Waterford Crystal Cup Final – Clare 1-21 Tipperary 1-13

Fitzgerald ‘not fooled’ as Banner power past Tipp

Report from the Irish Independent newspaper

Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald has warned his side not to get complacent ahead of the start of the Allianz Hurling League after this impressive rout of holders Tipp in Thurles. “We were the better team tonight but I’m not fooled,” said Fitzgerald. “We meet Tipp in the league and we know what the story will be. I’m not reading anything into that whatsoever. You know there is a lot more in Tipp and I would have a lot more respect for them than that. “Our movement and our tackling was good. We have been working on that for the last year and a half there now. It means that there are another 10 guys that will have to fight to get back into it.”

The early exchanges were free-flowing, with the sides level on four occasions in the first 10 minutes; Seadna Morey was to the fore for Clare with two points from play, while Shane Bourke, Brian O’Meara and Eoin Kelly were on the mark for a lively Tipp inside attack. Tipperary struck for goal in the 13th minute after a flowing team move, with Kelly, O’Meara and Bourke combining to set up Patrick Maher for a close-range finish. The home side kept their noses in front through scores from Kelly and Bourke, but Clare were slowly getting on top.

Domhnall O’Donovan and Patrick Donnellan were prominent in defence for the Banner, while good points from the excellent Tony Kelly, Alan O’Neill, Enda Barrett and Fergal Lynch helped the visitors to a three-point half-time lead. A much sharper Clare team extended their dominance in the second half and Shane O’Donnell’s goal in the 52nd minute virtually ended the game as a contest. Man-of-the-match Tony Kelly brought his tally to five points from play, while top scorer Colin Ryan was on form from placed balls, finishing with nine points.

Tipperary struggled to raise a gallop in the second half, scoring just five points, three coming from frees; they also had corner-back Conor O’Brien sent off in the 58th minute for a second bookable offence. Tipperary manager Eamon O’Shea admitted that the defeat was disappointing but hinted that his sides preparations were focused on later in the year. “Yep, it is disappointing when you are beaten. We never seemed to get into the game,” he said. “They had the initiative right from the start and I think it was more than a fair result. “This is a training game before the first round of the league but having said that, they are probably more advanced than we are in terms of where their fitness levels are at. “We are training once a week and people should know tha,t and we train the weekends. It’s a long season and I think that’s what these games are for,” he added.

Scorers – Clare: C Ryan 0-9 (7f, 1 ’65’), T Kelly 0-5, S O’Donnell 1-1, S Morey, F Lynch 0-2 each, E Barrett, A O’Neill 0-1 each. Tipperary: E Kelly 0-6 (5f), P Maher 1-0, S Bourke, S Callanan (1f) 0-2, B O’Meara, J O’Brien, N McGrath (f) 0-1 each.

Clare – P Kelly; D O’Donovan, J McInerney, D McInerney; B Bugler, P Donnellan, P O’Connor; F Lynch, S Morey; C Ryan, T Kelly, E Barrett; P Collins, A O’Neill, S O’Donnell. Subs: P Duggan for Lynch (53), J Clancy for Collins (62), D O’Halloran for O’Donnell (64), L Markham for Barrett (66), D Honan for O’Neill (70+1).

Tipperary – B Cummins; D Maher, P Curran, C O’Brien; J McLoughney, T Stapleton, S Hennessy; S McGrath, N McGrath; J Forde, E Kelly, P Maher; B O’Meara, S Bourke, S Callanan. Subs: J O’Brien for O’Meara (h-t), J Ryan for McLoughney (52), T Hammersley for Kelly (57), J Woodlock for Stapleton (62), J O’Neill for Curran (66 inj).

REF – G O’Connell (Cork)

Waterford Crystal Cup Final: Clare 1-21 Tipperary 1-13

Report from the GAA.ie web site

Clare won the Waterford Crystal Cup for the second time in their history on Saturday, with a comfortable win over Tipperary. Colin Ryan hit 0-9 from placed balls for the victors, while Tony Kelly was outstanding for Davy Fitzgerald’s side, hitting 0-5 from play. Tipperary struck for a goal in the first-half through Patrick Maher, but Clare were the better side for most of the opening period and deservedly led 0-14 to 1-8 at the break. When Shane O’Donnell found the net for Clare midway through the second half, there was no way back for Tipperary, whose evening was made worse by the dismissal of Conor O’Brien.

Scorers for Clare: C Ryan 0-9 (7fs, 1 65), T Kelly 0-5, S O’Donnell 1-1, S Morey 0-2, F Lynch 0-2, A O’Neill 0-1, E Barrett 0-1.

Scorers for Tipperary: E Kelly 0-6, (5fs), P Maher 1-0, S Bourke 0-2, S Callanan 0-2, (1f), J O’Brien 0-1, B O’Meara 0-1, N McGrath 0-1 (1f)

Team News

The Tipperary SH team to play Clare in the Waterford Crystal Cup final on Sunday has only four of the team which started the semi-final against LIT. Conor O’Brien, Joey McLoughney, Shane McGrath and Jason Forde are retained. The line-up for the final sees the return of Brendan Cummins, Paul Curran, Donagh Maher, Brendan Maher, Seamus Hennessy, Noel McGrath, Eoin Kelly, Patrick Maher, Brian O’Meara, Shane Bourke and Seamus Callanan. The team is:

