtures are redundant and I have not heard of any of the players in the current team.
This situation in Cork has been festering in Cork since 2002 and has resulted in 3 strikes with many of the main protagonists on all sides involved in all of the disputes. Given that this has been ongoing for nearly 7 years is it any wonder that there is deep seated mistrust on all sides? Given that all the hurling counties in Munster have had “issues” with management in recent years, (and I would include Tipp in this category and on more than 1 occasion as well), why can all other counties sort out these issues relatively amicable and yet Cork have hit the strike button on 3 occasions? Kieran Mulvey, a high level arbitrator and chairman of the Labour Relations Commission failed to sort out the 2008 strike and Cork Solicitor Olann Kelleher has given up on the 2009 version after only being involved for a short time. More fuel was added to the fire last week with the half hearted support of the Cork footballers, (who may go on strike after the League!) With Gerald McCarthy adamant that he will see out his two year term and the 2008 Cork panel refusing to play for him, the development panel that lost to WIT in the Waterford Crystal appears to be the team, for the moment, which will represent Cork in this years League and Championship. However if this present Cork side gets a number of heavy defeats in the League then Gerald may have to reconsider his position. Personally I feel that many of this present bunch of Cork players, (some of them on the road since 1999), has had its day, losing 5 Championship matches in 2 years, and County Board is also at fault for the lack of proper underage structures is has in place resulting in very little underage talent coming through, (in this decade Cork have only won a single underage hurling All-Ireland the minors in 2001). The trenchant views on all sides of this will have a serious effect on Cork hurling for years to come.
Given that Tipp have been drawn to play Cork on the 31st of May in the Munster Quarter Final ideally this match would have been a dress rehearsal however given the current situation Tipp need to get to the League Final to get as many competitive matches in the month of May. Both teams have played one match; see previous report for the Tipp v Waterford game. Cork played Dublin in Pairc Ui Chaiomh last Sunday and suffered a heavy loss; 4-14 to 1-14. In truth this was a relegation play off and what ever hope Cork had of winning a game with this squad was gone after three first half goals as Dublin lead 3-4 to 0-7 at the break. Cork did come back into the game with midfielder Barry Johnson scoring 1-6, mainly from frees, to keep Cork in sight, however all hope was dashed when Alan Kennedy, who had earlier saved a goal effort from a 21 yard free, allowed a sideline cut all the way to the net. Best for Cork were forwards Adrian Mannix, Adrian Ryan and Johnson.
While it is hard to read too much into the Tipp win against Waterford a few aspects were pleasing, the performances in the backs; such was the dominance of the full back line and Fanning in particular that Cummins did not have a single save to make. 5 of the 6 forwards scored and Devane came on and scored 2 good points. Despite all the crap being spouted by Davy Fitz none of those 5 players started against Waterford in the Championship last year, surely negating Waterford loss of Mullane, and the 2 McGraths. This will be a no-win game for Tipp. If Tipp put a strong team and win well, well then it will be said that was only the Cork reserves, however if Tipp put out an inexperienced side and don’t win well then Tipp didn’t give Cork due respect and haven’t any decent players coming through!
The Tipp team was picked last night and is captained by Conor O’Mahony:
Gerry Kennedy.
Eamon Buckley, Declan Fanning and Paul Curran.
Brendan Maher, Conor O’Mahony and Diarmaid Fitzgerald.
Sean Maher and Shane McGrath.
James Woodlock, John Devane and Pat Kerwick.
Paul Kelly, Patrick Maher and Pa Bourke.
