June 16 - Senior Hurling: Wexford v Tipperary

Wexford 2-11 Tipperary 1-19

Tipperary followed their Sheehan Cup win with another impressive performance in the opening senior hurling championship game.  An early goal set the tone as Tipp opened up a 10 point half time lead, and though Wexford battled back in the second half and hit the back of the net on two occasions, Tipp held firm and maintained a relatively comfortable distance between the teams.

Tipp manager Michael McGrath looks on
as a puckout is contested.

Tipp came out strong in the first 30 minutes.  While the forward line tallied a goal and 13 points, the back line held Wexford's attack in check.  In a game where every opportunity would count, Wexford missed scoring chances to keep the gap from growing as wide as it did and at the break faced a tall order.  David Butler netted a fine goal, and free taker Kieran Morris hit the mark with several frees.  The Tipp half back line kept it tight and kept Wexford to just 6 first half points.  At the break it was 1-13 to 0-6 in favour of the Premier men.

Wexford got themselves back into the game and forced Tipp to work hard in the second period.  The Slaneysiders narrowed the gap to two scores with a point from David Drake and a goal from Eoghan Kavanagh and it was game on again. The referee had to issue yellow cards to Peter Ryan and Kieran Morris as the temperature of the game heated up.  Wexford made every effort to carry the game to their opponents.  The Tipp back line had to work hard to harry and block as Wexford went in search of another score to narrow the gap, and eventually the pressure was relieved with points from Morris and Peadar Boran which put seven points between the teams with little time left on the clock.  Though the game was beyond them at that stage, Wexford kept up the pressure and found the net once more through Tony Murphy to provide some consolation.  A bright start for Tipp and an important early two points.

Wexford:  E. Spruhan, D. Redmond, J. Hoyne, J. Foley, P. Nolan, B. Dalton, J. Kehoe, T. Maloney, S. O'Brien, E. Kavanagh, T. Murphy, D. Drake, P. Kehoe.  Tipp:  J. Logue, M. Power, S. Staunton, G. Brennan, R. O'Donnell, A. McGrath, C. Dempsey, S. McGarr, E. Murphy, S. O'Connor, C. Flynn, K. Morris, D. Butler.

By Rory O'Donnell