Tipperary 0-24
Waterford 2-16
SHANE BROPHY reports from Semple Stadium.
TIPPERARY STAYED IN the hunt for the quarter finals of the National Hurling League Division 1 after holding off a brave effort from Waterford who finished with 13 men at Semple Stadium.
A rather run of the mill league encounter in Thurles exploded into life in the 10 minutes before half time when no fewer than three red cards were issued by referee Sean Stack.
Firstly, Austin Gleeson saw red for a second bookable offence in the 29th minute, and five minutes later his half back colleague Kevin Moran was issued with a straight red card after the linesman drew the referee’s attention to an off the ball incident involving Jason Forde.
It led to an increase in tensions and in the third minute of added time Tipp lost a man with Cathal Barrett red carded following advice from an umpire after an altercation with Dessie Hutchinson.
All that overshadowed an opening half in which Tipperary led 0-14 to 1-8 at the break with Jason Forde again to the fore for Tipp with eight points, while Waterford’s goal came from Peter Hogan on 10 minutes.
Tipp’s defence never looked comfortable all through and the concession of a poor goal early in the second half to Stephen Bennett gave Waterford renewed hope. The visitors were the better side in the second half, despite their numerical disadvantage, shooting 16 wides in all to Tipp’s six.
However, despite their struggles, Tipp just about did enough and but for three superb saves from Stephen O’Keeffe, the win could have been more convincing even though they scarcely deserved the two point win they ultimately achieved.
Scorers for Tipperary: Jason Forde 0-10 (4 ’65s, 4 frees); Dillon Quirke 0-5; Seamus Callanan, Padraic Maher 0-2 each; Cathal Barrett, Noel McGrath, John McGrath, Cian Darcy 0-1 each.
Scorers for Waterford: Pauric Mahony 0-7 (6 frees); Peter Hogan 1-2; Stephen Bennett 1-1; Jamie Barron 0-2; Kevin Moran, Conor Gleeson, Dessie Hutchinson, Neil Montgomery 0-1 each.
Tipperary
1. Brian Hogan (Lorrha)
2. Cathal Barrett (Holycross/Ballycahill)
3. Ronan Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)
5. Alan Flynn (Kiladangan)
4. Brian McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney)
7. Padraic Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)
6. Barry Heffernan (Nenagh Eire Og)
17. Paddy Cadell (JK Brackens)
9. Michael Breen (Breen)
10. Jason Forde (Silvermines)
14. Seamus Callanan (Drom & Inch)
15. Dillon Quirke (Clonoulty/Rossmore)
8. Noel McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney)
11. John McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney)
12. Niall O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs)
Substitutions:
19. Cian Darcy (Kilruane MacDonaghs) for N McGrath (blood 27-29), for J McGrath (58)
26. Bryan O’Mara (Holycross/Ballycahill) for B McGrath (43)
24. Jake Morris (Nenagh Eire Og) for Breen (49)
23. Craig Morgan (Kilruane MacDonaghs) for Flynn (62)
20. Paul Flynn (Kiladangan) for O’Meara (62).
Waterford
1. Stephen O’Keeffe (Ballygunner)
17. Kieran Power (Dungarvan)
4. Shane McNulty (De La Salle)
3. Conor Prunty (Abbeyside)
5. Shane Ryan (Fourmilewater)
6. Austin Gleeson (Mount Sion)
7. Kevin Moran (De La Salle)
8. Jamie Barron (Fourmilewater)
9. Conor Gleeson (Fourmilewater)
10. Jack Fagan (De La Salle)
11. Pauric Mahony (Ballygunner)
12. Mikey Kearney (Ballyduff Upper)
13. Peter Hogan (Ballygunner)
14. Stephen Bennett (Ballysaggart)
15. Dessie Hutchinson (De La Salle).
Substiutions:
18. Calum Lyons (Ballyduff Lower) for Ryan (22)
20. Jack Prendergast (Lismore) for Fagan (55)
19. Darragh Lyons (Dungarvan) for Power (58)
24. Neil Montgomery (Abbeyside) for Hutchinson (60)
25. Patrick Curran (Dungarvan) for Hogan (66)
Referee: Sean Stack (Dublin)