Tipperary made to work by Kerry in Munster U20 Hurling Championship

Tipperary boss Brendan Cummins will be far from happy with his charges after a performance riddled with basic errors in a game played in the wind and the rain at Austin Stack Park

Wed, 06 Apr, 2022 - 21:18

Murt Murphy

Tipperary 3-15 Kerry 0-13

Tipperary were pushed all the way by a fired up Kerry side in this Munster U-20 Hurling Championship opening round game.

Tipperary boss Brendan Cummins will be far from happy with his charges after a performance riddled with basic errors in a game played in the wind and the rain at Austin Stack Park, Tralee.

Kerry will be pleased with their overall display but the loss of star midfielder Ronan Walsh early in the second half was a cruel blow.

In fact the Kingdom matched their more vaunted opponents until the 48th minute when a Paddy Creedon goal saw the Premier county move four points clear (2-10 to 0-12) and then a goal in added time by Peter McGarry gave a slightly flattering look to the winning margin.

Kerry played with a strong wind in the opening half and were very competitive against a sloppy Tipperary side who made too many unforced errors with the puck out strategy going awry.

Kerry punished Tipperary with Ronan Walsh converting four first half frees while Nathan Guerin fired over three points from play. Kerry also had a goal chance that saw Jason O’Dwyer produce a stunning double save to deny Nathan Guerin and Felim O’Sullivan.

Kerry led 0-7 to 0-2 at the end of the opening quarter when Tipperary began to settle and it was a goal just before half time from Ed Connelly, who raced through the Kerry defence to blast the ball past a helpless Keltyn Molloy, that saw Tipperary lead 1-7 to 0-9 at the interval.

The expected Tipperary scoring onslaught never materialized in the third quarter as two Kieran Carroll points and a Nathan Guerin free levelled the contest at 0-12 to 1-9 with Darragh Conway (nephew of Shane), Colin Walsh and Darragh Slattery defending with great intensity.

But once Ronan Walsh limped off, Tipperary took over and substitute Kyle Shelly converted three frees while Conor Cadell added a point and the two goals saw Tipperary escape to victory.

Scorers –

Kerry: R Walsh 0-5 (4 frees); N Guerin 0-4 (1 free); K Carroll 0-2; F O’Sullivan, D Moriarty (free) 0-1 each.

Tipperary: P McGarry 1-2; S Gleeson 0-4 frees; E Connolly, P Creedon 1-1 each; K Shelly 0-3 frees; E Ryan, J Leamy, C Cadell, S Kenneally 0-1 each.

KERRY: K Molloy (Lixnaw); A Segal (Ballyduff), D Conway (Lixnaw), K O’Connor (Ballyduff); D Slattery (Ballyduff), D Nolan (Kilmoyley), R O’Mahony (Crotta O’Neills); F O’Sullivan (Ballyheigue), R Walsh (Kilmoyley); L Crowley (Rathmore), S Brosnan (St Brendans), N Guerin (Ballyheigue); J Sheehan (Abbeydorney), C Walsh (Ballyheigue), K O’Carroll (Ballyduff).

Subs: D Moriarty (Ballyduff) for R Walsh (inj 42), C Keating (Dr Crokes) for L Crowley (53), M Clifford (Abbeydorney) for D Slattery (inj 55), A O’Connor for S Brosnan (60), P O’Sullivan (St Brendans) for K O’Carroll (62).

TIPPERARY: J O’Dwyer (Clonoulty/Rossmore); C O’Dwyer (Cashel King Cormacs), C Lloyd (Moyne Templetuohy), L Shanahan (Upperchurch-Drombane); C Quinn (Cashel King Cormacs), J Armstrong (Thurles Sarsfields); J Campion (Drom-Inch), D Stakelum (Thurles Sarsfields); E Connolly (Loughmore Castleiney), E Ryan (Borris-iLeigh), S Gleeson (Kiladangan); J Leamy (Golden Kilfeacle), P McGarry (St Mary’s), P Creedon (Thurles Sarsfields).

Subs: C McKelvey (Silvermines) for M Corcoran (34), K Shelly (Moycarkey Borris) for S Gleeson (38), C Cadell (JK Brackens) for E Ryan (42), S Kenneally (Monegall) for J Leamy (56), C O’Brien (Mullinahone ) for J Armstrong (62).

Referee: N O’Toole (Waterford).