Allianz NHL Division 1 – Tipperary 1-19 Waterford 2-16

Tipperary drew with Waterford in Division 1 of the Allianz National Hurling League on Sunday in Semple Stadium Thurles on a scoreline of Tipperary 1-19 Waterford 2-16.

Allianz National Hurling League

Tipperary 1-19 Waterford 2-16

By Cathal Ryan

For the second time in two weeks Waterford ace midfielder Eoin Kelly pointed a last gasp free to ensure a draw for his side as the Deise men clawed their way back into the match with three unanswered points in the final seven minutes.  With the clocks gone forward the previous night there was a real feeling that summer is getting close about this encounter as the pace of the hurling edged closer to that of championship pace and both sides produced a very entertaining spectacle for the 6,665 in attendance at Semple Stadium.

In the 26th minute of the opening period Tipperary had established a three point lead after some lacklustre shooting early in the game from both teams. Dan Shanahan caused some confusion on the edge of the Premier men’s square and managed to flick the ball in the direction of the in rushing Stephen Molumphy. The Waterford captain slipped just as he went to collect the sliotar but in true Molumphy style he battled his way back to his feet and engineered just enough space to fire to the roof of Brendan Cummins net from ten yards out. The game remained a close encounter until 46th minute when Noel McGrath finished off a fantastic move past the charging Clinton Hennessy. Timmy Hammersley popped a 20 yard pass into Gearoid Ryan’s hand. As Ryan sprinted goal bound he drew defenders before offloading to McGrath in order to provide the finish. This left the Premier County in the ascendancy and a further point opened the margin to five. The referee awarded the visitors a free on the 21 yard line for a late tackle after the ball was clipped in around the square by Eoin Kelly. The Passage man dusted himself down and rifled the resulting free to the net to begin the comeback for Waterford.

Both management teams can take positives from this clash as the game was played at a rapid pace throughout. Both sides will look to their shooting early in the match as Tipperary hit eight wides in the first half and Waterford contributed seven as an area that may need some fine tuning.  It was Davy Fitzgerald’s men who opened the scoring with captain Molumphy sweeping the ball over the bar off his left hand side forty five yards out from goal in the second minute. Four minutes later Dan Shanahan added a second after a precision delivery from powerful right half forward Seamus Prendergast.  It took the Premier County until the ninth minute to register when Clonoulty Rossmore’s deadly finisher Timmy Hammersley pointed a free after Paul Kelly controlled well and was hauled to the ground.  Lar Corbett produced some wizardry in the opening half and stood a class apart with swagger and skill that the Waterford defence had no match for. He notched his first point of the afternoon in the 13th minute after fetching a Noel McGrath sideline cut.

Eoin Kelly with a free and Paul Kelly traded scores on the 15 minute mark and Seamus Prendergast and Hammersley with a free done likewise just two minutes later. But it was Corbett with two identical monster scores brought the excitement of the crowd to higher decibel both within a minute of each other on the 20 minute mark.  This spurred the Premier men on and they opened a three point gap before Molumphy netted in the 26th minute to level the sides. Dan Shanahan who was by now embroiled in fantastic duel with Tipperary’s outstanding young defender Padraic Maher notched another point a moment later to put Waterford in front. Liam Sheedy’s side never flinched and powered to half time outscoring their Munster rivals 0-4 to 0-2 in the closing minutes of the half through Noel McGrath, two Gearoid Ryan points and one more from Corbett to leave the scoreboard reading 0-13 to 1-9 at the break.

John Mullane was introduced at the break and with his first touch won a free which Eoin Kelly duly pointed. Without their version of Eoin Kelly Tipperary turned to Noel McGrath when awarded a penalty in the 38th minute as John O Brien caught a good ball and was hauled to the deck. The penalty was saved well and flicked outside the post for a sixty five that was converted by Hammersley.  Shane O Sullivan who made a handsome contribution to the match converted his second score of the day in the 39th minute. This was soon followed by one of many energy sapping runs made by Brendan Maher who clipped over his second point also.  The two goals of the half were then shared in the space of three minutes and the match was set up for a fantastic finale. With Tipperary ahead by three points heading into the closing ten minutes Waterford dug deep and brought the margin back to one with time just up.

As the Deise pressed they thought they had pierced the Premier’s defence in the final moment only for Paul Curran to emerge with a heroic shoulder on Seamus Prendergast to nip the attack in the bud. The Waterford gander was now up and they regained possession and created another attack where they earned a free 30 yards out and enabled Kelly to earn a point for Waterford.

