Tipp take time to get in groove

TIPPERARY recovered from a sluggish start to ease into the Waterford Crystal Cup senior hurling quarter-final by defeating Limerick IT at Dolla yesterday.

Tipp’s victory margin was flattering though for they struggled to put the college side away after they were reduced to 14 men after 49 minutes when Tipperary’s sole representative on the LIT team, centre-back John O’Keeffe, was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

“It was a better start to the Waterford Crystal than we had 12 months ago” said Tipperary manager Declan Ryan, whose side were eliminated at the same stage last year by Waterford IT.