Tipperary caught by late Waterford goal in gripping Munster championship contest
Draw leaves Tipp's hopes of qualification hanging by a thread
Tipperary 1-30 Waterford 3-24
Tipperary’s championship prospects are on life support. The attendance of 11,982 were left breathless after an enthralling contest at Azzurri Walsh Park that saw Waterford snatch a deserved draw, thanks to Kevin Mahony’s goal with virtually the last puck of additional time, which ensured that this Munster Senior Hurling Championship tie finished all square.
It all means that Tipp face the tall order of having to beat Clare at home (on May 16) and Limerick away (on May 24) to preserve their hopes of advancing from the province and successfully defending their All-Ireland crown.
The narrative of this humdinger will be dominated by Tipperary’s second half collapse, one of almost epic proportions, which saw them surrender an 11-points half-time lead.
Waterford started the second half strongly, with points from Dessie Hutchinson, Stephen Bennett's free and a '65 from the same player. Tipp had a great chance to restore their 11-points advantage but Darragh's McCarthy's poorly-struck penalty, awarded after John McGrath was fouled, was saved by Waterford goalie Billy Nolan.
When ace marksman Stephen Bennett put Waterford ahead in the 63rd minute, the first time they led since the first minute, Tipp were staring down the barrel of what would have been a sensational defeat.
But to an extent they weathered the Waterford hurricane, never mind the storm. Bennett, this time from a free, put Waterford two ahead, with the momentum firmly in favour of the home team.
However, Tipp recovered sufficiently to regain the lead. Points from Darragh Stakelum and Ronan Maher dragged them back on level terms, before Oisín O’Donoghue’s point restored their slender lead in the 69th minute. Waterford hit back with a Sean Walsh point.
But when Stefan Tobin, Jason Forde and Ronan Maher reeled off points as the game entered additional time, Tipp looked to have done enough to claim their first win of the campaign. However, Kevin Mahony had the final say with his last gasp strike.
Tipp are still searching for a first championship win at Walsh Park since 1996, all of 30 years ago, when Liam Cahill scored 1-2 on a day in early June when they beat Waterford by 1-14 to 1-11.
They completely lost their way in a second half in which Waterford made light work of that huge deficit at half-time. In the end, they had to rely on the robust performances of a handful of players who never took a backward step during the extremely trying circumstances of that difficult second half. Foremost among them were Eoghan Connolly and Oisín O'Donoghue, who were aided and abetted by Stefan Tobin. Jake Morris, Ronan Maher, Alan Tynan and Michael Breen were others who gave everything in their efforts to stem the Waterford tide.
Waterford were grateful for the contributions of Stephen Bennett, Calum Lyons, Jamie Barron, Kevin Mahony and Darragh Lyons for dragging them back into contention.
As expected, there were changes to the Tipperary lineout from the team named on Friday, with Seamus Kennedy, Alan Tynan, Sam O’Farrell and Darragh McCarthy replacing Craig Morgan, Conor Stakelum, Stefan Tobin and Jason Forde respectively.
From the very start, this was a very different Tipperary performance than what had been witnessed seven days previously. They were much sharper, focused and faster, and bouncing off the ground from the throw-in.
Waterford drew first blood with Calum Lyons’ point after a minute, but Tipp soon exerted a stranglehold on the exchanges. Scores from Darragh McCarthy’s free, Andrew Ormond, John McGrath, Sam O’Farrell, Willie Connors and Darragh McCarthy from play had them 0-6 to 0-1 ahead by the ninth minute. Jamie Barron’s point capped a mini Waterford revival, leaving the score 0-8 to 0-4.
However, Tipp drove on again. They had further points from Darragh McCarthy’s free, Oisín O’Donoghue from play and John McGrath before the game exploded to life in the course of a highly eventful 60 seconds between the 23rd and 24th minutes. A sequence of breathtaking play was started by Andrew Ormond, who seized upon the rebound after John McGrath’s shot had been blocked to score the opening goal. The Tipp celebrations on the terraces and in the stands hadn’t died down when Jamie Barron collected a pass from Jack Prendergast to drive a shot to the net at the other end. Tipp responded with a John McGrath point. And Waterford nearly had another goal, but Shane Bennett was stopped by a combination of Eoghan Connolly and Bryan O’Mara.
At half-time Tipp were 11 points clear, 1-18 to 1-7. The final score of the half captured the richness of their display in the opening period; Jake Morris caught a Rhy Shelly puckout and shipped two challenges before driving the ball over the bar. His fust-pump celebration was fully justified.
Tipperary: Rhys Shelly, Robert Doyle, Eoghan Connolly (0-4, 1’65), Michael Breen, Oisín O’Donoghue (0-4), Ronan Maher (captain 0-2), Bryan O’Mara, Willie Connors (0-1), Seamus Kennedy, Jake Morris (0-3), Andrew Ormond (1-1), Alan Tynan (0-1), Sam O‘Farrell (0-1), John McGrath (0-4), Darragh McCarthy (0-5, 4 frees).
Substitutes: Craig Morgan for Seamus Kennedy (48 minutes), Noel McGrath for Alan Tynan (temporary 48 minutes) Darragh Stakelum (0-1) for Sam O’Farrell (50 minutes), Stefan Tobin (0-2) for Andrew Ormond (55 minutes), Alan Tynan for Noel McGrath, Peter McGarry for Willie Connors (66 minutes), Jason Forde (0-1) for Darragh McCarthy (69 minutes).
Waterford: Billy Nolan (0-1 free), Ian Kenny, Mark Fitzgerald (captain), 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, 7 frees, 1 ‘65), Sean Walsh (0-2)
Substitutes: Kevin Mahony (1-2) for Shane Bennett (31 minutes), Sean Mackey (0-1) for Darragh Lyons (half-time), Conor Keane for Ian Kenny (47 minutes), Austin Gleeson for Calum Lyons (56 minutes), Tadgh de Búrca for Iarlaith Daly (59 minutes).
Referee: Chris Mooney (Dublin).