Tipp Minor Footballers impress in seeing off Limerick

Green shoots for Tipperary football – perhaps too early to say yet as this minor team, followed up on the recent successes of the under 20 squad with a comprehensive win over Limerick in round one of phase one of the Munster Championship on Tuesday night.

GAA: Electric Ireland Munster Minor Football Championship Phase 1 Round 1

Tipperary 2-13

Limerick 0-10

Report: Michael Dundon at Fethard Town Park

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Dylan Cotter (Tipperary)

SCORERS – Tipperary: Dylan Cotter 2-1; Charlie Walsh 0-4 (2 frees); Tom Corcoran, Jamal Yousif 0-2 each; Jack Garrett, Oran Gahan, Cillian Healy, Ciaran Kelly 0-1 each.

Limerick: Shane Dolan 0-6 (4 frees); Donal Dawson, Rory Mullins, Rian McNamara, Jake Slattery 0-1 each.

The county’s football fraternity could certainly do with a boost right now and the underage teams are rising to the challenge, this impressive performance by the under 17’s getting their campaign off on the right note but upcoming away games against Waterford and Clare will give a much clearer indication if the optimism generated by these results is well-founded.

There was much to admire in this Tipperary showing, acknowledged by joint manager Shane Hennessy as “a great display.”

He added: “We were not that happy with our first half, but we changed things around at the break and it paid dividends in the second half.”

Tipp got an ideal start when, in the fourth minute midfielder Dylan Cotter finished to the net, Limerick having twice denied goal-bound efforts in the raid. That 1-1 to 0-1 lead was quickly extended 1-4 to 0-3 by the end of the quarter with the home side looking very sharp and enterprising.

But Limerick then hit a good spell, scoring four unanswered points in ten minutes to draw level, 1-4 to 0-7. Tipp’s Jamal Yousif might have had a goal in the 20th minute, but Limerick goalie Stephen Kearney was equal to his effort. In injury time, Charlie Walsh pointed a Tipp free for an interval lead of 1-5 to 0-7.

Given that Tipp had the aid of the breeze in the first half, a tough thirty minutes faced the Premier boys on the restart, but they rose magnificently to the challenge and were rampant in the third quarter. Points by Jamal Yousif and Oran Gahan were followed in the 39th minute by Dylan Cotter’s second goal as the midfielder got on the end of an excellent move. Yousif might have had a goal two minutes later after Cotter had again pointed, but the Limerick goalie smothered his effort.

At the end of the third quarter, Tipp were 2-10 to 0-7 ahead, Limerick having failed to raise a flag in the period.

“It was great to see how the things we changed at half-time worked in the second half,” Hennessy added.

“We have a very good group of lads, and we are very proud of them.”

But there was still work to be done to suppress any possible Limerick recovery. To their credit the Limerick boys finished the hour well. Rian McNamara blazed over the bar when it seemed he must goal in the 48th minute and three minutes later Harry Tobin-Ryan hit the woodwork, again with a goal likely. Had either or both gone in, the finish might have been different.

Instead, Tipperary survived the scares and kept their opponents at arm’s length to the finish, management availing of the opportunity to give game time to fringe panellists, comfortable in the knowledge that the points were secure.

Tipperary next face Waterford away in round two in Lemybrien next Tuesday night where a win would put them in a strong position to reach the Darrel Darcy Cup final and also progress to phase 2 where Cork and Kerry await.

“That’s not going to be simple,” Shane Hennessy said of the Waterford challenge who lost to Clare with a last gasp goal in Quilty.

“It was great to start with a win. We are very impressed with the quality in our squad of 38. We had fourteen other players here tonight that did not tog out who are every bit as good – a great bunch of lads.”

The starting fifteen featured players from twelve clubs with four other clubs represented in the subs who saw action – an indication of how widely the management spread the net in their sourcing of players. Tipp’s final game in phase one is away to Clare prompting Hennessy to comment, “it was vital to get a win in our first game, especially at home.”

Overall, an impressive team performance but the displays of such as Charlie Walsh, Dylan Cotter, Tom Corcoran, Jack Garrett, Jamal Yousif were particularly eye-catching, while goalkeeper Mark Conroy’s kick-outs were top class.

Limerick have work to do to stay in contention, with their clash with Clare in their next outing a must-win game. Their key men were Rory Mullins, Shane Dolan, Donal Dawson, Conor O Longaigh and sub Cillian McNamara.

TEAMS – Tipperary: Mark Conroy (Drom & Inch 7); Jack McGonigle (Rockwell Rovers 6), Ronan Myles (Ardfinnan 7), Gavin Neville (Fethard 6); Noah O’Flynn (Fethard 6), Tom Corcoran (JK Brackens 7), Jack Garrett (Arravale Rovers 7); Dylan Cotter (Thurles Gaels 9), Oran Gahan (St. Patrick’s 6); Cillian Healy (Kilruane MacDonaghs 6), Jamal Yousif (Clonmel Og 7), Sean Griffin (Upperchurch/Drombane 6); Ciaran Kelly (Arravale Rovers 6), Charlie Walsh (Fethard 7), Cian Collins (Galtee Rovers 6).

Subs: Danny Morris (Clonmel Commercials 6) for O’Flynn (45); Harry Tobin-Ryan (Clonmel Commercials 6) for Collins (45); Ryan O’Sullivan (Clerihan 6) for Healy (52); Luke Foley (Moyle Rovers 6) for Griffin (55); Mikey McGuire (Kilsheelan/Kilcash NR) for Gahan (58).

Limerick: Stephen Kearney (7); Danny McCarthy (6), Sean O’Donnell (6), Sean Hanley (6); Michael Mulcahy (6), Donal Dawson (7), Conor O Longaigh (7); Cian Costelloe (6), Daniel O’Connell (6); Shane Dolan (7), Rory Mullins (7), Michael Naughton (6); Charlie Casey (6), Rian McNamara (6), Leon Curtin (6).

Subs: Ben Ryan (6) for Naughton (44); Daniel Murphy (6) for Casey (44); Cillian McNamara (6) for McNamara (50); Jake Slattery (6) for Curtin (50), Sean Gallahue for S O’Donnell (54).

Referee: Eoghan O Muircheartaigh (Kerry).