This side shows 6 changes from the side that beat Waterford last weekend. Brendan Cummins is replaced by Gerry Kennedy. Conor O’Brien replaces Eamon Buckley. In the half back line surprisingly Benny Dunne is replaced by the only debutant, Borrisileigh’s Brendan Maher. Thomas Stapleton is replaced by the returning Shane McGrath at midfield. John Devane takes the centre forward jersey after his cameo last Sunday yielded 2 points with John O’Brien the man to lose out. The final change is the injured Willie Ryan being replaced by Pa Bourke. While a lot of attention will be given to the fact that it will be a new Cork side playing on Sunday from a Tipp point of view it is worth noting that only 6 of this side started against Waterford in Tipp’s last Championship game, with none of those 6 forwards starting as forwards, (James Woodlock was in midfield)!
This is not surprising given the game and also that Hugh Moloney, Eoin Kelly, Lar Corbett and Padraig Maher; (Sars) are all still recovering from injury. Both Seamus Callinan and Conor O’Brien were playing for their colleges during the week so this could the reason for them not starting. It still is a very strong Tipp side. Brendan Maher was a very impressive for the Tipp U21’s last year but personally I would prefer to see him at wing forward, he normally plays in the forwards for Borris and where he scored 1-5 in a North Senior Hurling Final a few years ago at 15! New captain Conor O’Mahony and Diarmaid Fitzgerald make up the rest of a strong half back line.
The midfield has a solid look about it. There is a bit of restructing in the forwards. Both Woodlock and Kerwick need to give 70 minute games and not fade like last Sunday. John Devane has long been touted as the Tipp No. 11 although injury curtailed this experiment last year. It will probably be between him and Seamus Callinan for the No. 11 Championship jersey. I would be worried about playing a back at centre forward. Look how many backs we have tried to play in the forwards in the last 6-7 years all without success; John Carroll, Diarmaid Fitzgerald and Hugh Moloney. Patrick Maher is moved from centre to full forward, with a little bit more composure he would have had a hat-trick of goals last Sunday. Still it was heartening to see a Tipp forward put his head down and go straight for goals; this is something we have not had in the last 10 years. I am not sure about him as a full forward as I think he would be better on the wing. Pa Bourke gets his first League start of the year in one corner and Paul Kelly will be hoping to add to his 1-1 from last Sunday.
Given the make up of the Cork side Tipp will win this game well. The GAA authorities will also be interested spectators to see how the players cope with playing under floodlights. I feel that Tipp will have way too much skill and composure to cope with this new young Cork side. There are so many Tipp players fighting for a starting jersey and even a panel place that there will be no let up in intensity. A number of commentators passed remarks in the aftermath of Cork’s defeat to Dublin about the lack of physicality and inexperience of this new Cork side which given their age is not surprising. So Tipp to brush aside Cork and win by at least 10 points.
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Tipperary 2-13 Waterford 1-12 (08-02-2009) report Knocknagow
Tipp got the defence of their National Hurling League crown off to a winning start in Walsh Park this afternoon with a 4 point win. The game only got the go ahead half an hour before throw in and the wisdom of this decision had to be questioned from the throw in as players slipped repeatedly and the pitch cut up terribly. Tipp lined out as selected and with the aid of the wind in the first half. Waterford made 1 change with James Murray coming in at wing back for his club mate Aidan Kearney.
Waterford had the first score of the day when Seamus Prendergast pointed a free out near the sideline. James Woodlock got Tipp’s first score from a tight angle. The first switch of the game had to be made when both Conor O’Mahony and Shane Walsh heavily under a high ball and Walsh had to be replaced by Shane Casey. John O’Brien was then fouled and his clubmate Willie Ryan pointed the free. A high ball into the Tipp full forward line was caught by John O’Brien who despite being on the ground was able to get his pass off to Pat Kerwick who pointed from a tight angle. John O’Brien then put a chance wide after a pass from Conor O’Mahony. Prendergast did likewise with a free as did Thomas Stapleton from long range. Woodlock grabbed his second of the game with a score from midfield to put Tipp 4 to 1 up. A Conor O’Brien foul let Seamus Prendergast get his second from a free. Both Kerwick and Stapleton had wides before Paul Kelly’s goal effort was blocked.
