Panel strength displayed with strong performance

By Liam Hogan

Tipperary finished their group stage campaign of the National Hurling League with an impressive win over hosts Antrim at Corrigan Park on Sunday.

Their 4-28 tally was impressive but not as big as their tally against the Glensmen because twelve months ago Tipperary trounced Antrim 7-29 to 1-17 at Semple Stadium. That total would have suggested greater things in store for Tipp during the summer of 2022. It was anything but.

However, this win over Darren Gleeson’s men had more significance in that any team that travels to Corrigan Park rarely come out without a severe test as the Belfast venue has proven to be a difficult place to negotiate since they returned to division 1 three years ago.

This was Tipp’s first visit to Corrigan since 1945 but Tipp commenced the game as if they were in a hurry to get back home down the M1. There was plenty of confidence there following their win over Waterford eight days previous which put Tipp safely through to the semi-finals and Liam Cahill made eight changes with fresh blood given their chance to stake a claim for the semi-final meeting with Limerick next Saturday evening.

And stake it they did. Goalkeeper Rhys Shelly had an armchair ride between the posts, especially in the first half with everyone of his puckouts reaching the hand of teammates as Antrim appeared to sit back in awe of their opponents.

As a result, there were many free runs through the middle and that helped to create goal chances and both Mark Kehoe and Conor Bowe found the net inside twenty minutes when it was 2-8 to 0-4 and practically game over.

The flow continued and the new faces profited especially Sean Ryan at left corner forward. The Templederry clubman helped himself to an impressive 1-3 and was involved in assisting the second goal for Bowe while his wrist work was a joy to watch.

John McGrath, in his first start since the win over Laois, produced a man of the match performance with seven points, six from play, while Conor Bowe continued his goal scoring run, contributing 1-1 with the starting inside forward line a total of 2-8 from play out of a possible 2-9.

Tipp lined out without Patrick Maher, Jason Forde, the injured Seamus Callanan, new father Noel McGrath and Seamus Kennedy.

Forde’s free-taking has hit a new high this year but in his absence Tipp can depend on Gearoid O’Connor who is equally as good. He rarely misses one.

Mark Kehoe had another good day. The Kilsheelan clubman seems to enjoy the freedom of the half forward line and he can be happy with his return. On the downside he is prone to the odd handling error but in time that will correct itself. Kian O’Kelly was another new player and he certainly fought hard but his control can let him down at times but there is no limit to his eagerness to be involved.

Rarely have we seen a North Tipp midfield partnership wearing the blue and gold in recent times. That statistic was changed on Sunday with neighbouring clubs Moneygall and Roscrea providing Joe Fogarty and Alan Tynan respectively and the duo combined well for four points from play with Tynan shading it in terms of winning a lot more possession. Joe Fogarty is a good hurler, but he needs to get on the ball a lot more if he is to have an influence on the game. His graph is growing thankfully.

Speaking of records where we had two Drom & Inch brothers, Paudie & John Campion added to that illustrious list of siblings who played for Tipp and last Sunday, John came on in place of Ronan Maher just before half time to join his brother Paudie who was a dressing room replacement for the brother.

Both players got on fine with John displaying more intentions with his venture up field on occasion. His older brother had one or two handling errors, but he scored Tipp’s third goal just before half time.

All in all, the Tipp half backline scored 1-3 from play with Enda Heffernan scoring three fine points from play to add another fine display to his ever-improving CV.

So, it’s five wins out of five and a plus 79 scoring average for a Tipp team that are looking good and after the latest win there is fierce competition for places at this moment. The semi-final against Limerick will tell more next weekend.

Meanwhile Portroe’s Darren Gleeson will have to reflect on how his men failed to rise to the occasion this time. He fielded eleven of the side that secured safety at top flight with their win over Laois seven days earlier.

After Sunday’s game he was very disappointed with the fact that his men stood so far of the opposition in the first half and allowed Tipp to run riot. Now, he has five weeks to prepare for the opening game of the Leinster championship against Dublin in Belfast.

Corrigan Park is often seen as a venue where no opposition wants to play in and that is why I feel this win for Tipp has a lot going for it.