Fr. Tom Burke’s 3-15 Tipperary 0-18
Fr. Tom’s took their first win in the senior hurling
championship with a solid victory over Tipperary. Tom’s got a great all round performance as
the back’s help the Tipp forwards in check, and Ali Dooey took advantage of
Tipp indiscipline and was on the mark with frees. The game became somewhat ragged as on a number
of occasions there were scuffles that broke out away from the ball, however, in
the second half things settled down a bit.
Tom’s held the edge at the break following a half in which
they held an advantage in play. The
westerners controlled most everything from their own half back line out and
with Ali Dooey on song with the free taking, Tom’s enjoyed the edge. Conor Martin opened the scoring with back to
back frees but Tom’s got into the swing of things early on. Jack Coyne was busy early in the corner and
his shot for goal was deflected over the bar by Dara Perry in goal for Tipp.
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| Ali Dooey secures possession. |
Dooey hardly missed a free for Tom’s as their advantage in
play was converted into scores. Matt
Kenny at wing back was in great form, as was Vincent Doyle at center
forward. The man from Dunloy netted
after weaving his way past the defenders and tapped it into the net. Tipperary lost James Sweeney to a red card
following an episode off the ball, and tempers started to flare for the
remainder of the half. There were a
handful of episodes with multiple players from each side getting involved. There were yellows issued and the half time
whistle could not come soon enough to allow some cooling down time. At the break it was a 2-10 to 0-8 Tom’s lead.
The second half saw Tipperary chip away at the Tom’s
lead. Tom’s had started well with a
Vincent Doyle goal after he got a second bite at the cherry. Dooey had also pointed twice, with Donal
Burke pointing for Tipp. Tom’s had an
extra man and a 9 point lead. Tipp,
however, set about turning the tables. A period of 6 points to no reply over
the following 15 minutes had Tom’s looking anxious. Currie took advantage of the Tom’s indiscretions
from the dead ball, while Conor Martin and Donal Burke also hit the mark from
play. Tipperary were sneaking closer
while Tom’s were in bad need of a call to action.
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Jack Coyne finds it tough going inside
the Tipp 21 yard line.
|
Tom’s got back on track in the final stages. A pointed Dooey free was like a shot in the
arm for Tom’s and settled the side heading into the final 10 minutes. Tom’s started to match Tipperary’s efforts
and kept their noses just in front.
Corner back, Ian O’Shea did well for Tom’s, winning several critical
balls at this crucial stage in the game, and then a Cian Salmon goal put the
issue to rest. A sigh of relief from the
Tom’s faithful, and a first, and much needed win. Tom’s
who in fairness looked like they had a big performance due, and with the win the
senior hurling championship looks very open with 3 very evenly matched
teams.
Tom’s: Mark Fahy, Ian
O’Shea, Damien O’Loughlin, Matt Kenny, Eamon Egan, Brian Flynn, Aaron Moore,
Paul Cannon, Jason Costello, Vincent Doyle, Darragh McGrath, Ali Dooey, Jack
Coyne.
Tipp: Dara Perry,
Mark O’Keefe, John Hamilton, Paul Morris, Conor Martin, Kyle Firman, Simon
Kennedy, Cronan Dempsey, Craig Hilmi, James Sweeney, Donal Burke, Patrick
Fitzgerald, Colin Currie.
By Rory O'Donnell
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