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Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football – Tier 3 Preliminary Quarter-Final
Tipperary 1-9
Longford 1-16
By Michael Dundon
A disappointing end to their season saw the Tipperary minor footballers knocked out of the Tier Three All-Ireland series when losing by seven points to Longford in the preliminary quarter-final at Templemore on Saturday.
Without a win throughout the campaign, even the advantage of a home venue was not enough to help Tipp open their account against a Longford side who themselves had not registered a victory in Connacht.
Longford were eventually the better side in a contest which was finely balanced up to the three-quarter stage, but a strong finish by the visitors yielded six points without reply in the last ten minutes to extend their involvement in the competition.
Wind-aided Longford were quick off the mark, going 0-4 to 0-2 clear after fifteen minutes. Jack Donnelly had a great two-pointer for Tipp at the start. Then Tipp played their best football and a Conor O’Meara goal after 21 minutes put the Premier boys ahead 1-3 to 0-4. Reuben Grace extended the advantage a minute later with his second point and Tipp were really looking good.
It did not last, however, as Longford’s Eoin Beattie kicked two great two-pointers to get his side back in front and, with the half-time whistle imminent, misfortune struck for Tipp as a defender lost his footing when attempting to gather an easy ball. Possession fell to Longford’s Senan Buckley, who raced through to finish to the net for an interval lead of 1-8 to 1-4 for Longford.
Given that Tipp would have the favour of the fresh breeze in the second half, it was not a bad position for the home side to be in. The third quarter saw them get a grip on proceedings to draw level at 1-9 each, thanks to points from Conor O’Meara, Charlie Brazil, Tiernan Power and a great two-pointer from Hugh Carolan.
Momentum was with Tipp and it seemed they would drive on to win, but they appeared to lose their way and subsequently failed to score again. Leon Madden nudged Longford ahead after 46 minutes and added two more points subsequently as the visitors got well on top.
A two-pointer from Senan Buckley three minutes from the end was the icing on the cake for them, with Eoin Beattie also hitting two points in that late surge.
So Tipp bow out of the championship, the curtain coming down on a campaign that underlines the difficulties facing the Premier County in the effort to get back to being really competitive in football at the higher level.
The only bright spark is that, while the overall performance at this level this year was well below what would have been hoped for, there were some encouraging individual displays by players who look to have the credentials to achieve at an older level.
Conor O’Meara was a big threat throughout, with excellent skills to complement his physique, but unfortunately Tipp did not get enough ball into him. Reuben Grace too had a successful championship and is a player with a lot of potential. Evan Lonergan, David Tobin, Hugh Carolan, Conor Hurley and Adam O’Callaghan were others to put in a big shift.
Longford’s strong finish carried the day for them and they will be hoping to build on this success in the quarter-final. In Eoin Beattie and Leon Madden they had forwards with high scoring potential. Senan Buckley was the driving force for them at midfield, while in defence Odhrán McInerney, Jack O’Farrell and Sean Hogan were prominent.
Scorers: Tipperary: Conor O Meara 1-1, Reuben Grace, Jack Donnelly 0-2 each, Hugh Carolan (0-2, 1x2pt), Tiernan Power, Charlie Brazil 0-1 each.
Longford: Eoin Beatie (0-6, 2x2pts, 0-2f), Senan Buckley 1-4, Leon Madden 0-3, Daire Toher, Oran McInerney, Niall O’Donnell all 0-1 each.
Tipperary: Danny Cashin (Killenaule); Oisin O’Reilly (Clonmel Óg), Evan Lonergan (Emly), Oisin McCarthy (Moyle Rovers); Conor Hurley (Moyle Rovers), Donal Tobin (Clonmel Commercials), Cian Hennessy (Aherlow); Adam O’Callaghan (Portroe), Jack Donnelly (Golden Kilfeacle); Hugh Carolan (Moyle Rovers), Tiernan Power (Cahir), Charlie Brazil (Aherlow); Cillian Morrissey (Moyle Rovers), Reuben Grace (Galtee Rovers), Conor O’Meara (Grangemockler Ballyneale).
Subs used: Michael Dunleavy (Ballylooby Castlegrace) for Morrissey (38); Cian Cahill (JK Brackens) for Power (43); Paddy Ryan (Upperchurch Drombane) for Hennessy (52); Rory Dunphy (Clonmel Commercials) for Donnelly (55); Donncha Hurley (Ballylooby Castlegrace) for Brazil (55).
Longford: Jack Cassidsy; Sean Hogan, Sean Franks, Shane Hanniffy; Brandon Francis, Oran McInerney, Jack O’Farrell; Senan Buckley, Robert Rowan; Eoin Beattie, Niall O’Donnell, Daire Toher; Conor Shanahan, Oisin McHugh, Leon Madden.
Subs used: Ruan Flynn for Shanahan (40); James McEnroe for Toher (50); Mark Keign for McInerney (54).
Referee: Owen Conroy (Waterford).