Tipp ease to second win

Tipperary 4-21

Offaly 1-5

Report: Thomas Conway in Bansha

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Roisin Howard (Tipperary)

SCORERS - Tipperary: Clodagh McIntyre 1-3; Clare Hogan, Caoimhe McCarthy, Jenny Grace (0-1 free) 1-2 each; Roisin Howard, Cáit Devane (1 free) 0-3 each; Eimear Heffernan, Grace O’Brien 0-2 each; Casey Hennessy, Ciara Brennan 0-1 each.

Offaly: Mairéad Teehan 0-4 (2 frees, 1 ‘45), Orla Gorman 1-0; Cayla Fletcher 0-1.

Tipperary’s National League campaign is following a predictable pattern, and Saturday’s victory over an understrength Offaly outfit merely confirmed expectations and enforced a harsh reality.

These are different sides, with different ambitions, on different trajectories. Entering this game, there were multiple shades of difference between Tipperary and Offaly, and by the time referee Cathal McAllister sounded the final whistle sometime around 3:30pm, every one of those shades had grown more pronounced.

In truth, the home side (which only became the home side following a last minute change of venue) completely devoured their opponents, startling Offaly with unrelenting pace and inch-perfect passing, their superiority epitomised by the first fifteen minutes, during which Tipperary registered 3-8, with Offaly managing just a single point.

Clodagh McIntyre was her usual effervescent self, and while her fifth minute goal was well-taken, it was handed to her on a plate - Jenny Grace fizzing a free into the ambit of Offaly keeper Eleanor Clendennan, who mis-controlled badly, allowing McIntyre to swoop in and scoop the ball home, then add a point seconds later, presumably for emphasis.

Next on the agenda was Clare Hogan, her goal the culmination of a beautifully woven team move, Caoimhe McCarthy sliding a pass to Grace, who slipped Hogan through with a handpass, enabling the St. Cillian's full-forward to cruise through the centre and launch a missile past Clendennan.

Caoimhe McCarthy's thirteenth minute strike finished a similar manoeuvre, the wing-forward straying from her hunting ground outside the 45 and tearing right through the middle, before slicing the ball home from close-range.

The goals were great, the energy was flowing, the forward line flourishing, and while Tipp had several star performers, the entire operation seemed to revolve around Roisin Howard. The Cahir woman was indispensable, conducting the orchestra from centre-forward and shaping the symphony with flicks, passes, and points of her own - despite the fact that her marker, Offaly centre-back and captain Aisling Brennan, was the faithful county's most powerful individual player.

Jenny Grace would later slap the ball past Clendennan to slot Tipp’s fourth goal, but one or two points registered in that first-half deserve an honourable mention.

Caoimhe McCarthy was full of endeavour, and while her fourteenth minute point from the wing was certainly praiseworthy, she landed a gem some ten minutes later, collecting a pass from Hogan and spinning the ball straight between the posts.

By half-time, Tipp had built up a lead of 4-15 to 1-2, with Offaly finding slight consolation in a well-finished Orla Gorman goal in the sixteenth minute. They probably deserved more, given their resolve and determination, but the Tipp half-back line was irrepressible, stamping out every Offaly attack with the same ferocious physicality which they had displayed against Down the previous week.

The gulf in class seemed colossal at times, but to Offaly's credit, it narrowed somewhat during the second-half. Both Mairead Teehan and Aisling Brennan are Offaly women, make no mistake about it, and although their links to Tipperary are well-documented, both remain instrumental figures in this Offaly set-up - Brennan providing a rock of stability at centre-back, and Teehan shouldering the scoring responsibilities with impressive composure.

Offaly struggled to utilise their main assets during the first thirty-plus minutes, but they discovered something in themselves after half-time, accepting the inevitability of the outcome and focusing on incremental improvements. Suddenly they were more aggressive in the tackle and started to confront the ball rather than just collect it. It delivered little in the line of scores, but it did create a competitive edge, turning the middle third into more of a battleground - a stark contrast to the opening half.

The trouble for Offaly was, Tipp had several resources to draw upon from the side-line, not least Cáit Devane, who hit them for three following her introduction at half-time, the best of which was an awesome on-the-run strike from almost 65 metres.

Ciara Brennan also featured, clocking in with a point straight after the interval - an ordinary enough contribution from a player in a unique enough situation. Both Aisling and Ciara Brennan are sisters, on opposite sides of this particular county divide. They are and always will be emotionally attached to one another, but as far as inter-county camogie is concerned, both inhabit different worlds. As do Tipperary and Offaly. The Faithful County will improve as the season develops, though measuring their progress could prove difficult. For Tipp, it is far more straightforward: beat one of the top three.

TEAMS – Tipperary: Áine Slattery (Shannon Rovers 7), Julieanne Bourke (Borris-Ileigh 7, j-capt), Sorcha Ryan (Cashel King Cormacs 7), Sarah Delaney (Boherlahan-Dualla 7), Gemma Fox (Eire Og Annacarty 7), Courtney Ryan (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7), Karin Blair (Cashel King Cormacs 7), Caoimhe Maher (Burgess/Duharra 7), Grace O’Brien (Nenagh Eire Og 8, j-capt), Caoimhe McCarthy (Knockavilla Kickhams 8), Roisin Howard (Cahir 9), Jenny Grace (Burgess/Duharra 8), Clodagh McIntyre (Lorrha 8), Clare Hogan (St Cillian’s 8), Eimear Heffernan (Knockavilla Kickhams 7).

Subs: Ciara Brennan (St Cillian’s 7) for Heffernan (HT); Ciardha Maher (Burgess/Duharra 7) for Howard (HT); Cáit Devane (Clonoulty/Rossmore 8) for Hogan (HT); Casey Hennessy (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7) for McCarthy (HT); Eimear Loughman (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7) for Bourke (41); Laura Shinnors (Kilruane MacDonaghs 7) for Grace (41).

Offaly: Eleanor Clendennan (7), Sarah Guinan (6), Amy Byrne (6), Siobhán Killeen (6), Sarah Walsh (6), Aisling Brennan (7), Aisling Feeney (7), Kaitlyn Kennedy (6), Edwina King (7), Mairéad Teehan (7), Sarah Harding (6), Cayla Fletcher (7), Clodagh Leahy (6), Orla Gorman (7), Catriona Doughan (6).

Subs: Faye Mulrooney (7) for Walsh (HT); Becky Bryant (7) for Kennedy (HT); Elaine Troy (7) for Leahy (49); Leah Gallagher (NR) for Clendennan (58).

Referee: Cathal McAllister (Cork).