Kilkenny lose out to the Premier

Kilkenny 1-10 Tipperary 1-15

Kilkenny missed out on qualifying for their fourth successive NHL Division 1 final as Tipperary swept them aside at Nowlan Park this afternoon.

Leading 1-09 to 1-05 at half-time, Tipp held firm with Paul Curran, Shane McGrath and Seamus Callinan having crucial roles.

In a lively start, Eddie Brennan and Lar Corbett traded two superbly finished goals.

Richie Power notched 0-06 as the Cats put the pressure on but late points from Callinan and Eoin Kelly saw Tipp through to their first league final since 2003.

Four successive wins had built up some decent momentum for Kilkenny coming into this game, particularly with the likes of youngsters Richie Hogan and Eoin and TJ Reid adding to a quality-laden panel.

Ironically, it was some of Tipp's younger and less heralded players, like Conor O'Mahony (23), Eamonn Buckley (26), Shane McGrath (23) and recent league debutant Callinan (19), that caught the eye and drove their team to victory today.

Back in training since November, Tipp are a force to be reckoned with at the moment and if they can keep up the pace at which manager Liam Sheedy has them working at, they will be a side to avoid this summer.

However, it was Kilkenny who got off to a flying start as a line ball from Michael Fennelly drifted 70 yards down the field to where Eddie Brennan was lurking.

The Graigue Ballycallan clubman used his pace to get onto the ball, he lifted it onto his stick and blasted a rocket of a shot past Tipp stopper Brendan Cummins from 20 yards out.

If the men from Munster were shellshocked by that strike, they did not show it. Eoin Kelly floated an 80-yard free through the posts and then Corbett dashed through for his goal.

There were seven minutes on the clock when a long clearance from Cummins worked its way into Corbett's path and the Thurles Sarsfields speedster did not need a second invitation as he raced through and smashed a shot to the bottom left corner of the net.

With Tipp captain Eoin Kelly finding his range with points, Sheedy's side soon built on their lead but by the 22nd-minute, the Cats were back level (at 1-05 apiece) thanks mainly to the accurate shooting of Power and James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick.

Tipp then proceeded to take control again, coming up to half-time, with Tommy Fitzgerald flicking over a point and Shane McGrath's second of the afternoon had his side four points to the good at the break.

Fitzgerald, who hails from the Roscrea club, was proving hard to handle for Kilkenny's experienced defender JJ Delaney who had to slot in at full-back.

The All-Ireland champions started the second half strongly with Michael Rice and Aidan Fogarty, who slammed over a superb point, cutting the the gap to 1-09 to 1-07.

With a quarter-of-an-hour gone, Tipp still clung on to that two-point advantage with a Kelly free being cancelled out by Kilkenny substitute Eoin Reid.

Kelly and Power exchanged quick fire points as it seemed Tipp were never going to be able to add some much-needed cushion to their lead.

However, they managed to do just that in the closing ten minutes as Callinan was sprung from the bench to nab two fine points, Kelly added to his tally and Seamus Butler also picked off a point.

Tipp were also rock solid at the back and it was no surprise that tigerish full-back Paul Curran was selected for the man-of-the-match award.

Out of the current squad, the Mullinahone defender is one of the few links back to the 2001 Tipperary panel that won the county's last league title. Tipp went on to win the All-Ireland that year as well. Are they about to repeat that feat, seven years on?