Munster Junior Football Championship Quarter Final – Tipperary 1-15 Kerry 0-11

Tipperary defeated Kerry by 1-15 to 0-11 in the Quarter Final of the Munster Junior Football Championship on Sunday at Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney.

Click to view photos from this game on Munster GAA Facebook

Hickey on fire as Tipp master champions

By Mortimer Murphy for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Tipperary 1-15 Kerry 0-11

All-Ireland champions Kerry, who had to field a completely new side, were put to the sword by a lively and determined Tipperary side in this Munster JFC quarter-final at Fitzgerald Stadium yesterday. Tipperary were well up for the contest with wing forward and former senior Benny Hickey scoring 1-8. However it was wings backs Paddy Dalton and Tommy Ryan who did most of the damage to a very porous Kerry defence. In mitigation, 11 Kerry players had played with their clubs the previous evening but they also kicked 15 wides. Indeed the margin of victory could have been wider if Tipperary hadn’t been denied goals on three occasions with Kerry defenders effecting superb blocks.

Tipperary had the wind in the opening half and ran the Kerry defence ragged with Benny Hickey and young Gavin Ryan catching the eye. Gavin O’Grady opened Kerry’s account with a third minute free but they then shot six first quarter wides as Benny Hickey hit four points in the same period and Ryan was denied a goal by a super Ambrose Lannigan block. Kerry finally got going thanks to some fine fielding by Aidan Walsh and surging running by Padraig Ó Sé and Pa Kilkenny. Points from Alan Fitzgerald (three) and Aidan Walsh closed the gap to just two, 0-7 to 0-5, three minutes before the interval. Then Tipperary enjoyed an explosive spell just that saw Adrian Walsh and Laurence Coskeran kick points and shocking Kerry defending saw Ryan play Benny Hickey to side foot home a simple goal as Tipperary retired 1-9 to 0-5 in front at the break.

Tipperary resumed with points from man of the match Hickey and Thomas Hanley. The home side rallied and closed the gap to four points (1-11 to 0-10) midway through the second half thanks to three Philip O’Connor points, and one each from Fitzgerald and Niall Sheehy but they kicked far too many wides. Gavin O’Grady and Michael O’Sullivan swapped points as Tipperary finished strongly with Hickey kicking three late scores to cap a memorable win.

Scorers for Tipperary: B Hickey 1-8 (0-3 frees), T Ryan 0-2, A Walsh, T Hanley, L Coskeran, G Ryan and M O’Sullivan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kerry: A Fitzgerald 0-4 (1f), P O’Connor 0-3, G O’Grady 0-2 (1 45, 1f), A Walsh and N Sheehy 0-1 each.

KERRY: S Dee; P Ó Sé, A Lannigan, E Kiely; P Kilkenny, B O’Sullivan, N Fitzgerald; C McGillycuddy, A Walsh; G Sayers, A Fitzgerald, A Breen; G O’Grady, C Keating, P O’Connor.

Subs: J Hickson for G Sayers (41), N Sheehy for C Keating (41), D Somers for A Breen (45), G Crowley for N Fitzgerald (55), D Daly for G O’Grady (58).

TIPPERARY: J English; C Higgins, A Kelly, G Mulhaire; P Dalton, C Morrissey, T Ryan; C McGrath, E Ryan; A Walsh, T Hanley, B Hickey; L Coskeran, G Ryan, B Quinn.

Subs: D Heffernan for B Quinn (46), M O’Sullivan for L Coskeran (48), D Butler for E Ryan (59).

Referee: M Condon (Waterford)

Hickey turns on style to propel Tipp

Report from the Irish Independent newspaper

Tipperary 1-15 Kerry 0-11

All-Ireland champions Kerry, who had to field a completely new side, were put to the sword in this quarter-final by a lively and determined Tipperary at the Fitzgerald Stadium. While Kerry were disappointing, Tipperary were really up for the contest, with wing-forward and former senior Benny Hickey scoring 1-8, but it was wings-backs Paddy Dalton and Tommy Ryan who did most of the damage to a porous Kingdom defence. Tipperary had the wind in the opening half and at times ran the Kerry defence ragged, with Hickey and young Gavin Ryan catching the eye. Gavin O’Grady opened Kerry’s account with a third-minute free but they then shot six first-quarter wides, as Hickey bagged four points in the same period, and Ryan was denied a goal by a super Ambrose Lannigan block.

Kerry finally got going thanks to some fine fielding by Aidan Walsh and surging running by Padraig O Se and Pa Kilkenny, and points from Alan Fitzgerald (3) and Walsh closed the gap to just two points, 0-7 to 0-5, with three minutes left to the interval. Tipperary enjoyed an explosive spell just before the short whistle that saw Adrian Walsh and Laurence Coskeran kick points. Then shocking Kerry defending saw Ryan play Hickey in to side-foot home a simple goal as Tipperary retired 1-9 to 0-5 in front. Kerry supporters were expecting a second-half revival with the wind, but Tipperary opened the brighter with points from man of the match Hickey and Thomas Hanley, and the hosts needed a miracle that simply never happened.

Scorers – Tipperary: B Hickey 1-8 (0-3fs), T Ryan 0-2, A Walsh, T Hanley, L Coskeran, G Ryan, M O’Sullivan 0-1 each. Kerry: A Fitzgerald 0-4 (1f), P O’Connor 0-3, G O’Grady 0-2 ( 1f, 1 ’45’), A Walsh, N Sheehy 0-1 each.

Tipperary – J English; C Higgins, A Kelly, G Mulhaire; P Dalton, C Morrissey, T Ryan; C McGrath, E Ryan; A Walsh, T Hanley, B Hickey; L Coskeran, G Ryan, B Quinn. Subs: D Heffernan for Quinn (46), M O’Sullivan for Coskeran (48), D Butler for Ryan (59).

Kerry – S Dee; P O Se, A Lannigan, E Kiely; P Kilkenny, B O’Sullivan, N Fitzgerald; C McGillycuddy, A Walsh; G Sayers, A Fitzgerald, A Breen; G O’Grady, C Keating, P O’Connor. Subs: J Hickson for Sayers (41), N Sheehy for Keating (41), D Somers for Breen (45), G Crowley for Fitzgerald (55), D Daly for O’Grady (58).

Ref – M Condon (Waterford)

Team News

The Tipperary junior football team to play Kerry in Sunday’s Munster quarter-final is as follows:

1. Jack English (Ballyporeen)
2. Christopher Higgins (Galtee Rovers)
3. Aaron Kelly (Moyle Rovers)
4. Ger Mulhaire (Arravale Rovers)
5. Paddy Dalton (Arravale Rovers)
6. Colin Morrissey (Galtee Rovers)
7. Tommy Ryan (Kilsheelan Kilcash)
8. Ciarán McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney)
9. Eoin Ryan (Kilsheelan Kilcash)
10. Adrian Walsh (Kilsheelan Kilcash)
11. Thomas Hanley (Aherlow)
12. Benny Hickey (Cahir) CAPTAIN
13. Laurence Coskeran (Aherlow)
14. Gavin Ryan (Rockwell Rovers)
15. Brian Quinn (Burgess)