Return to current edition
Thursday, May 20, 2010
TIPPERARY are nursing a number of injury concerns ahead of the Munster SHC quarter-final showdown with Cork on Sunday week following a low key challenge outing against Clare in Thurles last night.
Midfielder Gearóid Ryan returned to action following a lay-off with a broken finger but lasted just 13 minutes before coming off with apparent damage to his other hand.
And wing forward Pat Kerwick appears highly unlikely to make the Cork clash at Páirc Uí Chaoimh after suffering yet another recurrence of his groin injury.
Killenaule clubman Kerwick came off against Dublin in a Nenagh challenge last Monday week and pulled up again last night after scoring a 44th minute point.
Kerwick was substituted just three minutes later and it got worse for Tipperary as Allstar centre back Conor O’Mahony and wing forward John O’Brien were also taken off in the second-half after suffering hand injuries.
Team medics were assessing the injuries last night and a fresh injury bulletin should be forthcoming from the camp later today.
Of the four, O’Mahony is the only guaranteed starter for the Cork crunch, if free from injury, with Ryan battling for a place in midfield or in the half-forward line, where Kerwick and O’Brien are also rivals.
On the plus side, skipper Eoin Kelly came through another 70 minutes and showed no ill-effects of the hamstring injury which he sustained during the final round of the National League against Offaly.
Lar Corbett did not feature but the Allstar attacker bagged three goals against Laois last Friday night in another workout and is being kept fresh for the Leeside visit.
Brian O’Meara strengthened his claims for a start with another solid outing in a tie that lacked any real championship spark.
Clare arrived with a depleted panel and carried just four subs but Tipp manager Liam Sheedy did get the chance to run the rule over his squad as he introduced a host of substitutes.
Tipp were left hanging on for a one-point victory at the finish as Clare sub Mark Flaherty added to his four second half frees with a well-taken goal two minutes from time.
The home side had been in complete control from the first whistle and established an early 1-2 to 0-1 advantage, with O’Meara supplying 1-1.
The Kilruane McDonaghs clubman, a recent call-up to the Tipp senior squad, has made quite an impact in recent challenge outings and showed his footballing skills when he kicked home a sixth minute goal.
At half-time, Tipp led by 1-7 to 0-7 and although Clare got back to within a point eight minutes after the restart, the hosts took control again and were coasting until a late Banner County rally.
Scorers for Tipperary: E Kelly 0-7 (2f, 2 65s), B O’Meara 1-1, M Heffernan & S McGrath 0-2 each, N McGrath, S Callanan, P Kerwick & T Hammersley 0-1 each.
Clare scorers: M Flaherty 1-4 (0-4f), C Ryan 0-4 (2f), J Clancy & S Collins 0-3 each, P Donnellan 0-1.
TIPPERARY: D Gleeson; C O’Brien, Pádraic Maher, P Curran, D Fanning, C O’Mahony, M Cahill; G Ryan, B Maher; N McGrath, S Callanan, J O’Brien; E Kelly, B O’Meara, T Hammersley.
Subs: H Maloney for Ryan (13), S McGrath for B Maher, S Maher for Cahill, P Kerwick for N McGrath, D Egan for Hammersley, D Young for Fanning (all half-time), S Hennessy for O’Meara (45), J Brennan for Kerwick (47), Patrick Maher for Callanan (55), M Heffernan for O’Mahony (52), P Stapleton for Young (56), P Fanning for J O’Brien (57).
CLARE: D Touhy; P Vaughan, C Dillon, C Cooney; B Bugler, D McMahon, P Donnellan; B O’Connell, J Clancy; S Collins, J Conlon, C O’Donovan; M ‘Ogie’ Murphy, F Lynch, C Ryan.
Subs: M Flaherty for O’Donovan (half-time), E Glynn for Vaughan (42), M Scanlan for Lynch (45).
Referee: B Gavin (Offaly).
© Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited, City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 73385.