Teams:
Tipperary: Brendan Cummins; Paddy Stapleton, Padraic Maher, Paul Curran; Declan Fanning, Conor O Mahony, Shane Maher; Brendan Maher(0-2), Shane McGrath; Gearoid Ryan(0-2), Lar Corbett(0-4), John O Brien(0-1); Noel McGrath(1-1), Timmy Hammersley(0-6, 4F, 1,65), Paul Kelly(0-2). Subs: Seamus Hennessy (0-1) for S. McGrath (37), Michael Webster for P. Kelly (56).

Waterford: Clinton Hennessy; Eoin Murphy, Mark O Brien, Noel Connors; Aidan Kearney, Jamie Nagle(0-1), Shane Fives; Eoin Kelly(1-7, 1-7F), Richie Foley; Seamus Prendergast (0-1), Kevin Moran, Shane O Sullivan (0-3); Stephen Molumphy (1-1), Dan Shanahan (0-2), Thomas Ryan. Subs: John Mullane (0-1) for K. Moran (h/t), Maurice Shanahan for A. Kearney (h/t)

Referee: Cathal McAllister (Cork)

Tipperary 1-19 Waterford 2-16

From the RTE.ie web site

Sunday, 28 March 2010 19:04

Waterford came from five points down to secure a late draw with Tipperary in Sunday’s Allianz NHL Division 1 clash at Semple Stadium. Just as he did last week against Cork, Eoin Kelly slotted a last-gasp free for a share of the league spoils, taking his tally to 1-07 in the process. Team captain Stephen Molumphy netted for the visitors who trailed by 0-13 to 1-09 at half-time, with Lar Corbett landing four points for Tipp in front of a 6,667-strong crowd. The Premier County side moved further ahead when Noel McGrath found the net, but a Kelly goal revived Waterford at just the right time. Both managers, Liam Sheedy and Davy Fitzgerald, had to alter their selected sides before the throw-in, as All Star Eoin Kelly was replaced in the Tipp attack by his brother Paul and Dan Shanahan stepped in at full-forward for Waterford.

Molumphy and Shanahan opened the scoring for the Deise, with the latter opting to point when a goal looked on.  The visitors’ lead – 0-02 to 0-00 after seven minutes – could have been more as Kelly, who scored 1-17 against Cork, was wayward with his first three attempts from frees. Timmy Hammersley knocked over Tipp’s opening point from a free and Sheedy’s charges did not look back, with centre-forward Corbett starring in a fast-paced first half. Tipp’s pace was causing problems for the Waterford rearguard, but Shanahan, who had an eye-catching duel with Padraic Maher, stamped his mark on the game when setting Molumphy up for a goal. That strike levelled the tie at 0-09 to 1-06 and a subsequent point from Shanahan nudged Fitzgerald’s side ahead.

Gearoid Ryan (0-02) and Noel McGrath added to Tipp’s total and while Kelly landed two frees as the half came to a close, there was still time for Corbett to fire over his fourth long range point and give the hosts the lead for half-time. Kelly kickstarted the Waterford challenge, on the resumption, with a well-taken point and the Deise had a let-off when Noel McGrath’s penalty, following a foul on John O’Brien, was saved on the line by Clinton Hennessy and his defenders. Hammersley dropped the resulting ’65’ over the crossbar, but Waterford got back on terms twice in quick succession as half-time substitute John Mullane set up a point for Shane O’Sullivan and landed a fine score himself  Brendan Maher sandwiched a point in between those efforts, and Tipp strengthened their hand when Hammersley passed for Noel McGrath to charge through and smack a low drive beyond Hennessy’s reach and into the net. However, the scores dried up for Tipp and Waterford had the better of the remaining minutes, with Kelly snaffling a quick 1-01 to reduce the arrears to 1-17 to 2-12. In the end, the Passage clubman, having missed an earlier free, held his nerve to convert the levelling point with the final puck of a typically hard-fought Munster derby.

Eoin Kelly fired over an equaliser with the last puck of the game for the second successive week as Waterford and Tipperary played out an enjoyable 2-16 to 1-19 draw at Semple Stadium on Sunday. Kelly fired a more modest total of 1-7 this week, but his second half goal as well as some fine points from frees once again proved crucial for the Deise, who had trailed by 1-9 to 0-13 at the break. Tipperary were dealt a blow before a ball was struck when All Star Eoin Kelly was ruled out with an injury. Paul Kelly came into the side to take his place. However, Waterford were also forced into a change, but the inclusion of Dan Shanahan at full-forward ahead of Shane Walsh scarcely weakened Davy Fitzgerald’s hand.