Patrick Maher gained possession and flicked the ball onto John O’Brien whose shot was smothered by the onrushing Clinton Hennessy for a 65 which Conor O’Mahony pointed. Patrick Maher then had another goal effort after being set up by Willie Ryan his shot was flicked over by Hennessy for a point. Tipp kept up the aerial pressure with a Diarmaid Fitzgerald clearance superbly caught by John O’Brien who slipped it to Pat Kerwick who was running at speed and blasted to the net, 1-6 to 0-2 in Tipp’s favour. Patrick Maher then had another goal effort which Clinton Hennessy and his defenders managed to smother and clear. A great block by Declan Fanning stopped a Waterford goal effort. Waterford got the last score of the half when Dan Shanahan score their first from play to leave the half time score at 1-6 to 0-3 in Tipp’s favour. There was 2 minutes of injury time played.
Tipp got the first score of the second half when Paul Kelly was thrown to the ground and Willie Ryan pointed the free. He then scored from play. Fanning stopped another goal effort and cleared. Waterford then got 2 quick points the second from Prendergast. Benny Dunne then ran from his own half and pointed. Pat Kerwick fed the ball to Kelly who was fouled and Willie Ryan pointed the free. A Shanahan shot was blocked by Fanning and cleared before a Jamie Nagle point made it 1-10 to 0-6 in Tipp’s favour. Paul Kelly got his first of the day before both sides made changes. Waterford replaced Gary Hurney with his brother Patrick and Tipp put on John Devane at centre forward, Patrick Maher went to the wing, replacing Pat Kerwick. Fanning then blocked 2 Waterford goal efforts from Prendergast and Casey with Prendergast scoring both the 65’s to bring Waterford back to 1-11 to 0-8.
A Shane Maher sideline cut found John O’Brien he found John Devane in space and he pointed. John O’Brien had a wide before Maurice Shanahan replaced Shane Casey at wind forward. The ref then gave a very harsh free as a ball dropped between Dan Shanahan and Fanning. Clinton Hennessy came up and blasted to the net. Just as the crowd had settled down Paul Kelly caught a ball and under severe pressure from corner back Shane Connors managed to squeeze the ball into the corner of the net. With 10 minutes to go Tipp lead 2-12 to 1-8. Tipp brought on Shane McGrath for Thomas Stapleton. Waterford got 2 quick points from Jack Kennedy and captain Stephen Moloumpy with a kicked effort that just went over the bar. Sheedy brought on Pa Bourke for Willie Ryan. Patrick Hurney pointed for Waterford with a blaster of a shot that was only about a yard over the bar, as they brought on Thomas Connors for James Nagle. John Devane got Tipp’s last score with a point. Tipp made the last change with Seamus Callinan replacing Patrick Maher. Maurice Shanahan got the last score with a point. As the game approached the end of 1 minute of injury time Waterford made a burst for goal but the ref blew up with score at 2-13 to 1-12 in Tipp’s favour.
Sheedy will be happy with the win. It was a tough game played in tough conditions. He knew his backs would be solid before going out and they were. The forwards scored 15 times and with a bit more accuracy with the goal efforts could have had at least 4 before the break. It would be hard to be overly critical given the time of year and the conditions.
Davy Fitzgerald will not be too pleased with this result, Dan Shanahan was only there in spirit and despite all the ball that went into him and Fanning; Fanning had him in his pocket the entire game. Only scoring 1 point form play in the first half will not get then back to an All-Ireland Final. Davy will have been pleased with the excellent contribution of Clinton Hennessy who stopped at least 3 certain goals in the first half. Both corner backs did well as did the half back line. They struggled in the forwards though and I don’t remember Cummins having to make one decent save. Still its early in the year.
Brendan Cummins: Would have expected him to be tested more given the conditions. Couldn’t really be faulted for the penalty. Puck outs were ok.
