Ciara O’Hora stars as Tipperary get Munster campaign off to a winning start

Munster LGFA Minor Football Championship

TIPPERARY 1-7 WATERFORD 0-4

Saturday last saw the opening round of the Munster Minor Ladies Gaelic Football Championship played at Bansha between Tipperary and Waterford.

On a wet and dreary Saturday afternoon both teams took to the field in what could be considered nothing short of poor weather conditions.

The game, despite the conditions, got off to a fine lively start with Tipperary falling short of the posts and Waterford failing to capitalise from a number of frees.

The opening score from an Issy Carr point after five minutes led to a surge of scoring with Ciara O’Hora splitting the posts on six mins and seven minutes and finding the back of the net following a turn over off the resulting kick out.
Following this dominant patch Waterford upped the ante and put the Tipperary backs under pressure, some great defending from Caitlin Shelly and a fantastic block from Paula Quirke ensured that the Tipperary slate was kept clean.

The game progressed in this fashion with several attacking opportunities from both sides which were defended very well under the difficult conditions. The game itself had a very defensive set up with Waterford often employing a blanket defence of 12 players behind the ball.

The Tipperary Minor Ladies Gaelic Football team who defeated Waterford in the opening round of this year’s provincial championship at Bansha on Saturday last

On 13 minutes the deadlock for dominance was finally broken by a fantastic passage of play where some great defending denied Molly Crowe of a certain goal but Ciara O’Hora retained possession to chip over a point.

A further 15 minutes passed with numerous chances for both sides with some great open, fast flowing football, it took a well placed and well taken free from Ciara O’Hora to impact the scoreboard again. The resulting kickout came under pressure from Ciara O’Hora who sought the net again but the ball, when recycled back out found Eva Cremins who was well positioned to get herself on the scoresheet. Seconds before the half time whistle Ciara O’Hora increased her tally to 1 -5 with the last point of the half in Tipps favour.

At half-time Tipperary led by 1-7 to 0-0.

With no let up in the rain and conditions underfoot deteriorating, the second half recommenced with a highly invigorated away side who opened their account in the 1stminute with a well pointed free from Leah Browne.
With their tails still up, Waterford were denied a certain goal chance by a superb block from Sinead O’Carroll who proceeded to carry the ball clearly out of the danger zone.

With frees starting to become the dominant factor of the game and Tipperary now turning to a defensive style of play, scoring chances were few and far between. Following a brief defensive mix-up, Waterford found themselves celebrating a goal, only to be denied because of a square ball.

Forty one minutes into the game, Tipperary were reduced to 14 players as a result of a yellow card.

With both teams pushing for scores and defensive play being the overriding factor at this juncture, missed opportunities from both sides led to a sense of frustration. The teams were balanced at 14 aside following a yellow card issued to Waterford. It took to the 53rd minute before either side registered another score with a free from Waterford’s Leah Browne.

At this point, both benches were actively brought into play with a raft of subs stepping up to the mark making an impact. On 27 minutes following an excellent passage of play, Waterford increased their tally to three points from the foot of Ava Connolly.

With the running clock at 40 minutes, Waterford’s Lia Ni Arta popped over what was to be the final score of the game.
Final Score: Tipperary 1-7 Waterford 0-4.

There is little time now for both sides to recover before their next outing on Saturday next, February 17.

TIPPERARY
Sarah Smith, Leanna Coppinger, Sarah Luttrell, Caitlin Shelly, Emaleigh Cuddihy, Eva Cremins (0-1), Paula Quirke, Sinead O’Carroll, Ellie Franklin, Issy Carr (0-1), Molly Crowe, Emily Spillane, Emer Dwan, Aedin McCormack (captain), Ciara O’Hora (1-5 )(3 f).
Subs used: Lucy O’Brien for Emily Spillane (25 mins), Hannah Butler for Ellie Franklin (half-time), Maeve O’Callaghan for Emer Dwan (41 mins), Aoife Shelly for Aedin McCormack (54 mins), Amy Reddan for Sinead O’Carroll (69 mins).