Another defeat piles the pressure on Tipperary ladies footballers

Tipperary 0-9 Cork 3-12

Tipperary are in a dogfight to retain their second tier league status following a 12-points defeat to Cork in the Lidl Ladies Football National League Division 2, Round 3 clash on the grass pitch at Fethard Town Park on Sunday.

They remain pointless following three defeats in a row, with difficult assignments to come against Clare, Westmeath, Donegal and Roscommon – and only one of those at home.

A wonderful ten minutes spell in the first half, when they hit five points without reply, suggested that they could go on to record their first win against such formidable opposition as Cork. But all that good work was undone with the concession of two soft goals in the space of sixty seconds, and then they were totally outplayed in the second half when they hit just two points in reply to Cork’s 1-10.

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The purple patch between the fifth and 15th minutes saw Tipp lead 0-5 to 0-1 midway through the half and Cork – All Ireland champions eleven times in the past twenty years – were struggling to stay in touch. If Tipp had pushed on it could have been a famous win. But the two first half Cork goals were a catastrophe for Tipperary.

Cork had started like a team out to prove a point, retaining possession for the first ninety seconds, before Katie Quirke spurned a goal chance from point-blank range. Cork continued to own the ball and it was beginning to look ominous for Tipp when Quirke was fouled following another flowing move, and she pointed the free herself.

Then the game was turned on its head, with Tipperary scoring the next five points without reply. It was champagne football as they drew level with an Aoibhe O’Shea point, following great work from Anna Rose Kennedy and Ava Ryan, followed by a move that began with a superb Maria Curley block deep in defence, and ended with an Emma Morrissey point.

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Tipp stretched the lead to two points from Morrissey again after Kennedy provided the assist with a brilliant kick pass, and Kirsty Crotty Ryan made it 0-4 to 0-1 midway through the half. When Mullinahone’s Aoibhe O’Shea fisted over her second point for a four-points lead, Tipp were making the game look easy.

But it all changed in the space of sixty seconds with the concession of the two very soft goals.

Goalkeeper Lauren Fitzpatrick was caught out of position for the first as Orlaith Roche lobbed the ball into an empty net. Tipp needed composure now but within a minute they coughed up possession close to goal and Katie Quirke provided the assist for Laura O’Mahony to shoot past Fitzpatrick for the second.

All the side’s good work over the previous ten minutes was overturned in the space of just one.
Tipperary manager Ed Burke was both frustrated and disappointed.

“The first half was very good and I thought we were unlucky to go in behind at half-time. We were brilliant at that stage, but we were unlucky for the first goal and made a mistake for the second,” the Moyle Rovers man said.

But the second half was a different matter when he thought his team looked jaded.

“Cork powered on and we lost momentum. We have a lot of new girls who might not have played that amount of intercounty football, and we also have girls to come back. It’s the experience that’s needed to keep going for sixty minutes, you cannot sit on your laurels. We have to keep pushing on harder and harder”.

Burke had hoped that star player Aishling Moloney would have been back for the Cork game but her injury is taking longer to clear up than expected. The next target now for her return is the Clare game on Sunday week.

He added – “Not too many would have expected us to beat Galway and Cork, but now we have four more games and we have to plough on. There’s no point feeling sorry for ourselves. We are working to secure our place in the division and then move on towards the Munster championship”.

Tipperary’s calm and composure evaporated after the two-goal Cork blitz, with the visitors adding another point from a Katie Quirke free, to turn a four points deficit into a three points lead, 2-2 to 0-5 after 23 minutes.

However, Tipperary finished the half well, with points from a Kirsty Crotty Ryan free – following a foul on Emma Morrissey after a great run – and Ava Fennessy pointing under pressure to leave it a one-point deficit at the break.

However, two points for the home side in the second half – from Sarah English with a great score seven minutes in, and another from substitute Caoimhe Condon two minutes into added time – in response to Cork’s 1-10 was an accurate reflection of the direction of the game.

Player of the match Laura O’Mahony was the star performer, with the O’Donovan Rossa player hitting four points, including three in a row in a brilliant five-minutes purple patch. Emma Cleary got the third Cork goal in the 44th minute but by that stage there was no way back for Tipperary.

Home defeats to both Galway and Cork at the superb Fethard Town Park venue, as well as an away loss to Monaghan, leaves Tipp pointless after three games and the relegation trapdoor looms unless performances improve.

There’s certainly no lack of effort. The defence has been solid apart from costly lapses in concentration, with corner back Emma Cronin making some huge blocks and tackles against Cork, aided by her sister and Moyle Rovers clubmate Michelle in the other corner.

Maria Curley was a pillar of strength at centre back, while Anna Rose Kennedy and Sinead O’Carroll worked tirelessly at midfield. Upfront, Emma Morrissey was a huge threat with her runs at the heart of the defence, hitting two points against Cork, while Aoibhe O’Shea also impressed with her two scores.

Tipperary: Lauren Fitzpatrick (Ballymacarbry), Michelle Cronin (Moyle Rovers), Lucy Spillane (Fethard), Emma Cronin (Moyle Rovers), Sarah English (Ardfinnan) 0-1; Maria Curley (Templemore), Ava Ryan (Moyne/Templetuohy), Anna Rose Kennedy (Aherlow), Sinead O’Carroll (Ardfinnan), Hazel Brennan (Moyle Rovers), Neassa Towey (Templemore), Aoibhe O’Shea (Mullinahone) 0-2; Kirsty Crotty Ryan (Moyle Rovers) 0-2, 1 free; Emma Morrissey (Aherlow) 0-2; Ava Fennessy (Clonmel Commercials) 0-1.

Subs: Sarah Luttrell (Moyle Rovers) for Spillane (17), Clara English (Ardfinnan) for Fennessy (HT), Laura Morrissey (Brian Borus) for Towey (41), Caoimhe Condon (Cardiff St Colmcilles) 0-1 for Brennan (45), Kate Cashman (Templemore) for O’Carroll (50), Heather Spillane (Fethard) for O’Shea (50).

Cork: Sarah Murphy, Melissa Duggan, Dara Kiniry, Siobhan Callanan, Erika O’Shea, Sarah Leahy, Rosie Corkery, Maire O’Callaghan 0-1; Abbie O’Mahony 0-1; Laura O’Mahony 1-4; Hannah Looney 0-1; Amy McDonagh, Emma Cleary 1-0; Orlaith Roche 1-0; Katie Quirke 0-3, 2 frees.

Subs: Katie O’Driscoll 0-1 for Kiniry (HT), Shauna Cronin for Roche (HT), Shauna Kelly for Callanan (45), Aimee Corcoran for McDonagh (53), Katie Horgan for Corkery (55), Anna Ryan for O’Shea (59), Kaitlin Smith 0-1 for Cleary (59).

Referee: Anthony Marron (Carlow).