Tipperary off to a flier with fine victory over Clare in Allianz NHL

Tipperary 2-16

Clare 1-11

Tipperary had a fine victory over Clare in the opening round of the Allianz National Hurling League at Semple Stadium this evening with new captain Seamus Callanan playing a big part as he bagged two goals.

A wet, miserable evening, the performance of the Tipp lads did much to warm the cockles of the Premier hearts as they swept Clare aside with a super showing.

Tipperary had three changes from the side announced on Friday evening, with Barry Heffernan, Robert Byrne and Willie Connors coming in instead of Joe O'Dwyer, Paddy Cadell and Jason Forde. Clare also had two changes with Jack Browne and John Conlon coming into the starting side instead of Rory Hayes and Gary Cooney.

The 0-13 to 1-3 interval lead which Tipperary possessed probably reflected the level of play in the game. But, it could have been a lot more had a Seamus Callanan penalty effort in the 3rd minute found the back of the Clare net. Instead, the effort was beaten away by Clare keeper Donal Tuohy. However, the miss did not disillusion a very busy Callanan who fired over five points in the half to go along with three from Noel McGrath, two from Jake Morris and one each from Michael Breen and Dan McCormack.

Clare were on form in the first half and with the heavy rain falling all the way through, they found it hard to get into the match. But, they were thrown a lifeline in the 28th minute when Niall Deasy scored a penalty goal  to cut the deficit from seven points, to four. The goal was a big lift to them but Tipp pushed on again and fired over four more before the interval to create the seven point interval gap.

Clare made three changes at the break  with regulars Colm Galvin, Padraic  Collins and Peter Duggan thrown into the fray - Collins pointing with his first touch. But, Clare were dealt a real blow when midfielder Tony Kelly was straight red carded for a high tackle of Padraic Maher in the 9th minute.

Tipp got another major boost in the 14th minute when Seamus Callanan goalled after Jake Morris and Dan McCormack combined to set him up - the gap was now at eight points and the Premier County was looking very good for the win. Two minutes later the ball was in the Clare net again - Callanan once more after a super catch and lay-off from Jake Morris.

The game was over as a contest and Tipperary saw out a fine victory which was sweet revenge for the ten point loss of the same opposition in the Co Op Superstore Munster League Final two weeks previously.

Footnote:

The Tipperary hurlers presented cheques to the Amanda Stapleton Benefit Fund and the Run for Josie charity at half time in the game this evening. The players had fundraised before Christmas with a charity cycle and a series of coaching sessions. The cheques were presented by Brendan Maher and Jerome Cahill from the Tipp panel to Paddy Stapleton and Seamus Hennessy.  Congratulations to the players on their efforts.