Allianz Football League Division 4 Final – Tipperary 1-16 Clare 1-15

Tipperary defeated Clare by 1-16 to 1-15 in the Allianz Football League Division 4 Final on Saturday April 26th at Croke Park.

Congratulations @TipperaryGAA! Here's captain Paddy Codd with the Division IV trophy: #GAA pic.twitter.com/MyHGS7P3XY

— The GAA (@officialgaa) April 26, 2014

Division IV Final: Glory for Tipperary

ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION IV FINAL: TIPPERARY 1-16 CLARE 1-15

Report from the GAA.ie web site

Tipperary took the Division IV title in the first final at Croke Park on Saturday evening, overcoming a stiff challenge from Clare to take a one-point victory in an entertaining game.

Peter Creedon’s side just had too much for Clare, and they finished strongly in the final 20 minutes, outscoring their opponents by 0-8 to 0-4 in the decisive final period. A tally of 1-8 from Conor Sweeney proved crucial for Tipperary, and it was his two late points, one from play and one from a free, which sealed Tipperary’s win and sent them away from Croke Park with a rare trophy. Regardless of the result of this game, both these sides are promoted and will play in Division IV next season.

Tipperary led 1-7 to 0-9 at the end of a competitive first half, with Sweeney’s 19th minute goal the decisive score in the opening 35 minutes. Sweeney pounced after Peter Acheson’s shot had been saved by Pierce De Loughrey, with the Ballyporeen man firing home sharply when the ball broke to him.
That goal put Tipperary one point ahead, with Clare having been 0-6 to 0-4 ahead before that. Three fine scores from wing forward Shane McGrath had helped them into the lead, while Sweeney (2) and Barry Grogan registered early on for Tipperary. McGrath, who had started superbly for Clare, was also guilty of some poor decision making, spurning three good chances for Clare in the second quarter.

Nonetheless, points from the excellent David Tubridy (free), Cathal O’Connor and Ciarán Russell kept Clare in touch after Tipperary had a dominant spell close to the end of the first half, creating lots of chances and registering points from Robbie Kiely and George Hannigan.
Clare were level shortly after the restart, points from David Keenan and Jamie Malone coming either side of a Grogan score to leave it 0-11 to 1-8 after 42 minutes.

However, Clare broke through for a superb goal seconds later when Martin O’Leary found some space and burned past Tipperary corner back Andrew Morrissey before planting the ball into the roof of the net past Paul Fitzgerald. That put Clare three ahead, but Tipp hit four without reply in the next 10 minutes through the impressive Sweeney (3) and Grogan, to lead by one heading into the final 15 minutes. A magnificent score from Tubridy on 60 minutes levelled the sides up, and they remained level with five to go after Sweeney (free) and McGrath traded scores.

However, two late scores from Sweeney put Tipperary two ahead with time almost up, and although Tubridy gave Clare hope with an excellent free under pressure, Tipperary held strong in the last few minutes to take the win.
***

Scorers for Tipperary: C Sweeney 1-8 (4f), B Grogan 0-4 (2f), I Fahey 0-1, R Kiely 0-1, G Hannigan 0-1, S O’Brien 0-1

Scorers for Clare: D Tubridy 0-7 (4f), S McGrath 0-4, M O’Leary 1-0, C Russell 0-1, C O’Connor 0-1, D Keenan 0-1, J Malone 0-1

TIPPERARY: P Fitzgerald; J Coghlan, P Codd, A Morrissey; R Kiely, P Acheson, D Leahy; S O’Brien, G Hannigan; P Austin, I Fahey, B Fox; C Sweeney, M Quinlivan, B Grogan. Subs: S Grogan for P Austin (44), C McDonald for A Morrissey (45), C O’Riordan for I Fahey (62), C McCullagh for S Grogan (72).

CLARE: P DeLoughrey; D Ryan, K Hartnett, M McMahon; S Hickey, G Kelly, E Coughlan; G Brennan, C O’Connor; S McGrath, J Malone, C Russell; M O’Leary, S Brennan, D Tubridy. Subs: MO Murphy for S Hickey (47), P McMahon for S Brennan (51), J Hayes for P De Loughrey (57), R Donnelly for J Malone (69).

Sweeney sparkles as Tipperary edge Banner: Conor Sweeney came up trumps again with 1-8 as Tipperary secured the… http://t.co/NL9VrbmoCx

— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) April 26, 2014

Sweeney stars for relentless Tipp

By Eoghan Cormican, Croke Park for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Tipperary 1-16 Clare 1-15

You’d be forgiven for confusing Conor Sweeney as a regular visitor of Jones Road, one of the many summer guests to emerge from the Hogan Stand tunnel. The Ballyporeen corner-forward moved effortlessly on the hallowed turf, the radar in perfect working order, the ease at which he adapted to unfamiliar surrounds most impressive.