1. Brendan Cummins (Ballybacon-Grange)

2. Conor O’Brien (Éire Óg Annacarty)

3. Paul Curran (Mullinahone)

4. Donagh Maher (Burgess)

5. Joey McLoughney (Toomevara)

6. Brendan Maher (Borris–Ileigh)

7. Seamus Hennessy (Kilruane MacDonaghs)

8. Shane McGrath (Ballinahinch)

9. Noel McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney)

10. Jason Forde (Silvermines)

11. Eoin Kelly (Mullinahone)

12. Patrick Maher (Lorrha & Dorrha)

13. Brian O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs)

14. Shane Bourke (JK Brackens)

15. Seamus Callanan (Drom & Inch)

For the Record

Waterford Crystal Cup Senior Hurling 2013

Preliminary Round

Saturday January 19th

@ Kilmallock                               Limerick 3-15 Mary Immaculate College 0-13

@ The Mardyke                          Cork 3-20 UCC 1-16

Sunday January 20^th

@ Abbeydorney                          Kerry 6-17 IT Tralee 0-12

@ WIT GAA Grounds                  University of Limerick 1-20 Waterford 0-18

Quarter-Finals
Thursday January 24^th

@ Abbeydorney                          Limerick Institute of Technology 1-25 Kerry 3-7

Saturday January 26^th

@ Pairc Ui Rinn                           Cork 4-16 Waterford Institute of Technology 1-8

Sunday January 27^th

@ Sixmilebridge                          Clare 3-13 University of Limerick   1-13
@ MacDonagh Park Nenagh        Tipperary 0-22 Limerick 1-9

Semi-Finals

Friday February 1st

@ Sixmilebridge                          Clare 0-20 Cork 2-11

Sunday February 3rd

@ Dolla                                      Tipperary 1-20 Limerick Institute of Technology 2-12

Final (Extra Time)

Saturday February 9th

@ Semple Stadium Thurles          Clare v Tipperary                                   @ 7:30pm

Waterford Crystal Cup Senior Hurling – Useful Information

Saturday’s final between Tipperary and Clare will mark the third time in the last five years that they have met in the Waterford Crystal Cup Final, both at Clare venues. In 2009 at Ogonnolloe, Clare were successful on a scoreline of 1-12 to 1-7 in front of an attendance of 1,237. While last year (2012) at Sixmilebridge, Tipperary secured the cup with a 1-21 to 2-12 victory.

2012 Waterford Crystal Cup Final on Sunday March 4th at Sixmilebridge – Tipperary 1-21 Clare 2-12

Tipperary: B Cummins (c); C O’Brien, J Coghlan, M Cahill; D Maher, C O’Mahony (0-3, 0-2 frees, 0-1 65), S Maher; D Young, J Woodlock (0-5); G Ryan (0-2), N McGrath (0-4, 0-2 frees), A Ryan (0-1); J O’Neill (0-3), B O’Meara (1-0), T Hammersley (0-1)

Subs: S McGrath for A Ryan (48), E Kelly (0-2) for D Young (56), J O’Brien for J O’Neill (59).

Clare: D Tuohy; D O’Donovan, C Dillon, C Cooney; S Morey, J McInerney, E Barrett; N O’Connell (0-3 frees), P Donnellan (c) (0-3); C Morey (0-1), D Keane (1-1), F Lynch; J Clancy, C Ryan (0-4 frees), A Cunningham (1-0)

Subs: J Conlon, E Hayes for J Clancy and A Cunningham (62).

Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork)

2009 Waterford Crystal Cup Final – January 25^th at Ogonolloe – Clare 1-12 Tipperary 1-7

Clare — P Brennan; G O’Grady, C Dillon, C McMahon; P Donnellan, G Quinn, C Plunkett; J Clancy, B Bugler (0-1); T Carmody (0-1), T Griffin (0-1), C Ryan (0-6, 0-4 frees); N Gilligan (0-1), A Markham (1-0), B Nugent (0-1)

Subs: D McMahon (0-1) for Nugent (35), P Vaughan for Bugler (39), M Hawes for O’Grady (60), J Conlon for Markham (63).

Tipperary — B Cummins; C O’Brien, D Fanning, P Curran; B Dunne, C O’Mahony, D Fitzgerald; J Woodlock, S Hennessy (0-3, 0-1 free); P Kerwick, H Maloney (0-2), L Corbett; N McGrath (0-1), P Maher (1-0), P Kelly.

Subs: J O’Brien (0-1) for Corbett (36), S Maher for Hennessy (49), W Ryan for Kerwick (49), P Bourke for Maloney (54).

Referee – Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork)

35 goals were scored in the 2012 Waterford Crystal Cup competition over 11 matches (an average of 3.2 goals per match). This contrasts with 23 goals in the 2011 competition over 10 matches (an average of 2.3 goals per match). In the first ten matches in the 2013 competition, there were 33 goals scored (an average of 3.3 goals per match)

Since the Waterford Crystal Cup began in 2006, Clare (17 wins), Tipperary (15 wins) and Waterford (13 wins) have accounted for 45 of the 81 victories in the competition (56%).

Tipperary hold the record for the longest winning streak in the Waterford Crystal Cup since the competition began under that guise in 2006 when they won 10 consecutive matches between 2007 and 2009.

None of the five teams who take part in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship have a losing record in the Waterford Crystal Cup since 2006.

Since the Waterford Crystal Cup began in 2006, 76 games have been played with just 1 draw – the 2012 Limerick v Clare Quarter-Final after two periods of extra time.

The record of the Third Level Colleges in the Waterford Crystal Cup since 2006 is Won 21, Lost 45, a 32% success rate.

Clare are the only team who have won at least one game each year since the Waterford Crystal Cup competition began in 2006.

Waterford Crystal Cup Senior Hurling Roll Of Honour

Tipperary (3) – 2007, 2008, 2012

Waterford (2) – 2010, 2011

Clare (1) – 2009

Limerick (1) – 2006

Waterford Crystal Cup – 2013 Scorers