Cats emerge victorious in old rivals clash
 Kilkenny
3-20 Tipperary 2-11NHL Division 1 semi-final. Tales of the age-old rivalry
between Kilkenny and Tipperary are legion in the hurling world but this
game yielded little fit for a fable as the Cats dominated from the off
and never looked like losing.
Inside four minutes Martin Comeford accelerated through the centre of
the Tipp defence and fired past Brendan Cummins in the premier goal to
put Kilkenny in the driving seat.
Four unanswered points from Aidan Fogarty kept up the Cats momentum before
‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick was freed by the excellent Henry Shefflin
to score the Leinster side’s second goal on 14 minutes, by which
time Tipperary hadn’t registered a score.
That was soon remedied with a free from one of the few Premier men to
add to his reputation on Sunday Eoin Kelly.
It took until the final minute of the first-half for Tipperary to score
from play through Ken Dunne and Eoin Kelly’s scrappy goal lifted
the siege somewhat as half-time loomed. Kilkenny led 2-13 1-4 at the interval.
Tipperary finally hit their stride in the opening quarter of the second-half
clipping over five of the first six points after the resumption. Kelly
got his second goal on 52 minutes following a mistake by James McGarry
in the Cats’ goal.
Suddenly the gap was only seven points and Tipperary players had a spring
in their step and optimism reigned in Semple Stadium.
That mood was soon dampened by the customary scene-stealing antics of
Henry Shefflin who crowned his comeback with a well-taken goal with three
minutes remaining to put the game firmly beyond Tipperary’s reach.
Points from Eoin Larkin and Derek Lyng sealed the victory for the Cats.
The first-half was all about how poor Tipperary were but when the Premier
men raised their game in the second-half, Kilkenny showed they could live
with them without playing all that well.
Tipp boss Babs Keating will have much to ponder on those long summer evenings
as the championship draws near. |