Sweeney, as is the low standing of Tipperary football, had stepped inside the Croke Park whitewash on just one previous occasion — the county suffering a comprehensive qualifier defeat to Dublin back in 2010. Four years would ensue without a single opportunity to return.

And so Saturday would not be wasted. On this turn, Sweeney was determined to rise above the occasion, to stand out and make his mark. The 24-year-old finished with 1-8 to his name, ticking emphatically every box, six second-half minors central in edging Tipp across the line. “I kicked a lot of scores yeah, but it was a case of being in the right place, right time. The work was done for me,” he said. “It is great to be here. I played here a couple of years back and that was an experience in itself. It is a fantastic stadium and just a pity we don’t get up here more often. “At the start, it did affect us slightly. We were doing things we never do, dropping the ball, shooting from angles we wouldn’t normally shoot from. We all just wanted to impress so much. I think we just needed to go back and start doing the simple things. We did that and we came away with the win.”

Sweeney was the central component of an inside line that wreaked untold damage on the Banner rearguard, Michael Quinlivan and Barry Grogan capable co-conspirators. Grogan raised four white flags in a decent showing and while Quinlivan was rendered scoreless, much credit here to Clare’s Kevin Hartnett, the Clonmel youngster provided the final pass for several scores. In total, 1-12 was sunk amid the debris of the Clare full-back line.

“The two boys are very good. We inter-change a lot. You have to keep moving in there, keep their full-back line thinking. Thankfully we did the business today. “We came here to do a job and it didn’t matter if it was one or 10 points, we got the win and are delighted.”

Clare did enjoy a slender advantage by the end of the first quarter, Shane McGrath and David Tubridy sharing six white flags; it failed, however, to tell the full tale — seven Tipperary wides added to a superb save from Clare keeper Pierce De Loughrey, frustrating their dominance.

On 19 minutes, the target was finally nailed. Barry Grogan supplied the delivery and while Harnett repelled Pater Acheson’s initial effort, Sweeney scored the rebound. Grogan, Robbie Kiely and George Hannigan swung over further minors, but Clare continued to advance, with Tubridy and a massive punt from midfielder Cathal O’Connor reducing the deficit to a point — 1-7 to 0-9 the interval difference.

Shane Hickey and Jamie Malone found the target either side of a Barry Grogan effort and Clare seized the initiative when Martin O’Leary, teed up by Malone and Ciaran Russell, shook the roof of Paul Fitzgerald’s goal on 43 minutes. Ahead by 1-11 to 1-8, now was their time to tighten fatally the noose. Tipperary, however, stubbornly refused to concede any further ground.

Grogan and Sweeney combined subsequently in steering over four unanswered points as the pendulum swung back in favour of Peter Creedon’s side. “That is the kind of response we’ve given all year,” added Sweeney. “We were forced to dig and we did.” And so it ebbed and flowed, three times they were level, until Conor Sweeney put Tipp two points up with a few minutes of time remaining. Clare had to mine their resources and while Tubridy, their most effective performer alongside midfielder Gary Brennan, pared it back to a point, no equaliser could be located.

Scorers for Tipperary: C Sweeney (1-8, 4fs), B Grogan (0-4, 2fs), G Hannigan, R Kiely, S O’Brien, I Fahey (0-1 each).

Scorers for Clare: D Tubridy (0-7, 4fs), S McGrath (0-4), M O’Leary (1-0), S Hickey, C O’Connor, J Malone, C Russell (0-1 each).

Tipperary: P Fitzgerald; J Coghlan, P Codd, A Morrissey; R Kiely, P Acheson, D Leahy; S O’Brien, G Hannigan; P Austin, I Fahey, B Fox; C Sweeney, M Quinlivan, B Grogan.
Subs for Tipperary: S Grogan for P Austin (43), C McDonald for Morrissey (45), C O’Riordan for Fahey (61), C McCullagh for S Grogan (BC, 70).

Clare: P De Loughrey; D Ryan, K Hartnett, M McMahon; S Hickey, G Kelly, E Coughlan; G Brennan, C O’Connor; S McGrath, J Malone, C Russell; M O’Leary, S Brennan, D Tubridy.
Subs for Clare: M Óige Murphy for Hickey (46), P McMahon for S Brennan (50), J Hayes for De Loughrey (56).

Referee: N Mooney (Cavan)

Game-changer

Tipperary’s response to the Clare goal on 43 minutes. Reeled off four points without reply to move back into the lead and nullify O’Leary’s strike. Crucial.

Talk of the town

The deplorable attendance. Just 8,654 filed through for both games, but there was certainly less than half that in the Hogan Stand for the opener. Poor.

