Tipperary's footballers reach the end of the Tailteann Cup road in Aughrim

Tipperary faced Wicklow in Echelon Park, Wicklow on Saturday in the Tailteann Cup

Tailteann Cup - Round 3

Tipperary 0-12

Wicklow 1-17

Tipperary’s senior footballers reached the end of the road in Echelon Park, Aughrim, on Saturday evening, as a wasteful first half with the wind led to the Premier’s downfall in round three of the Tailteann Cup against a physically dominant Wicklow side.

Like most of the country, the un-summer-like conditions were far from favourable for fast-flowing and crisp football and with the constant spit of rain coming down in the first half, it made the prospect of two-point shooting tough.

Alas, some poor shooting and the scrappy concession of a goal early in the first half only le to the Premier taking a one-point half-time lead, and given the conditions, it was never going to be enough.

A good start to the second half gave some hope that Tipperary could throw up a challenge, but slowly, the errors started to creep in, and that, coupled with an inability to win primary possession from their own kickouts, led to the inevitable finish.

Playing with the aid of a strong breeze in the opening half, Tipperary recovered well from an early setback to take a narrow 0-7 to 1-3 lead into the interval.

The difficult conditions, with driving rain sweeping across the ground, made scores hard to come by early on. Wicklow struck first through Pádraig O’Toole before a turnover from the resulting kick-out led to Eoin Darcy creating the chance that eventually saw Kevin Quinn finish to the net, leaving Tipperary four points adrift at 1-1 to nil.

The Premier County responded impressively. Consecutive points in the 12th minute from Paddy Creedon and Steven O’Brien helped settle the side, while long-range accuracy proved crucial before the break. Creedon and Seán O’Connor both converted two-pointers as Tipperary gradually edged in front.

There was also a major opportunity to strengthen that advantage when Steven O’Brien was denied by a brilliant point-blank fingertip save from Wicklow goalkeeper Mark Jackson, but as it was, some poor shooting and mistakes in possession had Tipperary holding a slender and precarious-looking 0-7 to 1-3 lead at the break.

Now playing into a stronger wind and with the rain now subsiding, Tipperary managed to make the ideal start after the restart, kicking the opening two scores through a Sean O’Connor free and a class effort from Paddy Creedon to move three points clear and put themselves in a strong position. However, that early momentum proved difficult to maintain as Wicklow increasingly took control of possession and territory.

The Leinster side regained the lead on 48 minutes through Kevin Quinn and never looked back. Quinn was particularly influential, adding two excellent two-pointers to his tally as Wicklow stretched clear as the Tipperary effort began to fade.

Tipperary battled to stay in touch, though, continuing to pick off scores, largely from placed balls, but found clear-cut opportunities hard to create against a well-organised Wicklow defence.

At the other end, goalkeeper Shane Garland was protected by some determined defending. Jackson was called into action again to deny Jack O’Neill in the 63rd minute, while Gavin Fogarty produced an important stop four minutes later when the Wicklow goalkeeper had been beaten.

Despite those efforts, Wicklow remained in control throughout the closing stages and put the seal on victory when Liam O’Neill landed a two-pointer just before the hooter, leaving Tipperary to reflect on a game that slipped away after a bright opening to the second half.

Scorers: Tipperary: Sean O’Connor (0-5, 0-3f, 1x2ptf), Paddy Creedon (0-5, 1x2pt), Steven O’Brien 0-2.

Wicklow: Kevin Quinn (1-6, 1x2pt), Oisin McGraynor (0-3, 0-2f), Liam O’Neill (0-3, 1x2pt), Pádraig O’Toole 0-2, Eoin Darcy, Joe Prendergast, Mark Kenny all 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Shane Garland; Jack O’Neill, Eoin O’Connell, Jimmy Feehan; Killian Butler, James Morris, Charlie King; Joe Higgins, Paudie Feehan; Steven O'Brien, Michéal Freaney, Kieran Costello; Paddy Creedon, Sean O’Connor, Daithi Hogan.

Subs used: Luke Boland for Butler (42); Eoin Craddock for Hogan (53); Darragh Brennan for Freaney (62); Darragh O'Connor (67); Emmet Moloney for King (68).

Wicklow: Mark Jackson; Tom Moran, Matt Nolan, Malachy Stone; Darragh Fee, Eoin Murtagh, Gavin Fogarty; Dean Healy, Jack Kirwan; Jonathan Carlin, Pádraig O’Toole, Christopher O’Brien; Oisin McGraynor, Kevin Quinn, Eoin Darcy.

Subs used: Joe Prendergast for Carlin (24, blood sub); Mark Kenny for Kirwan (57); Joe Prendergast for O'Brien (62); Cian Deering for Murtagh (66); Liam O'Neill for McGraynor (67); Conor Fee for Darcy (68).

Referee: Kieran Eannetta (Tyrone)