Tipp quieten Limerick from the start

CAMOGIE: Munster Senior Championship Quarter Final

Tipperary 1-17

Limerick 0-8

Report: Thomas Conway the the TUS Gaelic Grounds

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Claire Hogan (Tipperary)

SCORERS – Tipperary: Cáit Devane 1-4 (0-3 frees, 0-1 ‘45), Claire Hogan 0-4; Róisín Howard, Casey Hennessy 0-3 each; Niamh Treacy, Clodagh McIntyre, Jenny Grace 0-1 each.

Limerick: Caoimhe Costelloe 0-5 (3 frees, 1 ‘45), Orlaith Kelleher, Caoimhe Lyons, Sarah O’Brien 0-1 each.

Even amidst all the hype, all the carnival fanfare of the Limerick hurlers and the Limerick camogie team playing side by side on a balmy Munster championship evening, Tipperary were never expected to lose this quarter-final. And they never showed signs of doing so.

Bill Mullaney’s side levelled Limerick to the ground, clinically and emphatically, with a performance which was about as good as they could have wished for - without going overboard. They could have registered a cricket score, but in the end, 1-17 was sufficient. Anything more would have attracted undue attention, and after all, Tipp are building for something bigger.

The unrelenting brilliance of the Limerick senior hurlers has set the standard almost unforgivingly high for every other sporting team across the county. Expectations are stratospheric. For Treaty County supporters, evenings like last Saturday are there to be relished, but the show only really began at 7.00pm. The curtain-raiser proved to be a dim endorsement of inter-county camogie, which was a pity.

If there had been any lingering concern that suffering such an agonising defeat to Galway might have subdued the momentum of this Tipp side, the myth was dispelled within minutes. They had already consumed Limerick by the end of the first quarter, landing a series of impressive points which showcased their collective class and demonstrated Limerick’s failings.

Cait Devane arrowed over an early free from the side-line, and things took off from there, Claire Hogan starring in the following move - snapping a high ball, bolting for goal, and then knocking the ball over from 35 metres. Limerick, in fairness, mounted a response, Orlaith Kelleher brushing a tackle and sniping over on the run, but her side would only manage one more point throughout the course of the entire first-half. Tipp’s flight path was never going to be disturbed. Once they were airborne, there wasn’t even turbulence.

Goal chances went amiss with little consequence - the most glaring example occurring in the fifth minute, when Niamh Treacy sold a beautiful dummy before offloading to Hogan, who contrived to spill possession and allowed the chance to fade away.

Roisin Howard could have sent Limerick packing soon after, but her goal-bound effort fizzed a little too high, sailing over the crossbar for Tipp’s fourth point. Hogan and Clodagh McIntyre tightened the grip with slick individual scores from underneath the Mackey Stand, sending the visitors 0-6 to 0-1 ahead inside ten minutes, the outcome of the game already starting to look like a foregone conclusion.

In reality, Limerick are a team at an entirely different stage, inhabiting an entirely different plane in camogie’s current hierarchy. With a little bit more experience and finesse, they may have been able to conjure up some kind of a contest, to harness the atmosphere of a stadium steadily filling with the vibrancy that now accompanies the Limerick senior hurlers. But it wasn’t to be.

The tempo of this game lilted throughout, but at times during the second quarter the pace felt pedestrian. That didn’t matter to Tipp - they just continued to tag on scores. A Devane free, a few contributions from Casey Hennessy and Roisin Howard. They ended the half 0-11 to 0-2 in front, unthreatened, un-assailed, completely in control.

It was in the second period that the disparities in pace and conditioning became painfully apparent. At one point, in the 38th minute, Grace O’Brien picked up possession in a sea of space just inside her own 65. Seconds later, Claire Hogan thumped over another score, having exploited a generous pocket of grass some fifty metres from goal. Both episodes made it clear that there would be no late revival from the Treaty County.

They did flicker into life at times, corner-forward Caoimhe Lyons showing occasional signs of danger and managing to slot a praiseworthy score in the 41st minute. At this juncture though, Tipp were hunting for goals, and somewhat astonishingly, for all their dominance, goals were eluding them.

Limerick keeper Claire Keating was called into action twice in quick succession, frustrating the visitors with straightforward saves. Her defiance wouldn’t last. The Limerick net-minder would eventually be beaten, but not until the second minute of stoppage-time, when Claire Hogan slipped in Cáit Devane, who took one stride and slid the ball calmly past Keating.

Objectively speaking, the goal didn’t matter, but deep down, on a psychological level, it was probably important. Yet again, Tipp are now in semi-final territory. Their opponents this time: Clare. Anticipate another win. Tipp might have eyes on the biggest prize, but a Munster title is a prestigious honour. They could be headed for one.

TEAMS – Tipperary: Áine Slattery (Shannon Rovers 7), Julieanne Bourke (Borris-Ileigh 7), Mary Ryan (Moneygall 7), Eimear Loughman (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7), Ciardha Maher (Burgess/Duharra 7), Caoimhe Maher (Burgess/Duharra 8), Aoife McGrath (Drom & Inch 8), Grace O’Brien (Nenagh Eire Og 7), Niamh Treacy (Drom & Inch 7), Jenny Grace (Burgess/Duharra 7), Róisín Howard (Cahir 7), Casey Hennessy (Clonoulty/Rossmore 8); Claire Hogan (St Cillian’s 8), Cáit Devane (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7), Clodagh McIntyre (Lorrha 7).

Subs: Caoimhe McCarthy (Knockavilla Kickhams 7) for Treacy (43); Eimear Heffernan (Knockavilla Kickhams 7) for A McGrath (47); Nicole Walsh (Borris-Ileigh 7) for Grace (51); Eimear McGrath (Drom & Inch 7) for McIntyre (54); Courtney Ryan (Clonoulty/Rossmore 6) for Caoimhe Maher (57 inj).

Limerick: Claire Keating (7), Emma Kennedy (6), Marian Quaid (6), Stephanie Woulfe (5), Mairead Ryan (6), Muireann Creamer (6), Neamh Curtain (6), Sophie O’Callaghan (6), Orlaith Kelleher (7), Michelle Curtain (6), Rebecca Delee (7), Lizzie Boylan (6), Caoimhe Lyons (7), Ailbhe Larkin (6), Caoimhe Costello (7).

Subs: Niamh Ryan (6) for N Curtain (HT); Aisling Scanlon (7) for Boylan (35); Sarah O’Brien (6) for M Curtain (56); Teresa Dore (6) for Woulfe (56); Leah O’Riordan (NR) for Larkin (60).

Referee: Aaron Hogg (Clare)