John McGrath of Tipperary in action against Padraic Moylan of Kilkenny during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A match between Kilkenny and Tipperary at UPMC Nowlan Park in Kilkenny. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.
Allianz Hurling League Division 1A
Tipperary 2-25 Kilkenny 1-19
By Robert Cribbin at UPMC Nowlan Park
It was a hugely eventful local derby as Tipperary maintained their place at the top of the Allianz Hurling League with victory over Kilkenny in a game that saw four players sent off.
David Blanchfield, Mikey Carey and Jordan Molloy (Kilkenny) as well as Alan Tynan (Tipperary) were all dismissed in a second half spell that lasted only 10 minutes.
The carnage and chaos all started when Alan Tynan saw red for a high challenge on Cian Kenny but the extra man advantage only lasted all of two minutes for the hosts with David Blanchfield and Mikey Carey both being dismissed on straight reds before Jordan Molloy earned a second booking with Kilkenny forced to play the final 20 minutes or so with only 12 players.
The match itself was played in front of 9,563 spectators and for the most part was dominated by Tipperary as they opened up the Cats defence at various intervals.
Liam Cahill’s Tipp team were on fire throughout the opening half with Darragh McCarthy again starring for the visitors while Sam O’Farrell, Craig Morgan and John McGrath also played starring roles for the Premier County.
The opening goal of the game came via Craig Morgan in the 27th minute and by that stage, the result already looked to be within Tipperary’s grasp as they led 1-11 to 0-7 with Kilkenny relying heavily on the accuracy on placed balls from TJ Reid.
Mossy Keoghan continued his fine league form with another decent display in scoring four points from play over the course of the 70 minutes and he could have added an opening half goal when he was denied close in by Barry Hogan.
A goal there would have given Kilkenny plenty of hope but the next ball to hit the net arrived down the other end when Oisin O’Donoghue was at the end of the move as Darragh McCarthy beat Tommy Walsh for pace before releasing his fellow corner forward who made no mistake in shooting past Eoin Murphy.
It left Tipperary with a 2-13 to 1-10 lead at the break and Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng sprung into action by introducing Richie Reid, John Donnelly and Shane Murphy for the start of the second period.
There looked to be a bit more life about the Cats upon the resumption but that momentum was soon stalled by the red card situation and while they did get the deficit back to four points with 10 minutes remaining, Tipperary soon made use of the extra space with scores from McCarthy, Ronan Maher and subs Willie Connors and Noel McGrath putting the seal on a nine point success for Liam Cahill’s side and they are now within touching distance of a league final spot.
Scorers for Tipperary: Darragh McCarthy (0-12, 0-11fs); Oisin O'Donoghue, Craig Morgan (1-0 each); Sam O'Farrell (0-3); Ronan Maher, John McGrath, Noel McGrath (0-2 each); Bryan O'Mara, Joe Caesar, Alan Tynan, Willie Connors (0-1 each)
Scorers for Kilkenny: TJ Reid (0-13, 0-11fs and 0-2 65's); Gearoid Dunne (1-1), Martin Keoghan (0-4), David Blanchfield (0-1, 0-1f)
Tipperary- Barry Hogan; Robert Doyle, Eoghan Connolly, Bryan O'Mara; Sam O'Farrell, Ronan Maher, Michael Breen; Craig Morgan, Joe Caesar; Gearoid O'Connor, Jake Morris, Alan Tynan; Darragh McCarthy, John McGrath, Oisin O'Donoghue. Subs: Andrew Ormond for O'Donoghue, h-t; Dylan Walsh for J.McGrath, 52 mins; Willie Connors for Caesar, 57 mins; Noel McGrath for O'Connor, 64 mins; Seamus Kennedy for Morris, 71 mins.
Kilkenny- Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Padraic Moylan, Tommy Walsh; David Blanchfield, Mikey Carey, Paddy Deegan; Peter McDonald, Jordan Molloy; Martin Keoghan, Cian Kenny, Billy Ryan; Billy Drennan, Gearoid Dunne, TJ Reid. Subs: John Donnelly for Drennan, h-t; Shane Murphy for Walsh, h-t; Richie Reid for McDonald, h-t; Fionan Mackessy for Dunne, 58 mins; Zach Bay Hammond for Kenny, 66 mins.
Referee- Sean Stack (Dublin)
