Tipperary win Munster Championship dress rehearsal with something to spare

Tipperary 4-19 Waterford 0-18

Tipperary put the round six Wicklow debacle last weekend behind them to run riot over Waterford in the Allianz National Football League, Division Four, Round seven tie at FBD Semple Stadium on Sunday. But unfortunately, the win was not enough to get Tipp to the final, as they finished third in the group.

As a dress rehearsal for their clash in the Munster Championship at the same venue on April 11, this was an encouraging outcome for Tipp manager Niall Fitzgerald and his charges. However, the championship presents a different challenge and the Moyle Rovers man will be concentrating in the coming weeks on shortcomings in the sphere of chance-taking, and in the need for tighter pressure on opponents’ possession, as they set themselves for Munster progress.

13 points separated the sides at the finish. It could have been more had a couple of goal chances been taken but Waterford were not 13 points the inferior side, and they will be fired up to make amends when next the teams meet, with a championship semi-final spot on offer for the winners.

After the drubbing in Wicklow, Tipp needed to put down a marker and this they did emphatically, hitting 1-4 without reply in the opening eight minutes. Daithí Hogan, James Morris and Cian Smith had points inside four minutes and a minute later, when a Waterford player handled the ball on the ground in the Decies goalmouth, Sean O’Connor buried the penalty, to which Smith added another point minutes later.

Tipp were on fire in that spell but Waterford gradually settled, a two-pointer free from goalie Simon Burns on top of a double from Conor Murray bringing them right into the frame after twelve minutes. For the next 20 minutes it was tit for tat, with Waterford hot on Tipp heels but in the 34th minute Joe Higgins was on the end of a great Tipp attack to finish to the Waterford net. Three minutes later, in injury time, Sean O’Connor profited from Paudie Feehan’s good work for a third Tipp goal and an interval lead of 3-11 to 0-10.

READ NEXT: Grateful Tipperary mother praises the Dillon Quirke Foundation

That 2-1 in four minutes at the end of the half tipped the balance very much in Tipperary’s favour and left Waterford with the proverbial mountain to climb. However, they never threatened to reel in the home team, who were 3-17 to 0-14 ahead when Sean O’ Connor applied the finishing touch to another excellent Tipperary attacking move with his third goal and Tipperary’s fourth in the 62nd minute, the icing on the cake, after an impressive Tipp performance .

Realistically, a Munster title may be a bridge too far for this developing Tipp side, who lined out without Steven O Brien, who was carrying a slight knock, and Mark Stokes was sidelined through illness. But a good run would set them up nicely for a tilt at the Tailteann Cup.

SEE MORE: Parking changes could be a 'seismic blow' to future of tourist town in Tipperary

They certainly have grounds for optimism and will surely show the benefits of what has been a very successful league campaign, even if they narrowly missed promotion. Points dropped to Carlow and Longford were their undoing but, with many of the squad finding their feet at senior level, significant progress has been made. The challenge now is to build on the momentum garnered.

Sean O’Connor’s hat-trick was a highlight of the win but the Clonmel Commercials man was not the only star of the show. Paudie Feehan’s industry throughout in his link-up play was impressive while Charlie King, James Morris, Kieran Costello, Paddy Creedon and Eoin O’ Connell all contributed handsomely to the win. So too did corner forwards Cian Smith and Daithí Hogan on what was an ideal boost for the Tipp players ahead of the championship.

Waterford finished the league campaign without a point on the league table, possibly their poorest showing for some years. Yet, when they got moving, they showed they were as good as Tipp but, unfortunately for them, they could not sustain the effort and their fate was decided long before referee David Murnane’s final whistle.

Dermot Ryan, Stephen Curry, Michael Curry, goalie Simon Burns, who landed two two-pointer frees, Glen Power, and Michael O’Brien did their utmost to stem the Tipp tide. But finishing bottom of the league after the seven-round campaign leaves them with a lot of work to do to mount a challenge in Munster.

Tipperary scorers: S O’ Connor (3-4, 1-0 pen, 2pt f), C Smith (0-7, 2f), J Higgins (1-0), D Hogan, P Feehan, M Russell (0-2 each), J Morris, C King (0-1 each).
Waterford scorers: C Murray, S Burns (0-4 each), S Curry (0-3), D Ryan, A Murray (0-2 each), L Mulligan, A Dunwoody, M O’Brien (0-1 each).

Tipperary: Shane Garland, Jack Harney, Eoin O’Connell, Manus McFadden; Michael Freaney, James Morris, Charlie King; Paudie Feehan, Joe Higgins; Eoin Craddock, Paddy Creedon, Kieran Costello; Cian Smith, Sean O Connor, Daithí Hogan.
Subs: Cillian Butler, Emmet Moloney and M Russell for Freaney, Craddock and Creedon (49 mins), Robbie McGrath for Garland (56 mins), Paddy O’Keeffe for O Connor (65 mins).

Waterford: Simon Burns; Tommy Martin, Billy Hynes, Conor O’ Cuirrin; Glen Power, Caoimhin Walsh, Adam Crawford; Michael Curry, Michael O’Brien; Conor Murray, Dermot Ryan, Liam Mulligan; Alan Dunwoody, Stephen Curry, Adam Murray.
Subs: Aaron Ryan for Dunwoody (40 mins), David Butler for Walsh (60 mins), Cian Kiely for Crawford (65 mins), Conor Keating for S Curry (66 mins).

Referee: David Murnane, Cork.