Waterford made the early running and it was Stephen Molumphy who opened the scoring, before Shanahan had a goal chance but opted to lash over the bar to give the Déise a 0-2 to 0-0 lead after seven minutes. Eoin Kelly, fresh from netting a remarkable 1-17 haul against Cork last week, sent his first three attempts from placed balls wide. Timmy Hammersley took over free-taking duties from the injured Eoin Kelly and he opened Tipp’s account after nine minutes from a placed ball. The Premier men then took the game by the scruff of the neck and raced into a 0-9 to 0-6 lead just before the break. However, Dan Shanahan was causing Pádraic Maher all sorts of problems and he set up Stephen Molumphy for a fine goal to level the game. As if to underline the point, Shanahan sent the Déise into the lead with his second point of the game. Tipperary hit back with two points from Gearóid Ryan and a Noel McGrath effort, before Eoin Kelly sent over a pair of frees to leave Waterford level at 1-9 to 0-12 just before the break.

However, Tipperary nudged in a point clear after Lar Corbett added his fourth point of the half to leave his side 1-9 to 0-13 ahead at the break. Eoin Kelly levelled the game after the restart before Noel McGrath squandered a great chance from the penalty spot, firing a shot low and hard at Clinton Hennessy, who deflected the ball out for a ’65 which Hammersley sent over the bar. Brendan Maher added another point from play before Tipperary scored a brilliant team goal to take a four-point lead. Hammersley fed McGrath, who drilled a low shot past Hennessy to make up for his penalty miss minutes earlier. However, Waterford hit back almost immediately with a goal from Eoin Kelly to reduce the gap to 2-12 to 1-17. Kelly then added another free to leave just a point between the sides. Kelly had a chance to level the game with two minutes left on the clock, but he was off target. However, Kelly did level the game with the last puck of the ball to leave the sides at 2-16 to 1-19.
Davy happy as Déise battle

Tipperary 1-19 Waterford 2-16

By Michael Moynihan for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Monday, March 29, 2010

HONOURS even in Semple Stadium yesterday, with 6,665 people on hand for this entertaining draw in the NHL Division One. The Déise can thank old warhorses Dan Shanahan and Eoin Kelly for their late equaliser – Shanahan won the injury-time free which Kelly converted for the draw – and their manager Davy Fitzgerald was happy his side had fought to the very end. “And we showed a nice bit of character there at the end. We took and gave hits today – we still have improving to do, and I doubt Tipperary would be afraid of us, but we’ll keep working hard.” His opposite number wasn’t quite as happy: “We were lucky enough in the finish,” said Tipp boss Liam Sheedy. “We were hanging on a bit. We were a tired team at the end. “When we went five points up (in the second-half) I thought we’d kick on, but in fairness to Waterford they came back. I’d be disappointed with the goal which they got but overall we’d be happy enough with the point from the game.”

True enough. Tipp didn’t score for the last ten minutes, which was surprising as they’d been impressive up until that point. Paul Kelly and Lar Corbett were very sharp in the first-half – Corbett had four points from play while Kelly had won plenty of possession and scored two points himself. Tipperary moved four clear of Waterford with a Brendan Maher point on 26 minutes but almost immediately the visitors hit back: Jamie Nagle pointed, then Dan Shanahan slipped a clever pass to Stephen Molumphy. The Waterford skipper lost his footing but recovered to shoot home from close range. Shanahan then added a point to put Waterford ahead. The game picked up visibly in intensity at that point, with Waterford benefiting from Richie Foley’s switch back to centre-back and Tomás Ryan’s industry up front, which had the experienced Paul Curran on the back foot. Tipp regained the lead through Noel McGrath and Gearoid Ryan (two), only for Waterford’s Eoin Kelly (two) to level matters before Corbett, again, put Tipp one ahead at the break, 1-9 to 0-13.

Tipperary could have edged further ahead on the resumption, when John O’Brien won a penalty, but Clinton Hennessy saved Noel McGrath’s shot. The sides exchanged points until a Tipperary goal: Declan Fanning, Hammersley and Gearoid Ryan exchanged passes to put Noel McGrath through to goal coolly on 46 minutes. A Seamus Hennessy point put Tipp five ahead, 1-17 to 1-12, but Waterford’s response was emphatic: Eoin Kelly buried a 20-metre free on 50 minutes and then pointed another free to leave the minimum between them. Though Tipp managed two more points, from Hammersley and John O’Brien, they failed to score in the last ten minutes, and while Waterford’s equaliser might have been late, it had an air of inevitability about it. The Waterford manager was particularly happy that Dan Shanahan’s industry had won the equalising free. “I’m delighted for him. He’s worked very hard and though a lot of people might have written him off, the way it is on this team, if you’re good enough to play then you’ll play.