Did that just happen?

Martin O’Leary’s goal strike, sweeping move capped off by a scintillating finish.

Best on show

Conor Sweeney, no contest. 1-8 over the 70 minutes represented a very good days work. Took his goal well and proved a constant threat in the right corner.

Black card watch

Séamus Grogan was black carded on the stroke of full-time.

Sideline superior

Tipperary substitutions had greater impact, while Colm Collins was slow in wheeling off Clare forwards who were non-existent for most of the contest.

The man in black

Clare were clearly irked by more than a handful of Noel Mooney’s decisions, particularly the awarding of a free against sub keeper Joe Hayes for touching possession on the floor in the process of pulling off a superb save from Conor Sweeney.

What’s next?

Tipperary entertain Limerick on May 31 in the Munster quarter-final, while Clare welcome Waterford to Cusack Park the following weekend.

Conor Sweeney guides Tipperary to Allianz League Division Four title http://t.co/ZJQKikXUYv

— Irish Times Sport (@IrishTimesSport) April 28, 2014

To win just once #hontipp pic.twitter.com/DuuP4cxB5N

— Conor Sweeney (@sweeney_con) April 26, 2014

Scintillating Sweeney points way for Premier

Tipperary 1-16 Clare 1-15, NFL Division 4 final

Report from the Irish Independent newspaper

Conor Sweeney played a starring role at Croke Park, scoring 1-8, as Tipperary ended a memorable campaign with silverware. The sides were level nine times during a thrilling decider, but it was Sweeney’s accuracy and opportunism that swung it for Peter Creedon’s side.

Sweeney, Barry Grogan and Ian Fahey got Tipp off to a strong start, but they fell behind when the Banner hit three points in two minutes late in the opening quarter. Shane McGrath and David Tubridy were the men with the golden touch, steering over a string of scores to reward the outstanding efforts of skipper Gary Brennan in the middle of the field.

Full-back Kevin Hartnett was another outstanding Clare performer, denying Sweeney a goal with a superb block. Another Hartnett block had a costly outcome, however, in the 19th minute, when the ball rebounded to Sweeney, who rifled a shot to the net from eight yards.

George Hannigan’s score eased the Premier men three points clear, but just a point separated the sides at the break, after Ciaran Russell and Cathal O’Connor had landed quality points. Tipp led by 1-7 to 0-9 at that stage, but they were rocked by a Martin O’Leary goal eight minutes into the second half.

Tipp’s Brian Fox thought he had regained the lead when he drilled the ball to the net, but referee Noel Mooney failed to allow the advantage, and Tipp went back level with frees from Sweeney and Barry Grogan. They traded points in quick succession, Clare going level for the eighth time with a superb Tubridy effort with 10 minutes to play. But Tipp had their own supreme finisher Sweeney steering over the lead point from a 64th-minute free as the contest built to a gripping climax.

That score was cancelled out immediately by McGrath, but Sweeney was to have the last say, hitting two late points to seal the title for his side. The fact that he missed a golden chance to make victory an absolute certainty will be forgiven by his team-mates, the Ballyporeen man scuffing his shot after Seamus Grogan’s effort had come back off an upright.

Scorers – Tipperary: C Sweeney 1-8 (0-4f), B Grogan 0-4 (2f), R Kiely, S O’Brien, G Hannigan, I Fahey 0-1 each. Clare: M O’Leary 1-0, D Tubridy 0-7 (4f), McGrath 0-4, S Hickey, C O’Connor, J Malone, C Russell 0-1 each.

Tipperary: P Fitzgerald; J Coghlan, P Codd, A Morrissey; A Kiely, P Acheson, D Leahy; S O’Brien, G Hanningan; P Austin, I Fahey, B Fox; C Sweeney, M Quinlivan, B Grogan. Subs: S Grogan for Austin (43), C McDonald for Morrissey (45), C O’Riordan for Fahey (61)

Clare: P DeLoughrey; D Ryan, K Hartnett, M McMahon; S Hickey, G Kelly, E Coughlan; G Brennan, C O’Connor; S McGrath, J Malone, C Russell; M O’Leary, S Brennan, D Tubridy. Subs: M Murphy for Hickey (46), P McMahon for Brennan (50), J Hayes for DeLoughrey (56), R Donnelly for Malone (68)

Referee: N Mooney (Cavan).