Full back line: Superb. Fanning was my man of the match. If he didn’t catch every ball that came his way be broke it out to the wings away from danger. The logic for the free that the goal came off was a mystery. Blocked at least 3 goal efforts. Curran was superb tucked in beside Fanning and cleaned up with all the high balls raining down on the Tipp full back line. Conor O’Brien good tidy game lots of intelligent clearances. Made himself available for Fanning when required.
Half back line: Great to see Diarmaid Fitzgerald back to his best; similar to O’Brien made himself available time and time again in the first half and it was his long ball into John O’Brien that set up the first goal. Conor O’Mahony had an outstanding first half and cleared some amount of ball as well as chipping in with a 65. Was quieter in the second half but Gary Hurney contributed nothing up to his replacement. Benny Dunne scored a great point. Caught and cleared a lot of ball in trying conditions.
Midfield: Shane Maher had the better game of the 2. Seemed to be in the right place under the dropping ball in the first half. His influence faded as the game went on, better suited to wing back though. Thomas Stapleton had a quiet game had 2 wides early and was caught in being too slow in getting rid of the ball.
Half forward line: Similar to last year Woodlock started off very well scoring the first and fourth points before his influence waned as the game wore on. Patrick Maher was involved in 3 goal efforts in the first half; firstly he bravely set up John O’Brien whose shot was blocked, his next effort was tipped over for his first senior point and his final effort was blocked and cleared. Not ideal conditions for a 19 year old especially on the former All-Star Brick Walsh. Fought and fought for a lot of ball but seemed to be slow in getting up to the pace of the game. This full game will have brought him on immensely and could possibly benefit from being on the wing. Pat Kerwick started off very well with a point and a goal; both superbly taken, in the first half but similar to Woodlock his influenced waned as the game went on.
Full forward line: Willie Ryan scored 3 points from frees and a point from play. Also threw the ball around to players in a better position. John O’Brien set up the first goal and although didn’t score himself caught a lot of ball. Again was not helped by the conditions as on other days some of his flicks may have resulted in scores. Paul Kelly had a quiet game not seeing much of the ball but still ended up with 1-1. Not a bad contribution on his return to the Tipp team.
John Devane for Pat Kerwick: Came on at centre forward and scored 2 points despite seeing little of the ball.
Shane McGrath for Thomas Stapleton: Came on with about 8-9 minutes to go and cleared a few balls.
Pa Bourke for Wilie Ryan: Came on with a few minutes to go. Don’t think he touched the ball.
Seamus Callinan for Patrick Maher: Came on with injury time approaching. Don’t think he touched the ball.
So Tipp move on to Semple Stadium on Valentines night for a clash with Cork. Sheedy will be looking for Tipp to continue on the same vein; no wild efforts at points form 90 yards; passing to a better placed colleague in defence, using intelligent ball into the full forward line when the backs had time to clear and immediately nipping Waterford’s momentum with a goal straight away after they goaled. Yes there are plenty of thins to work on; failing to convert 4 clear first half goal chances and allowing Waterford to get back from 8 points behind to 4, however its only February and its good to have Tipp back hurling!
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Waterford v Tipperary (8-02-2009) preview Knocknagow
Waterford and Tipp meet in Division 1 Round 1 of the 2009 National Hurling League in Walsh Park Waterford City on next Sunday at 2.30 with Brian Kelly of Westmeath the ref. The game is line on TG4. It is a meeting between the last 2 winners of the League. The sides have met in the quarter finals for the last 2 years in Nowlan Park and honours have been even with Waterford winning in 2007 1-20 to 1-19. Tipp were behind 1-11 to 0-9 at the break after a poor half hours hurling and after 5 minutes of the second half had John Carroll sent off. However when Paul Kelly goaled the deficit was 2 points. Despite great work by the 14 men, including Lar Corbett, Ryan O’Dwyer and Thomas Stapleton, Tipp got back level with time just up. However Waterford scored a last gasp point from Shane O’Sullivan to win 1-20 to 1-19. The situation was reversed last year when Tipp beat Waterford by 1-16 to 0-14 and went on to beat Galway in the Final. A good finish by Seamus Butler saw Tipp ahead 1-8 to 0-7 at the break. With some great work by Shane McGrath at midfield and a stellar performance in the full forward line from Eoin Kelly, with 10 points, Tipp withstood the Waterford fight back to win through. The last meeting in the group stages was in 2004 when the sides had a high scoring draw in Thurles; Tipp 3-16 Waterford 1-22.
