Munster SHC: Waterford 3-24 Tipperary 1-30
Once again, the Munster hurling championship’s facility for laughing at logic is undefeated. Waterford lost this, won this, lost it again and finally pulled a draw out of it with a Kevin Mahony goal in the fifth minute of injury-time. Tipperary looked every inch the All-Ireland champions for 35 minutes but were barely able to string two passes together in the second half.
When referee Chris Mooney blew the long whistle at the end, the Waterford players beat their hurleys off the ground and threw each other dirty looks for not finding one last chance to grab the victory. This from a side that was 11 points down at half-time and looking like they’d been fed through a mincer.
“I can’t make sense of it,” said Waterford manager Peter Queally afterwards. “I said to someone earlier I’d love to be involved in a very boring game that we win by two or three points but that’s the Munster championship for you. The supporters are put through the wringer there as well as us. We’re just delighted that we got something out of the game. It would have been heartbreaking to come away with no points.”
The numbers from the game are dizzying. Between them, the two teams mustered up 58 scores from 90 shots (or, at least, 90 that a frazzled reporter was able to keep track of). There was also a penalty saved by Billy Nolan from Darragh McCarthy, as well as a yellow card given to Queally for complaining to the referee, resulting in a tricky free being moved in front of the posts, crucial in such a close game. Waterford dropped eight balls short of the goals and pucked 18 wides.
For Tipp, this has to be worrying. The way Liam Cahill’s side effectively zoned out once Waterford ratcheted up the intensity in the second half was a mirror of how they faded from view after the break against Cork last weekend. After putting up 1-18 in a scintillating first-half display, they only scored five points in the first 25 minutes of the second period. They can’t have many lives left.
“We’ll get around that in the dressingroom,” Cahill said afterwards. “There’s huge ownership in the dressingroom – they’re really a great bunch of lads to take ownership of performances like that.
Waterford’s Billy Nolan saves a penalty from Tipperary’s Darragh McCarthy. Photograph: Inpho
“I suppose in any team, in any grade you play, you can get away with one or two players struggling at a particular time. But when you have seven or eight struggling at the one time, it’s really difficult in that kind of environment, with such a pace in the game.
“Intercounty hurling is unforgiving. That’s just something we need to work on – seven or eight players can’t really struggle at the one time. If we can get our heads around that, I think we’ll be really, really competitive and work through that period after half-time that has hurt us again this weekend.”
Though it turned out to be another humdinger of a game, nobody was predicting that at half-time. Waterford were a mile off the pace – fumbling their passes, standing off the Tipp players, pucking a world of wides. Tipp were like bold boys who were on their best behaviour after the Cork defeat – every pass was to hand and every strike had purpose and meaning.
[ Nicky English: Tipperary were strangely lacking in urgency against CorkOpens in new window ]
Alan Tynan and Willie Connors bossed the midfield exchanges, making room for the likes of Oisín O’Donoghue, Andy Ormond and John McGrath to fill their boots in attack. They put up 1-18 from 22 shots in the first half. Even allowing for the room afforded them by a light-touch approach to tackling by Waterford, that’s fair clipping.
Everything changed from the start of the second half. Waterford made it their mission to contaminate every Tipperary possession, leading to way more loose ball, which the home side proceeded to hoover up. Jamie Barron was heroic around the middle third and Stephen Bennett came into matters too. Waterford got the first three points of the half and then Nolan saved a poor penalty from McCarthy – there were Déise tails up everywhere you looked.
From there to the end, it was messy, chaotic and glorious. Waterford nipped and tucked away at the lead, bringing it down in increments. Bennett was money on the frees as ever but he was shooting on sight from open play too, and his goal on 55 minutes blew the roof off the place. It was one of those where even as he’s singing, half the crowd is giving out to him for not taking his point and then laughing when a shot that only he would try finds the net.
Waterford’s Calum Lyons and Tipperary’s Séamus Kennedy at Walsh Park on Sunday. Photograph: Inpho
Dessie Hutchinson followed it with a point and then Bennett pointed a free to draw the sides level. It had only taken 22 minutes to wipe out an 11-point margin and Waterford looked set fair from there.
But Tipp weren’t done. Eoghan Connolly’s striking was pristine all day and he landed a monster from play before swishing a 65. Nolan made another fine save, this time from John McGrath but Waterford were creaking. Jason Forde came off the bench to snipe a point, Stefan Tobin did the same. Somehow, after everything, Tipp were three up deep into injury-time.
One last long ball was all Waterford had in them. but it was enough. Nolan found Bennett on the edge of the square and picked out the excellent Mahony to send the place into orbit.
And send logic off crying for its mammy.
WATERFORD: Billy Nolan (0-1, f); Ian Kenny, Mark Fitzgerald, Aaron O’Neill; Jack Fagan (0-1), Iarlaith Daly, Shane Bennett; Paddy Leavey, Darragh Lyons; Calum Lyons (0-3), Jamie Barron (1-1), Jack Prendergast (0-1); Dessie Hutchinson (0-2), Stephen Bennett (1-10, 7f, 1 65), Seán Walsh (0-2).
Subs: Kevin Mahony (1-2) for Shane Bennett (31 mins); Seán Mackey (0-1) for O’Neill (h-t); Conor Keane for Kenny (38); Austin Gleeson for C Lyons (57); Tadhg de Burca for Daly (59).
TIPPERARY: Rhys Shelly; Robert Doyle, Ronan Maher (0-2), Michael Breen; Oisín O’Donoghue (0-4), Eoghan Connolly (0-4, 1 65), Bryan O’Mara; Willie Connors (0-1), Alan Tynan (0-1); Séamus Kennedy, Andrew Ormond (1-1), Sam O’Farrell (0-1); Darragh McCarthy (0-5, 4f), John McGrath (0-4), Jake Morris (0-3).
Subs: Craig Morgan for Kennedy (48 mins); Noel McGrath for Tynan (temp, 48-58); Darragh Stakelum (0-1) for O’Farrell (50); Stefan Tobin (0-2) for Ormond (56); Jason Forde (0-1) for McCarthy (59); Peter McGarry for Connors (66).
Referee: Chris Mooney (Dublin).