Late drama as Tipperary Under 20s are caught by Clare's powerful surge

Clare 2-15  Tipperary 2-14

Seven points up with four minutes of the hour remaining but a man down, Tipperary collapsed in the last seven minutes of actual play, as Clare came back from the dead to snatch a dramatic win in the Fulfil Munster Under 20 Hurling Championship round four at FBD Semple Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Tipp looked home and hosed as the clock ticked into added time and all the signs suggested that Tipperary were about to register their third win in as many games. They had lost Sam Rowan to a second yellow card after fifty minutes, a decision the manager felt was “unbelievably unlucky” for the Mullinahone man, but looked comfortably in control of a contest that had not lived up to expectations.

Then the game took a twist that nobody in their wildest imagination could have envisaged. In the first minute of injury time, Tipp were still ahead 2-14 to 0-14 when Clare’s Daniel Costello banged home their first goal. Tipp had retreated completely into defence, giving Clare unchallenged possession for virtually three-quarters of the field, with no outlet for a defensive clearance and they duly paid the penalty.

In the 62nd minute Clare came again for Marco Cleary to hit the Tipperary netting and level the game. As if things could not get worse, Clare won the puckout unopposed and Costello fired over the winning point from distance for a win that has them in the frame for a semi-final spot at worst, and possibly a place in the final if they beat Cork in their final game of the round robin series.

Tipperary’s next game is away to Limerick who have lost all their games, next Wednesday evening, with a semi-final place secured and a win required to consolidate their position in the knockout stages.

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Tipperary lined out without senior player Oisín O’Donoghue but Brendan Cummins said that they knew he would not be starting because of the senior game with Waterford a few days later.

The high point of a below-par first half was Cormac Fitzpatrick’s goal for Tipp after 17 minutes, linking up with Charlie Ryan and Jamie Ormond to give Tipp a 1-3 to 0-3 lead. Tipp finished with nine first half wides, and Clare seven. At the end of the first quarter it was 0-3 each.  As well as the goal, Cormac Fitzpatrick scored three points from frees, and Jamie Ormond hit two from play, with Shane Cleary also on target as Tipp led 1-6 to 0-7 at the break.

After ten minutes of the second half it was 1-9 to 0-11 in Tipp’s favour but then Tipp got on top, with points from Cormack Fitzpatrick, Stefan Tobin, Charlie Ryan and Jamie Ormond for a 1-13 to 0-11 lead. David Costigan had a goal-bound effort stopped by the Clare goalie before Sam Rowan got a second yellow card and was dismissed in the 50th minute. Two minutes later the ball broke kindly for Tiernan Ryan, who raced through to finish to the Clare net for a 2-13 to 0-12 lead. An exchange of points between Cormac Fitzpatrick and Clare’s Michael Collins left Tipp sitting pretty as the clock moved into added time.

Clare looked beaten but sensationally they turned the game around in added time, albeit helped by the extra man, which seemed to prompt Tipp to retreat into defence to see the game out. Clare scored 2-2 in those last minutes for a win that will have them on “a high” as they face Cork.

Despite the loss and the “mad” finish, Brendan Cummins was happy with the overall performance of his charges. Jamie Ormond gave a man of the match display, closely challenged by Charlie Ryan, with Cathal O’Reilly, Euan Murray and goalkeeper Paddy McCormack also in the frame.

Clare were minor champions three years ago and so came into the game with impressive credentials. Like Tipp, they have work to do if they are to lift the provincial title but the manner of this victory should give them a huge lift. Their key men were Robert Loftus, Jamie Moylan, Thomas O’Connor, Daniel Costello and Joe Casey.

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Tipp scorers:  C Fitzpatrick (1-6,0-6fs), J Ormond (0-4), T Ryan (1-0), C Ryan (0-2), S Cleary, S Tobin (0-1 each).

Clare scorers: D Costello (1-2), F Hegarty (0-5,4fs), M Cleary (1-0), M Collins (0-3), S Boyce, R Kilroy, T O’Connor, P Rodgers, S Arthur (0-1 each).

Tipperary: Paddy McCormack (Moneygall); Cathal O’Reilly (Holycross-Ballycahill), Evan Morris (Holycross-Ballycahill), David Ryan (Arravale Rovers); Adam Ryan (Arravale Rovers), Sam Rowan (Mullinahone), Euan Murray (Thurles Sarsfields); Tiernan Ryan (Holycross-Ballycahill), Shane Cleary (Kilruane MacDonaghs); Charlie Ryan (Boherlahan-Dualla), Jamie Ormond (JK Brackens), David Costigan (Moycarkey-Borris); Robbie Ryan (Holycross-Ballycahill), Stefan Tobin (Carrick Swan), Cormac Fitzpatrick (Drom-Inch). 

Subs: Patrick Ryan (Borris-Ileigh) for Morris (46 minutes), Sam Hall (Golden-Kilfeacle) for C Ryan (58 minutes), Kieran Rossiter (Thurles Sarsfields) for R Ryan (60 minutes).

Clare: Mark Sheedy; Eoghan Gunning, Robert Loftus, Joe Casey; Jamie Moylan, Ryan Hayes, Matthew O’Halloran; Daniel Costello, Graham Ball; Michael Collins, Ronan Kilroy, Fred Hegarty; Sean Boyce, Terence O’Connor, Paul Rodgers. 

Subs: Darren Moroney for Gunning (46 minutes), Marco Cleary for Boyce (46 minutes), Sean Arthur for Hegarty (51 minutes), Jack Mescall for Ball (54 minutes), Harry Doherty for Rodgers (58 minutes).

Referee: Shane Scanlon, Cork.