Tipperary senior camogie team look like they mean business this year

Tipperary 4-21 Offaly 1-5

Tipperary have absolutely flown from the traps at the beginning of the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie League and last year’s Division 1 semi-finalists brought their tally to 7-37 from two games with a 4-21 to 1-5 defeat of Offaly at the Shamrock GAA grounds in Mucklagh on Saturday. 

That means Bill Mullaney’s charges have only conceded 1-8 in 130-plus minutes or so of league action this season. However they know that there are tougher challenges to come than from an understrength Down and Offaly, who were without a substantial Portaferry and St Rynagh’s cohort respectively, although Tipp have also been short of a number of elite players themselves in Karen Kennedy, Orla O’Dwyer and Caoimhe Bourke. 

Bill Mullaney's side are clearly building real competition for places, however, as they look to challenge for silverware in 2022 after a sustained period of progress in the last five years. 

To put their dominance against Offaly in perspective, they only scored six points in the second half, with Offaly adding three, and though the hosts certainly contributed to a more even second half, there was a clear drop in intensity from women in blue and gold. 

Up to then they had been unstoppable, with Róisín Howard so influential and Caoimhe Maher an industrious presence around the middle. That enabled the attack to make hay, with Caoimhe McCarthy and Clare Hogan among those to impress. 

The duo had a goal each and Clodagh McIntyre rattled the onion sack too as Tipperary took on the role of enforcers inside the opening 13 minutes.

Orla Gorman breached the visitors’ defence before the break and Offaly did show plenty of character in the second half that gives them something to work with, but Tipperary look like a team that mean business this year.  

Tipperary: Aine Slattery, Julieanne Bourke, Sorcha Ryan, Sarah Delaney, Gemma Fox, Courtney Ryan, Karin Blair, Grace
O’Brien (0-2), Caoimhe Maher, Caoimhe McCarthy (1-2), Róisín Howard (0-5), Jenny Grace (1-1), Clodagh McIntyre (1-3), Claire Hogan (1-2), Eimear Heffernan (0-1).

Subs used: Casey Hennessey (0-1), Ciara Brennan (0-1), Ciardha Maher, Cáit Devane (0-3), Emer Loughman, Laura Shinners, Mary Ryan.

https://www.tipperarylive.ie/news/sport/748490/tipperary-soccer-weekened-weather-decimates-local-fixtures.html