ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION ONE: Tipperary 1-20 Waterford 0-18:IT'S NOT often you'll hear a team mentor talking up his side's All-Ireland prospects following a League defeat in early March but this was no ordinary game at Semple Stadium last Saturday evening.
Tipperary left Thurles with the points but Waterford claimed the moral victory after going toe-to-toe with the All-Ireland champions for almost the entire second half with just 13 players.
Munster kingpins Waterford once again displayed the grit we have come to associate with their manager Davy Fitzgerald and selector Pauric Fanning insisted afterwards that the race for Liam MacCarthy in September won’t be contested by just two horses.
At half-time, in front of just 4,947 spectators, Waterford trailed by five points, 0-10 to 1-12, and they were behind by the same margin when referee James Owens blew his full-time whistle.
Waterford drew the second half – despite losing midfielder Shane O’Sullivan and goalkeeper Clinton Hennessy to straight red cards in a three-minute spell.
O’Sullivan received his marching orders in the 40th minute for a wild pull on Gearóid Ryan, with the player claiming afterwards that he was caught by the glare of floodlights, while Hennessy’s dismissal for a high challenge on Patrick Maher two minutes later was less questionable.
Despite those setbacks, Waterford dug in to ensure Tipperary’s first competitive victory of 2011 was a far from convincing one.
Fanning reflected: “We proved we have talent and there is a lot of talent coming through in Waterford. We believe in ourselves an awful lot and I don’t believe that it’s a two-horse race. . . there’s plenty there for us to build on and believe me, we’ll build on it.”
Waterford started with just six of the team that began against Tipp in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final while Tipp lined out with 10 starters from their epic final win against Kilkenny. Tipp had matchwinners in Noel McGrath and Pa Bourke while Richie Foley’s rich vein of form continued for Waterford as the 23-year-old Abbeyside star hit 0-12, nine from frees.
McGrath, like he did last August, gave fellow All Star Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh a torrid time, opting to roam with Walsh more content to hold his position.
McGrath picked off four first half points from play while Bourke added three after switching onto Walsh.
“Wasn’t Noel McGrath unreal tonight, played really well, exceptional. I’m sure Brick will have that in his head again come towards the end of the year,” said Fitzgerald.
Tipp manager Declan Ryan was relieved to have finally got a win under his belt. “We came for the two points and that’s what we’re going away with, so I’m happy enough with that.”
TIPPERARY:B Cummins; P Stapleton, P Curran, M Cahill; D Young (0-1), Padraic Maher (0-1), J O'Keeffe; B Maher (0-1), S McGrath; G Ryan, N McGrath (0-7), Patrick Maher; P Kelly (1-0), B O'Meara, P Bourke (0-8, 0-4 frees). Subs:S Carey for S McGrath (29 mins), E Kelly (0-2) for O'Meara (ht), B Dunne for Carey (65), J Woodlock for Ryan (66), S Bourke for N McGrath (70).
WATERFORD:C Hennessy; D Fives, S Fives, J Maher; W Hutchinson, M Walsh, J Nagle; S O'Sullivan, S Molumphy (0-1); M Shanahan (0-1), R Foley (0-12, 0-9 frees), Pauric Mahony; S Walsh (0-1), S Prendergast (0-2), E Murphy. Subs:A Power for Eamonn Murphy (44 mins), S Casey for Mahony (57), T Ryan (0-1) for Shanahan (62), K McGrath for Prendergast (66), Eoin Murphy for Hutchinson (67).
Referee:J Owens (Westmeath).