Liam Sheedy wasn’t as ebullient: “We’d be disappointed with what we got from the last twenty minutes. We didn’t get a whole lot into our play, another score or two would have given us a bit of daylight and we maybe took the wrong option, but we’re going in the right direction. “There’ll be loads to play for next week against Cork.” The injuries are mounting up for Tipperary: Sheedy confirmed that both yesterday’s late withdrawal Eoin Kelly and Seamus Callanan have hamstring strains from midweek training. “Next week might be too soon for them, but they’re definitely not long-term injuries.” Shane McGrath took a knock to the knee yesterday and Sheedy said he was waiting for the medical report. Davy Fitzgerald confirmed the return of Tony Browne to the panel but said that Ken McGrath, who is still on honeymoon, would be unlikely to start against Offaly next week.

Scorers for Tipperary: T. Hammersley 0-6 (0-3 fs, 0-1 65); N. McGrath 1-1, L. Corbett 0-4; P. Kelly, G. Ryan, B. Maher 0-2 each; S. Hennessy, J. O’Brien 0-1 each.

Scorers for Waterford: E. Kelly 1-7 (1-7 fs); S. Molumphy 1-1; S. O’Sullivan 0-3; D. Shanahan 0-2; J. Nagle, S. Prendergast, J. Mullane 0-1 each.

Subs for Tipperary: S. Hennessy for S. McGrath, 37; M. Webster for P. Kelly 56.

Subs for Waterford: J. Mullane and M. Shanahan for Moran and Kearney HT; B. Phelan for Ryan, 54.

Referee: C. McAllister (Cork).

Sheedy insists wasteful Tipp will improve

Tipperary 1-19 Waterford 2-16

By Vincent Hogan for the Irish Independent newspaper

Monday March 29 2010

Some silt in the water then, Tipperary’s apparently serene glide towards another National Hurling League final hitting an obstinate current here. Waterford’s Eoin Kelly was deliberate as a golfer facing a tricky downhill putt with Sunday dusk descending as he delivered the injury-time free that confirmed a just share of the spoils in Semple Stadium. Ten times the sides had been level in a contest rippling on the fringes of championship intensity. If Tipp have a vice, it looks to be carelessness with a lead. They led 1-17 to 1-12 with 22 minutes remaining and seemed well set to canter into the sunset. But they weren’t of a mind to close out games in last year’s Munster Championship and it would seem that that small quirk still loiters like a virus in the system. “Yeah, a little bit disappointed we didn’t close it out, but we were probably lucky enough in the finish,” agreed Liam Sheedy with trademark candour. “We were a tired team finishing up, hanging on a little bit. But it was a good game of hurling, good intensity, both teams fighting for their lives. “We’ll improve a lot for it.”

It was a contest that signposted redemption claims of two of hurling’s all but forgotten people. Dan Shanahan won that late Waterford free and, generally, had a positive 70 minutes, much of it spent in the vicinity of current All-Star full-back, Paudie Maher. And a hamstring injury for Tipp’s Eoin Kelly facilitated the return of older brother, Paul, to their starting line-up, an opportunity he grasped with both hands, scoring 0-2 and — frankly — looking the part of an inter-county corner-forward through an impressive first half. That said, for stretches of that half, this wasn’t so much a National League game as a trade stand, advertising the exquisite talents of Lar Corbett. He has an almost feline grace in this mood and, by half-time, Lar’s personal tally had climbed to 0-4 from play, Waterford chasing him like men with nets going after a butterfly.

Eventually, they settled on Richie Foley for the task and Corbett’s influence gradually waned. The other stand-out man was Brendan Maher in the Tipp midfield, a real perpetual motion type, endlessly hooking, blocking and tending to the small-print of the role with an authority that — in James Woodlock’s long-term absence — may well play him into the championship picture. Tipp made the early running, stretching 0-9 to 0-5 clear inside 26 minutes, Corbett the star turn, Maher and Kelly not far behind. But there is a resilient edge to Waterford under Davy Fitz and, when Stephen Molumphy flashed home a brilliant 27th-minute goal (after good work by Shanahan), the message was unambiguous. Tipp would have to earn anything they got here.

