Rampant Tipp condemn Westmeath to another heavy defeat
Séamus Callanan of Tipperary in action against Tommy Gallagher of Westmeath during the Allianz Hurling clash. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
A game that went pretty much as you might expect, Tipperary winning at their ease and Westmeath looking for nuggets of hope and solace anywhere and everywhere but a scoreboard that ran away from them early on.
Tipp could have played fast and loose but they tightened up after hitting a string of wides before the first water break and gave very little way at the other end. Add in a hungry and effective bench and it was a profitable and pleasant enough afternoon.
Liam Sheedy named an experienced core for a road trip that was always going to be well within their compass. Ronan Maher and Seamus Kennedy were rested but Seamus Callanan came in for a first appearance of the campaign.
Most of the afternoon was hurling by numbers for the All-Ireland contenders, the visitors vastly superior in pretty much every way possible, but 70 minutes rarely passes without some flick or score taking the breath away.
As when Noel McGrath provided a bit of flash and light relief when beating two opponents to a ball down the touchline and skirting round the back of Westmeath’s stationary manager Shane O’Brien while doing it.
The bainisteoir was well able to see the lighter side of that.
It was, though, another tough day for a county that had shipped 30- and 33-point defeats already in this league, Westmeath again proving that the tactic of overloading bodies at the back is an imperfect option given the problems that it creates further up.
Time and again they lamped long balls into an outnumbered forward line. Most of them were of poor quality and those that weren’t were still liable to come straight back down the field. Westmeath managed two points in a row just twice and only then in the last stretches.
For Tipp, the worst thing to happen was a straight red card, and the one-match ban that will come with it, for wing-back Robert Byrne who took exception to Joey Boyle’s decision to prevent quick line ball by jabbing him in the back with the stick.
Tipp never blinked, unlike Westmeath who shipped 2-4 in the spell after half-time when defender Darragh Egerton was sent to the sinbin. That decision was harsh and not least the awarding of a penalty for what was deemed a goal-scoring chance.
All it did was magnify the gap that bit further. An undefeated Tipp roll on.
Not even the sniff of one here. Tipp were two points to the good courtesy of Michael Breen and Seamus Callanan inside 45 seconds and held a 1-15 to 0-7 lead at the interval. This was every bit as straightforward as expected.
Hat tip to Westmeath’s Tommy Gallagher who kept Callanan to that one point in what was his first game of inter-county hurling in three years. Yes, Callanan was appearing for the first time this term but that’s one to tell the grandkids.
Hard to pick out a singular influence given the margin of victory and the fact Tipp registered 14 scorers on the day but Paddy Cadell got through a world of work and did his hopes of claiming a midfield place no harm come championship.
Liam Gordon managed to avoid the limelight for the most part but his decision to penalise Darragh Egerton with a black card and a penalty concession for what was considered a goal-scoring chance looked unduly harsh. He won’t be the first or last in that situation.
None to speak of for Tipperary while Westmeath had to take free-taker Killian Doyle off in the first-half with what looked like a hamstring issue.
Tipp take on Waterford next weekend while Westmeath have to play host to Limerick.
C Doyle (0-5, 4 frees); D Clinton (0-3); K Doyle (0-3 frees); R Greville (0-2); D McNicholas (0-2, 1 free); C Boyle (0-1).
J Forde (2-6, 1-0 penalty, 0-4 frees, a ‘65’); M Kehoe and J McGrath (both 1-2); J Morris (0-3, 2 frees); B Heffernan, M Breen, P Cadell and A Flynn (all 0-2); B Maher, N McGrath, W Connors, S Callanan, P Flynn and D McCormack (all 0-1).
N Conaty; D Egerton, T Gallagher, C Shaw; A Craig, T Doyle, P Scally; C Boyle, R Greville; A Clarke, K Doyle, J Boyle; J Coll, N Mitchell, C Doyle.
D McNicholas for K Doyle (27); D Clinton for Coll (31); K Regan for Scally (61); A Cox for Clarke (63); E Ahearn for C Doyle and S Clavin for Boyle (both 69).
B Hogan; C Barrett, P Maher, B McGrath; R Byrne, B Maher, B Heffernan; P Cadell, D McCormack; M Breen, N McGrath, S Callanan; J McGrath, J Forde, W Connors.
J Morris for Forde and A Flynn for McCormack (both 48); P Flynn for N McGrath (53); C Morgan for Heffernan (53); J Quigley for Barrett and M Kehoe for J McGrath (both 64); J Meagher for B McGrath (66).
L Gordon (Galway).
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