National Hurling League, Division 1A: Kilkenny 1-19 Tipperary 2-25
You could argue that this was for the most part a rip-roaring contest. Liam Cahill’s entertaining young Tipperary side showcased its possibilities with some flowing movement, a couple of fine goals and unerring accuracy from Darragh McCarthy.
Kilkenny showed resilience in adversity before a crowd of 9,563 in bright spring sunshine but were beaten in the end. Of course, none of these things are what the match will be remembered for – the showing of four red cards in less than 10 minutes in the second half is what dominated the post-match discourse.
After a fortnight in which the issue of head-high tackles had been consistently highlighted, even as recently as Saturday evening due to an incident in the Limerick-Galway match, referee Seán Stack was putting the foot down.
The crime and punishment section of the match began in the 44th minute. Tipp forward Alan Tynan was dismissed for a high challenge on Cian Kenny. Replays didn’t show clear contact but the referee was adamant and Tynan had certainly sailed close to the wind.
The prospect of having a man advantage pepped up Kilkenny and TJ Reid landed the free but events overtook the home optimism. Within a couple of minutes both David Blanchfield and Mikey Carey saw red for striking Andrew Ormond and Darragh McCarthy, respectively, as proceedings became ill-tempered.
Then in the 53rd minute, Jordan Molloy followed for catching Eoghan Connolly with another high challenge, picking up a second yellow. From a man down to two up, Tipperary were now even more firmly in the ascendant.
Ironically, Kilkenny’s most impressive period followed when they tore into the match, almost in desperation, and kept their opponents scoreless for 10 minutes while chipping a couple of points off the deficit.
Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng was frustrated that just as his team looked to be picking it up after a muted first half, the anarchy erupted and their chances of recovery evaporated.
“I felt we got to the pitch in the second half and look, over a spell of five or six minutes then it was just chaos. I thought our effort was excellent after that for a good spell, but towards the end Tipp were able to pick off scores.”
Some loose finishing from Tipperary helped this phase of the match and replacement Dylan Walsh had a goal chalked off for over-carrying but, as Lyng pointed out, Tipperary regained control of the scoreboard, helped by McCarthy’s continuing excellence and some input off the bench from Noel McGrath and Willie Connors.
Both managers were sympathetic to the referee, and referees in general. Lyng took the view that the officials had been put under pressure.
“There’s a lot of frustration and I feel sorry for the refs. So, sometimes there’s a loose hurl and these things can happen. It’s a fast game and there has to be a bit of common sense. Officials coming hard on the refs because they’re not giving red cards, yellow cards are not good enough in my opinion.
“It’s not fair on the referees first of all. They’re trying to do their jobs to the best of their own ability and they’re seeing what’s in front of them. There are tackles when you can say there is a deserved red card, absolutely. But Jesus, I didn’t see a red card today. Look, I haven’t seen them back from but where I was looking.
“But again, I wouldn’t blame the refs and the officials on it. It’s a hard job but I think they need to be backed in their own judgment on the day as well.”
His Tipperary counterpart Liam Cahill echoed the sentiment while mildly protesting Tynan’s dismissal.
“I believe there wasn’t a whole lot in it. But having said that, look lads, there’s a lot of pressure put on these referees at the moment. It’s serious stuff, it’s a job that I wouldn’t like to be doing at the moment.
“I suppose we’ll look at the video footage in relation to that incident. As a whole, with the sendings off, it probably led to the game petering out from both sides. There seemed to be a good even contest up to that.
“But look, in hindsight, we were delighted to come to Nolan Park and pick up two points. That’s not usually the norm in Tipperary over the years, so we’ll take it.”
When the match was live, so to speak, Tipperary had been better. Good performances in defence made life difficult for the home forwards. Robert Doyle and Ronan Maher in particular led the way but the backs in general were cool and connected, picking out the right outlet ball and moving possession smartly up to the forwards.
Goals came from midfielder Craig Morgan, running a trail in from the left and shooting to the net, and forward Oisin O’Donoghue, on hand to complete good work by McCarthy. The scores would have had Tipp nearly out of sight but for Gearóid Dunne getting on for a riposte just before the break, leaving the score at 2-13 to 1-10.
Martin Keoghan’s impressive season continued, the Kilkenny forward shooting 0-4 from play, but none of the other forwards could muster a single point from play and the scoreboard challenge was carried by the veteran Reid.
Tipp still led by six when the balloon went up and although the home side resisted manfully, the extra numbers made it ultimately easy for the winners to pump out their lead.
Cahill’s men still aren’t certain of a league final but they’re well in the hunt and he’s in upbeat mood.
“I said it after the Cork game, it’s a really enjoyable environment at the moment. I’m absolutely loving it. It’s really, really enjoyable to get into the car every evening to go training these fellas.”
KILKENNY: E Murphy; T Walsh, M Butler, P Moylan; D Blanchfield (0-1f), M Carey, P Deegan; P McDonald (capt), J Molloy; M Keoghan (0-4), C Kenny, B Ryan; G Dunne (1-0), B Drennan, TJ Reid (0-13, 11f, 2 65).
Subs: S Murphy for Walsh, R Reid (0-1) for McDonald, J Donnelly for Drennan (all half-time); F Mackessy for Dunne (58); Z Bay Hammond for Kenny (66).
TIPPERARY: B Hogan; M Breen, E Connolly, R Doyle; J Caesar (0-1), R Maher (capt; 0-2), B O’Mara (0-1); C Morgan (1-0), S O’Farrell (0-3); O O’Donoghue (1-0), G O’Connor, A Tynan (0-1); J McGrath (0-2), J Morris, D McCarthy (0-12, 11f).
Subs: A Ormond for O’Donoghue (h-t), D Walsh for J McGrath (51 mins), W Connors (0-1) for Caesar (57), N McGrath (0-2) for O’Connor (64), S Kennedy for Morris (70).
Referee: S Stack (Dublin).
