Resilient Tipp gives the performance required with late salvo to snatch draw

Munster Senior Hurling Championship - Round 3

Tipperary 1-27

Waterford 3-21

A heart-stopping finish greeted a partisan Tipperary support that ventured down to Walsh Park on Saturday evening, with an incredible scoring spurt of 1-1 from the Premier players rescued a draw after another high-octane Munster Hurling Championship match against Waterford.

A small cohort of Tipperary GAA supporters made the trip down to Walsh Park in hope rather than heavy expectation after the calamitous match against Limerick the previous Sunday, but they were richly rewarded with a stoic and resilient performance from the players who left everything on the pitch and never stopped chasing the game; even when trailing by four-points in second half injury time.

Players and management deserve a lot of credit for this turnaround and to do so in just six days is some going and even if two points aren’t coming back to Tipperary, the feeling is that Tipperary have resurrected their season when the backs were firmly against the wall.

And the fashion of that resurrection can’t be understated with the game seemingly gone going into the four minutes of added time late in the game as Waterford hit four points in a row between the 67th and 70th minute to take control.

However, the Tipperary bench made a telling impact with John McGrath cutting the game to a one-score game with a well-earned point and even though Waterford responded straight away through Jack Prendergast, Tipp stayed plugging away; Mark Kehoe again led from the front when he won a dirty ball and broke a tackle to set Jake Morris free and despite a brilliant save from Shaun O’Brien, Seanie Kenneally was there to prod home from close range.

A one-point game with two minutes to go!

There was still time for Tipp and Darragh Lyons let Tipp off with a booming point effort which just drifted wide with time ticking down, Tipp managed to get the ball to ground from the puckout at the third attempt when Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher gathered the ball and fed Alan Tynan on the overlap; the Roscrea man doing extremely well to wrap the tackle of Tadgh De Burca and when James Owens lifted his hand for the free, the Tipperary substitutes bench and supporters alike erupted. 

Gearoid O’Connor had the task of pointing the free and did so and that was that as the final whistle blew with the Premier still in contention. Liam Cahill noted in the aftermath that they came for the two points but got the response they wanted and they can now take some badly needed momentum into the Cork game in two weekends.

The consensus all week was that a good start was paramount for Tipperary here to get the confidence going, but it couldn't have been further from that as Waterford raced into a 1-1 to nil lead within five minutes; Stephen Bennett raised the green flag from a penalty after Mikey Kiely was downed by Craig Morgan in the square.

There was uproar amongst the Tipperary contingent after the Bennett rocket hit the net as referee James Owens appeared to run toward goal as Bennett stepped up to possession and the Wexford whistler cut across Barry Hogan's eyeline in the process. The Kiladangan netminder remonstrated but to no avail as Waterford hit the first blow.

The response was emphatic from Tipp though as they reeled off three in a row with Mark Kehoe starting as he meant to go on later in the game, scoring his first after six minutes which was quickly followed by a brace of Eoghan Connolly points.

It looked like Tipp were on it but the same could have been said of Waterford as the teams restarted possession at lightning pace throughout the first half and it created countless scoring opportunities with the sides level at 0-8 1-5 after 21 minutes of play. It was turning into a shoot-out early, but Tipperary were working like dogs and rousing the small but loud Tipp support in Walsh Park.

That tit-for-tat scoring continued in the next few minutes as the teams hit four between them to keep the status quo.

But another dubious decision went against Tipp on the stroke of the 30-minute mark when a clever Dessie Hutchinson delivery found Jack Prendergast in acres of space to finish to the net. However, Kevin Mahony was intricate in the move when he checked an attempted Barrett tackle, with the ref booking Mahony afterward but not overturning the goal.

The Tipp supporters were up in arms but it must be said that the sideline kept their cool and didn't get involved, composing the players and getting on with the game. Again the Tipp response was top quality as they managed to dig out two late frees before the break and even allowing for some decisions not going their way, Tipp were still in the hunt, trailing 2-8 to 0-12.

Whatever was decided and spoken about by management at half-time had the desired effect as Tipp stormed out of the blocks with the flurry of points putting them into the lead after 41 minutes; Ronan Maher, Mark Kehoe, the industrious Darragh Stakelum, and a first for Noel McGrath had Tipperary motoring.

All that good work was soon undone when a lapse in defensive as it appeared that Waterford would be tapping over a long-range free through Dessie Hutchinson, but he got a shout from Stephen Bennett on his shoulder who was all on his own and the quick pass found the Ballysaggart man who finished with power.

That moment firmly stunted the Tipperary momentum as Waterford went into a two-point lead but again, Tipp showed real character and over the course of the next 20 minutes it was level again with Ronan Maher, and Mark Kehoe the leading lights while Noel McGrath, Alan Tynan, and Gearoid O'Connor found the target as the bench rolled in to maintain the intensity.

This was another epic Munster Championship game as the intensity was massive from all the players on the pitch, but it was Waterford that looked like they had the legs later on despite Seanie Kenneally and Patrick Maher leveling with points four minutes from time. The Deise hit a flurry of scores to put themselves into a commanding position.

However, as is always the case in these ferocious Munster games, there were twists to come and the Mark Kehoe and Jake Morris combo made the telling contribution for Sean Kenneally's late goal, and with Gearoid O'Connor's late free flying over, it was honours even as Tipperary live to fight another day with qualification still possible.

So many players performed in the face of extreme criticism around Tipperary after the Limerick game, with Mark Kehoe leading the line incredibly well while Ronan Maher was immense at his preferred position at centre back.

A special mention has to go to Darragh Stakelum who - in his full championship debut - worked his socks off, contributed very well all game long and injected a massive energy into the Tipperary forwards all game long.

Scorers: Tipperary: Mark Kehoe 0-4, Gearoid O’Connor (0-4, 0-3f), Seanie Kenneally 1-1, Jason Forde (0-3, 0-2f), Jake Morris 0-3, Eoghan Connolly, Noel McGrath, Alan Tynan 0-2 each, Ronan Maher (0-2, 0-1f), Darragh Stakelum, Michael Breen, Patrick Maher, John McGrath all 0-1 each.

Waterford: Stephen Bennett (2-4, 0-1f), Dessie Hutchinson (0-5, 0-2f), Calum Lyons 0-3, Patrick Curran 0-2, Neil Montgomery, Kieran Bennett, Darragh Lyons, Mikey Kiely, Shane Bennett, Jack Fagan 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Barry Hogan; Cathal Barrett, Michael Breen, Craig Morgan; Bryan O’Mara, Ronan Maher, Conor Bowe; Darragh Stakelum, Eoghan Connolly; Alan Tynan, Noel McGrath, Gearoid O’Connor; Jake Morris, Jason Forde, Mark Kehoe.

Subs used: Patrick Maher for Forde (51); Willie Connors for Connolly (54); John McGrath for N McGrath (55); Seanie Kenneally for D Stakelum (64); Dan McCormack for O’Mara (67).

Waterford: Shaun O’Brien; Iarlaith Daly, Conor Prunty, Kieran Bennett; Mark Fitzgerald, Tadhg De Burca, Calum Lyons; Darragh Lyons, Jamie Barron; Neil Montgomery, Stephen Bennett, Jack Prendergast; Dessie Hutchinson, Mikey Kiely, Kevin Mahony.

Subs used: Jack Fagan for Prunty (7, inj); Shane Bennett for Mahony (51); Patrick Curran for Stephen Bennett (64); Peter Hogan for Montgomery (58).

Referee: James Owens (Wexford)