Tipperary 3-13 Kilkenny 1-17TIPPERARY MANAGER Mick Ryan spoke about pride restored following last Saturday's All-Ireland intermediate hurling final victory over Kilkenny at Semple Stadium.
Eighteen points separated the two counties in the All-Ireland senior semi-final 15 days ago but the healing process has now begun for Tipperary hurling. And a first All-Ireland intermediate title since 2000, when Ryan was a member of that successful team, will do nicely for starters.
Fethard native Ryan said: “It’s Tipp and Kilkenny. It’s the biggest rivalry in hurling. We felt that we didn’t want to let down the supporters tonight in Semple Stadium. We wanted to give a bit of pride back to the county.”
And Ryan has urged his players to take their intercounty careers to the next level following this success. He said: “Hopefully there are players out there that can make the next step up. That is what this is used for.”
A rule change in 2011, which allows Tipperary to field senior club players in this grade, was a huge advantage as Kilkenny could only call upon junior and intermediate club players. Tipp used this competition for developmental purposes and Saturday’s team featured seven players who won All-Ireland minor medals in 2007.
Five of those players, namely James Logue, Kevin O’Gorman, James Barry, Seán Carey and Mikey Heffernan, started against Galway in the 2010 under-21 All-Ireland final, with Christy Coughlan, Gallagher and Kieran Morris introduced as subs two years ago.
But Ryan’s men had to dig deep to see of a dogged Kilkenny, who trailed by 12 points at half-time. First-half goals from full-forwards Kieran Morris, Heffernan and David Butler, who scored 1-2 each before half-time, helped to open up a 3-9 to 0-6 interval lead.
But Kilkenny won the second half hands down by 1-11 to 0-4 and a run of 1-7 without reply after half-time gave them real hope.
Geoff Brennan’s fortuitous 42nd-minute goal breathed real life into the recovery as Tipperary goalkeeper James Logue, who was otherwise excellent, allowed a speculative delivery to end up in the Town End net.
But Logue redeemed himself with some sparkling work – including a penalty save from Rory Hickey in the 54th minute and a magnificent tip-over to keep out Kilkenny’s top scorer from a 20 metre free in stoppage time.
TIPPERARY: J Logue; C Coughlan, K O'Gorman, G Walsh; J Barry, E Connolly, R Sherlock; M Gleeson (0-1), P White (0-1); S Carey (0-1), D O'Brien, J Gallagher; K Morris (1-3, point free), M Heffernan (1-4), D Butler (1-2). Subs: R Ruth for Butler (38), E Sweeney for Gallagher (47), C Dillon for O'Brien (56), P O'Dwyer (0-1) for White (56).
KILKENNY: R O'Neill; M Phelan, A Walsh, J Corcoran; B Kennedy (0-1), B Beckett, L Harney (0-1); J Lyng (0-1), P Murphy; N Walsh (0-2), R Hickey (0-8, four frees, two 65s), K Kelly (0-3); R Walsh, JJ Farrell (0-1), G Aylward. Subs: P Hartley for Murphy (19), M Malone for R Walsh (28), G Brennan (1-0) for A Walsh (30+1), C Kenny for Farrell (60).
Referee: J Owens (Wexford).