Fitzgerald encapsulated their mindset later, observing: “I think the thing in this League has been we’ve kept working hard. The work ethic is good. And we showed a nice bit of character at the end there. We shipped a lot of hits today and gave a lot of hits, which means we’re able to compete. “But I’m sure Tipp wouldn’t exactly be frightened of us at this stage.” To be fair, they looked to have little enough reason when Noel McGrath’s sublime, dinked finish on 46 minutes, after good work from Timmy Hammersley and Gearoid Ryan, was immediately followed by a wonder point from under the new stand by substitute Seamus Hennessy. That put Tipp five clear and, apparently, stretching clear.

Yet, the introduction of John Mullane had palpably unsettled their full-back line and, when Kelly venomously despatched a 20-metre free in the 50th minute — having himself shipped a late challenge from Declan Fanning — Waterford suddenly sensed insecurity in their hosts. Brendan Cummins did well to prevent the concession of a goal when Kelly slipped behind the cover onto a Seamus Prendergast delivery in the 63rd minute, yet points from the impressive Shane O’Sullivan and Kelly (a free) left Waterford just a point adrift approaching injury-time. They looked to have spurned the opportunity when, in quick succession, a Kelly ’65 and a Foley free drifted high and wide. But then, to the boisterous approval of their supporters, Big Dan mined that free that secured late parity. “I’m delighted,” said Davy of the big Lismore man, the Hurler of the Year in 2007. “That’ll do him a power of good. A lot of people run him down, but he’s worked very hard. On this team, if you’re good enough to be playing, you’ll be out there. I don’t care what supporters think or what anyone thinks.

“People can knock who they like, I don’t care. It’s what we see at training that we go on.” For all their frustration, Tipp’s destiny still resides in their own hands. Win their remaining two games, against Cork and Offaly, and they guarantee themselves a place in the final. Indeed, next Sunday’s game with the Leesiders could, conceivably, prove the first of three meetings in just seven weeks. “Next week is just another League game,” said Sheedy impassively of the trip to Pairc Ui Chaoimh. “Fair play to Waterford today. But the thing that disappointed me was we let them back into it more so than they hurling themselves back into it. Still, Championship is seven weeks away.” Take it he doesn’t intend it to be time wasted.

SCORERS — Tipperary: T Hammersley 0-6 (4f, 1 ’65), L Corbett 0-4, N McGrath 1-1, B Maher, G Ryan and P Kelly 0-2 each, J O’Brien and S Hennessy 0-1 each. Waterford: E Kelly 1-7 (all frees), S Molumphy 1-1, S O’Sullivan 0-3, D Shanahan 0-2, J Nagle, S Prendergast and J Mullane 0-1 each.

TIPPERARY — B Cummins; P Curran, P Maher, P Stapleton; D Fanning, C O’Mahony, S Maher; B Maher, S McGrath; G Ryan, L Corbett, N McGrath;T Hammersley, J O’Brien, P Kelly. Subs: S Hennessy for McGrath (inj, 38 mins), M Webster for Kelly (56).

WATERFORD — C Hennessy; E Murphy, M O’Brien, N Connors; A Kearney, J Nagle, S Fives; E Kelly, R Foley; S Prendergast, K Moran, S O’Sullivan; S Molumphy, D Shanahan, T Ryan. Subs: M Shanahan and J Mullane for Kearney and Moran (h-t), B Phelan for Ryan (55).

Ref — C McAllister (Cork)

Team News

The Tipperary Senior Hurling team to play Waterford in Sunday’s Allianz GAA Hurling National game at Semple Stadium shows 7 changes from the team which started against Limerick last Sunday. Brendan Cummins, Declan Fanning, Conor O’Mahony, Shane Maher, Lar Corbett, Noel McGrath and John O’Brien all come into the side. Timmy Hammerlsey retains his corner forward position after an impressive 1-4 against Limerick in his first full game at this level.

1. Brendan Cummins (Ballybacon-Grange)
2. Paddy Stapleton (Borris-Ileigh)
3. Padraic Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)
4. Paul Curran (Mullinahone)
5. Declan Fanning (Killenaule)
6. Conor O’Mahony (Newport)
7. Shane Maher (Burgess)
8. Brendan Maher (Borris–Ileigh)
9. Shane McGrath (Ballinahinch)
10. Gearóid Ryan (Templederry Kenyons)
11. Lar Corbett (Thurles Sarsfields)
12. Noel McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney
13. Eoin Kelly (Mullinahone) Captain
14. John O’Brien (Toomevara)
15. Timmy Hammersley (Clonoulty Rossmore)