Of course by the time we met Waterford in the 08 Championship they were a very different team with Justin McCarthy shafted and Davy Fitzgerald installed in the hot seat. The level of aggression both on and of the ball caught a lot of the Tipp players by surprise and showed how far they still have to come to compete at the top level. The subsequent result in the All-Ireland Final again highlighted how much work is still required with this Tipp team. Waterford had only 1 outing to date when a shadow side lost to Tipp in the Waterford Crystal after only returning from their team holidays in the States. Waterford will be without Eoin McGrath, Eoin Kelly and Ken McGrath through injury and illness, John Mullane, Kevin Moran and Brian Phelan are unavailable due to club commitments while Tony Browne has not rejoined the panel yet.
The League this year is different from the format in recent years with 8 teams in Division 1, with no quarter or semi finals and the top 2 getting directly to the final. This has some consequences for any team who loose their first few games could find themselves out of contention and playing a lot of meaningless matches towards the end of the League. Also there is a trial of experimental rules in effect for the League with the main difference being that if a player is yellow carded then he has to be replaced. This has the effect that a manger cannot use his full 5 subs as he may end up with 13 or 14 players in the latter stages of a match. These new rules have been heavily criticised by managers and the media alike during the pre-league competitions. However if the root out some of the cynical and nasty elements that has crept into hurling in the last few years then it should be given a chance before being binned. Croke Park have clarified that yellow cards got in the pre-league competitions will not be carried into any other competitions. This is also the last year of the County Champions choosing the Tipp captain. Toome have nominated Willie Ryan with Conor O’Mahony as the vice-captain.
Liam Sheedy has had a different approach to this year. Last year they started back training in November and for most of the League they were ahead of other teams. It worked to an extent last year in that Tipp built up a winning mentality that carried through to the Championship. This year collective training was banned until the 1st January and straight way Tipp were into the Waterford Crystal games. Tipp beat Waterford 0-14 to 1-9 and UL 3-9 to 1-8 before losing to Clare in Ogonelloe 1-12 to 1-7. A challenge match v Wexford in Danesfort last Sunday was called off due to weather conditions. Other changes with Tipp are that both Eamon Corcoran and Paul Ormonde retired after being involved with the Tipp seniors since 1999. A number of players are not on the panel most noticeable being Seamus Butler who started every Championship game last year. New blood on the panel includes last year’s U21’s 3 Maher’s; Padraig, Patrick and Brendan also the midfield partnership of Gearoid Ryan and Seamus Hennessey. John Devane gets a chance to impress after missing a lot of last year with injuries. Also added is Loughmore’s Noel McGrath despite only turning 19. Now that the restriction on Colleges players is lifted I am sure that players like Michael Cahill and Mathew Ryan will be looked at as well as Thomas Stapleton and Pat Kerwick given their chance. In the 3 matches to date Brendan Maher has played corner back, Patrick Maher midfield and full forward, Seamus Hennessy, midfield and wing forward and Noel McGrath at corner forward.
Given the absence of a number of last years starting 15 there are a good few places up for grabs. Declan Fanning has set out his stall with a good display in the Crystal Final, raising the possibility of Paul Curran going to corner back. Benny Dunne and Diarmaid Fitzgerald have both impressed at wing back. Given Shane McGrath and Eoin Kelly played no part in Waterford Crystal and Hugh Moloney and Lar Corbett got hamstring injuries there will be ample opportunity for players to stake claims for starting positions. While Paul Kelly returned to the panel late last year he was not togged for the Waterford game. He was Tipp’s top scorer during the 3 Waterford Crystal games from corner forward. Interestingly his last competitive outing for Tipp was in the 2007 loss to Waterford in the League Quarter Final when he got injured.
