All too black and white for Tipperary

Sligo's Niall Murphy. Pic: Tom Maher, Inpho

Tailteann Cup: Tipperary 1-12 Sligo 3-22

“Today was just black and white,” said Tipperary manager Paul Kelly.

He wasn’t just describing the waves of Sligo jerseys beelining through his defence.

The westerners exhibited their Táilteann Cup credentials in a 16-point hammering as Kelly reckoned a deficit of depth, energy, and confidence caught up with his side.

“There’s a reason they nearly beat Galway and we tasted a bit of that today. And we didn’t help ourselves,” he said. “The Jekyll and the Hyde between last week and today. Last week, we conceded a number of goals but we created a lot; 16 scores to 15. But today was just black and white. End of story.

“We probably don’t have the depth for week-on-week but it is what it is. We just did not perform there and I would’ve hoped that we would’ve put in a back-to-back performance.”

Sligo captain Niall Murphy bagged 2-6 before being rested for a final quarter played with 14 men after substitute Keelan Cawley picked up two yellow cards.

Having scored 2-21 against Wexford last week, they racked up 3-22 by the final whistle here.

The groan of the crowd when the five added minutes were announced summed up the mood in Thurles, although the hosts were rewarded with a Stephen Grogan consolation goal.

Last year, Tipp were knocked out at the group stage as the lowest-ranked third-placed team. Even if they beat Wexford in a fortnight’s time, their score difference (minus-21) gives them similar concerns.

Before entertaining that conversation, Kelly’s side must avenge their 4-10 to 0-8 league defeat against the Modelmen.

“A win is the most important thing. You can worry about the rest of it then,” he said. “Last week, there was a number of teams with a very significant score difference in it.

“We hopefully can get our heads around this and we owe Wexford a good game in a couple of weeks. That needs to be our target and see where that gets us.”

Kelly described Sligo as “the best team we’ve played all year”. They showed it in opening up a 0-7 to 0-1 lead with each score from open play. They had seven goal chances before they began to lean towards handpassed points late on. They eventually made them count in a 2-2 burst before the break.

Alan McLaughlin was fouled for a penalty, dispatched off the post by Murphy in the 31st minute. From the kickout, Lee Deignan struck the crossbar but they worked the ball back in for Seán Carrabine to finish. 2-11 to 0-5 at half-time.

Murphy’s sidestepping finish for the third goal, assisted again by McLaughlin, helped to push Sligo into a 3-15 to 0-9 lead before Cawley saw red.

Having conceded seven goals in their two Tailteann losses, plugging those defensive holes will be crucial for Tipp.

Scorers for Tipperary: E Comerford (3 frees, 1 45), S O’Connor (0-4 each); S Grogan (1-0); M Russell (0-2); P McGarry, C Sweeney (free) (0-1 each).

Scorers for Sligo: N Murphy (2-6, 1-0 penalty, 0-1 free, 0-1 mark); S Carrabine (1-3, 0-2 frees); D Cummins, P O’Connor (0-4 each); M Walsh (0-2); P Kilcoyne, A McLaughlin, M Gordon (0-1 each).

TIPPERARY: E Comerford; T Condon, J Feehan, P Feehan; S Grogan, M Stokes, E Moloney; J Morris, J Kennedy (Clonmel Commercials); T Doyle, C Kennedy, P McGarry; C Sweeney, S O’Connor, D Brennan.

Subs: M Russell for Doyle (h-t), E Power for Brennan (h-t), S O’Connell for Condon (43), L Boland for J Feehan (48), K Costello for McGarry (59).

SLIGO: A Devaney; N Mullen, E McGuinness, E Lyons; L Casserly, B Cox, D Cummins; P Kilcoyne, C Mulligan; M Gordon, A McLaughlin, S Carrabine; P O’Connor, N Murphy, L Deignan.

Subs: K Cawley for Gordon (h-t), E Smith for Deignan (h-t), M Walsh for Murphy (48), P Laffey for Mullen (50), S Deignan for Mulligan (67).

Referee: B Griffin (Kerry).