Waterford 1-28
Tipperary 0-21
Tomás McCarthy reports from Walsh Park
2020 All-STAR Stephen Bennett shot a staggering 1-16 (1-4 from play) as Waterford delivered a stunning ten-point victory over Tipperary six weeks out from their Munster championship meeting on April 17.
The Déise have won all seven league games at Walsh Park under Liam Cahill’s watch. A rampant home side reeled off ten points in a row in the final quarter to the delight of the 5,865 fans that packed into the city ground.
Tipperary led by six points after 20 minutes but Bennett’s goal was a game changer. The Ballysaggart man was star of the show with 1-6 in the first half and ten points in the second. He landed monster scores from play and from frees.
The Waterford half back line of Jack Fagan, Tadhg De Burca and Iarlaith Daly were dominant while Darragh Lyons put in a big shift at midfield. Jack Prendergast and Patrick Curran assisted Bennett up front with three points apiece. Michael Breen and Mark Kehoe were Tipp’s top performers with four each.
A pumped up Premier led 5-1 after seven minutes. Kieran Bennett opened the scoring for the hosts after just 12 seconds but a wind-assisted Tipp took over after that.
Michael Breen belted over two points from the stand sideline, Jason Forde fired two while Mark Kehoe added one. The away side stretched the gap to six with Kehoe increasing his tally to three from play (0-9 to 0-3).
Liam Cahill’s charges hit back with 1-6 in the space of nine minutes. Against the run of play, Michael Kiely and Patrick Curran set up a goal for Stephen Bennett on 21 minutes.
Bennett missed an easy free but made amends to level the match. Jack Fagan burst into the game in his new left half back role as two Bennett frees and a Jack Prendergast point made it 1-9 to 0-9 in favour of the home team.
Tipp regained the lead with four white flags. Michael Breen, Brian McGrath, Conor Bowe and Forde all worked the umpires. Jack Prendergast levelled before Tadhg De Burca raised the roof with a long range strike. Bennett raced away from Brian McGrath to bring his first half total to 1-6. Ronan Maher and Michael Kiely traded blows before the break as Waterford led 1-13 to 0-14.
Tipp levelled within three minutes of the restart through Forde and Kehoe. Bennett, Prendergast and Iarlaith Daly moved Waterford four points clear. Two Forde frees and one from Conor Bowe narrowed the gap to the minimum. Six Tipp wides in the third quarter and 13 in total saw their challenge fade away.
Bennett got a beauty from the stand sideline as the hosts turned the screw. Waterford hit ten in a row, including seven from the Ballysaggart ace, to move within touching distance the league semi finals.
The only downer for the Déise was captain Conor Prunty hobbling off with a hamstring injury.
Scorers for Waterford: Stephen Bennett 1-16 (11fs, 1 65), Jack Prendergast, Patrick Curran 0-3 each, Iarlaith Daly 0-2, Michael Mahony, Michael Kiely, Kieran Bennett, Tadhg De Burca 0-1 each.
Scorers for Tipperary: Jason Forde 0-6 (4fs), Mark Kehoe, Michael Breen 0-4 each, Ronan Maher (1f), Conor Bowe 0-2 each, Jake Morris, Barry Heffernan, Brian McGrath 0-1 each.
Waterford
1. Shaun O’Brien
4. Shane McNulty 3. Conor Prunty 2. Conor Gleeson
7. Iarlaith Daly 6. Tadhg De Burca 5. Jack Fagan
8. Cian Wadding 9. Darragh Lyons
12. Kieran Bennett 11. Patrick Curran 10. Neil Montgomery
13. Stephen Bennett 14. Michael Kiely 15. Jack Prendergast
Subs
26. Shane Bennett for Kiely (Blood, 15-16)
22. Michael Mahony for Kiely (54)
26. Shane Bennett for Kieran Bennett (54)
23. Pauric Mahony for Prunty (63)
24. Billy Power for Prendergast (70)
17. Conor Dalton for Fagan (70)
Tipperary
1. Barry Hogan
2. Cathal Barrett 3. James Quigley 4. Brian McGrath
5. Dillon Quirke 6. Ronan Maher 7. Robert Byrne
8. Paddy Cadell 9. Barry Heffernan
12. Michael Breen 11. Jason Forde 10. Conor Bowe
15. Jake Morris 14. John McGrath 13. Mark Kehoe
Subs
19. Paul Flynn for Morris (Blood, 14-15)
17. Alan Flynn for Cadell (HT)
21. Denis Maher for John McGrath (54)
23. Noel McGrath for Bowe (64)
26. Conor Stakelum for Morris (Blood 65-66)
26. Conor Stakelum for Forde (68)
18. Cian Darcy for Quirke (71)