Liam Sheedy will be under serious pressure this year. He went unbeaten last year through 3 Waterford Crystal games, 8 League and 2 Championship games until losing to Waterford in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. A lot of criticism was levelled at the management after the Waterford loss, (most of it unfairly), due to the team that was selected and the seeming lack of a game plan that had worked so well in the Munster Final. While League hurling is considered meaningless by some, (Waterford lost to us in it last year and beat us when it counted), a win on Sunday would help Tipp to erase some of the memories of Croke Park last year. Sheedy has a dilemma ahead of him. Last year he set up the core of his team and then made a few changes per game. Does he do the same thing this year and get to the League Final or does he risk blooding the younger players? We will have to wait and see.
The Tipp team was picked last night and is captained by Willie Ryan:
Brendan Cummins
Conor O’Brien, Declan Fanning and Paul Curran
Benny Dunne, Conor O’Mahony and Diarmaid Fitzgerald
Shane Maher and Thomas Stapleton
Pat Kerwick, Patrick Maher and James Woodlock
Paul Kelly, John O’Brien and Willie Ryan
Seen as injuries have ruled out the following players Eoin Kelly, (back injury), Lar Corbett, Hugh Maloney, Michael Webster, Darragh Egan and Seamus Callanan, with Shane McGrath only returned to training and the retirements of Paul Ormonde and Eamon Corcoran its not surprising that the team shows 8 changes from the side that lost to Waterford in last years All-Ireland Semi-Final. The full back line has a rock solid look about it with Declan fanning getting a chance to regain the number 3 jersey. While Paul Curran was outstanding last year he has to do with a spot in the corner. Vice captain Conor O’Mahony is flanked by two experienced campaigners, in Benny Dunne and Diarmaid Fitzgerald, indeed both Championship centre backs at one stage or another!. It is good to see Fitzgerald back injury free and some good league displays could see him claim Corcoran’s jersey. Midfield has a very raw look about it Thomas Stapleton was introduced by Babs in 2007 and has had a few cameos since then without every coming near to claiming a starting jersey and despite some great displays at no. 6 for his club and the Tipp U21’s with Conor firmly ensconced at centre back he could possible claim a midfielder starting spot.
For various reasons only 1 of the starting 6 forwards remain from last years All-Ireland semi final. James Woodlock has shown time and time again that he is not a wing forward and does his best hurling at midfield. Pat Kerwick gets a chance from the start and debutant is handed the task of impressing at centre forward. An All-Ireland minor winner under Sheedy in 2006 Lorrha’s Patrick Maher has done most of his hurling underage and with his club from wing or corner forward. John O’Brien is back as his best position of full forward. He is flanked by captain Willie Ryan who needs to hit the ground running to keep his place, it is great to see Paul Kelly back injury free. Included among the subs are new panel members, Seamus Hennessy, Noel McGrath and Brendan Maher as well as the returning John Devane.
Given that the weather conditions are poor in the build up to the game I think this will be a low scoring game between 2 fairly experimental sides. This is a game that I think Tipp will win. While I know that Waterford are at home and will have decent following Tipp need this more. The Tipp backs are very solid looking and while midfield up is fairly inexperienced Woodlock and John O’Brien will be trying to rest their poor performances in the All-Ireland Semi Final and Paul Kelly will be out to show he should have been included in the starting 15 that day. After Waterford’s heartbreak of the mauling in the All-Ireland Final to Kilkenny they will be eyeing the All-Ireland Championship. Davy Fitz wants an All-Ireland with this team not a League title. Tipp’s hungrier players to get off to a winning 2009 with a 4 point win.