@TipperaryGAA Happy Management Team pic.twitter.com/Tbgo5LDiFl

— Michael O Loughlin (@oloughlinmike1) April 27, 2014

Team News

AFL Division 4 Final – Tipperary v Clare on Saturday at 5pm in Croke Park – Tipp team named – http://t.co/JRLzTbhuRI

— Tipperary GAA (@TipperaryGAA) April 24, 2014

The Tipperary team to play Clare in Saturday’s Allianz Football League Division 4 Final at Croke Park shows 6 changes from the side which lost to Wicklow in their last League game. Under 21 players Steven O’Brien, Ian Fahey and Michael Quinlvan return to the team along with veterans Paul Fitzgerald, Andrew Morrissey and George Hannigan with Matthew O’Donnell, Ciaran McDonald, Aldo Matassa, Lorcan Egan, Alan Campbell and Conal McCullagh dropping to the bench.

Tipperary (SF v Clare) – Paul Fitzgerald (Fethard); John Coghlan (Moyne Templetuohy), Paddy Codd (Killenaule – Captain), Andrew Morrissey (Galtee Rovers); Robbie Kiely (Arravale Rovers), Peter Acheson (Moyle Rovers), Donagh Leahy (Arravale Rovers); Steven O’Brien (Ballina), George Hannigan (Shannon Rovers); Philip Austin (Borrisokane), Ian Fahey (Clonmel Commercials), Brian Fox (Eire Óg Annacarty); Conor Sweeney (Ballyporeen), Michael Quinlivan (Clonmel Commercials), Barry Grogan (Aherlow)

Clare: Pierce De Loughrey (Cratloe); Dean Ryan (Éire Óg Ennis), Kevin Hartnett (Meelick), Martin McMahon (Kilmurry-Ibrickane); Shane Hickey (Kilmurry-Ibrickane), Gordon Kelly (St Joseph’s Miltown-Malbay), Enda Coughlan (Kilmurry-Ibrickane); Gary Brennan (Clondegad), Cathal O’Connor (Coolmeen); Shane McGrath (Thomas Davis), Jamie Malone (Corofin), Ciaran Russell (Éire Óg Ennis); Martin O’Leary (Kilmihil), Shane Brennan (Clondegad), David Tubridy (Doonbeg)

Tipperary and Clare will contest the Allianz Football League Division 4 Final on Saturday next April 26th at 5:00pm in Croke Park. The game will serve as a curtain-raiser to the Division 3 Final between Cavan and Roscommon. Tipperary have been very impressive in the League to date, securing promotion with 1 round to spare after 5 wins and a draw in their first 6 games, including a 3-9 to 0-14 victory over Saturday’s opponents Clare in a game played at Semple Stadium Thurles on March 9th. We would ask all Tipperary supporters, in particular those based in Dublin to come out and support the team on Saturday evening in Croke Park as we look to bring home another football trophy to the county.

Tipperary’s last promotion from Division 4 and appearance in a Division 4 Final was in 2008 when Tipperary lost to Offaly by 2-13 to 0-12. Brian Coen scored 10 of Tipperary’s 12 points on that occasion. The Tipperary team which lost to Offaly in the 2008 Division 4 Final lined out as follows – Paul Fitzgerald (Fethard); Aidan Foley (Moyle Rovers), Mark Peters (Galtee Rovers), Ciaran McDonald (Aherlow); Paddy Codd (Killenaule), Robbie Costigan (Cahir), Cian Maher (Fethard); Kevin Mulryan (JK Brackens), George Hannigan (Shannon Rovers); Philip Austin (Borrisokane), Eoin Kearney (Ballyporeen), Laurence Coskeran (Aherlow); Damien O’Brien (Eire Og Annacarty), Seamus Grogan (Aherlow), Brian Coen (Fethard). Subs used – Paul Johnson (Moyle Rovers) for Maher (25 mins), Brian Jones (Arravale Rovers) for Kearney, Eamon Hanrahan (Clonmel Commercials) for Hannigan (both half-time), Shane Stapleton (Golden-Kilfeacle) for Austin (52), Hugh Coghlan (St. Vincent’s) for Codd (62).

ALLIANZ LEAGUE TOP SCORERS

In Gaelic Football, Ballyporeen’s Conor Sweeney currently sits on top of the highest scorer list across all the divisions having accounted for 5 goals and 41 points, an aggregate total of 56 points which will certainly be good enough for the honour of being the top scorer in Division 4. With the four Division Finals down for decision this weekend, Conor is 8 points clear of his nearest rival across all the divisions (Derry’s Mark Lynch who has scored 2-42 – 48 points). In addition to Conor’s achievements, Aherlow forward Barry Grogan’s tally of 5-22 (37 points) is good enough to be in the top 3 of Division 4 scorers and in the top 10 across all divisions.

Driving to @CrokePark on Saturday? Park for as little as €4 http://t.co/WjoriFEWQd @GAARoscommon @CavanCoBoardGAA @TipperaryGAA @GAAClare

— Croke Park (@CrokePark) April 24, 2014