Tipperary defeated Clare by 2-24 to 2-17 in the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Semi-Final on Sunday April 20th in the Gaelic Grounds Limerick.
Source: TG4
Match Report: @TipperaryGAA set up league final v @KilkennyCLG after beating @GaaClare in second semi-final: http://t.co/gwpVNH1TY4 #GAA
— The GAA (@officialgaa) April 20, 2014
Tipp beat Clare to set up league final with Cats
ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL: TIPPERARY 2-24 CLARE 2-17
Report from the GAA.ie web site
Two goals from Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher and a haul of 0-12 from Seamus Callanan saw Tipperary beat Clare at the Gaelic Grounds and set up an Allianz Hurling League final against Kilkenny for the second year in a row. Although Clare kept battling throughout, and got within three points of Tipperary twice in the second half, the Premier County were the better side throughout and were fully deserving of their seven-point win.
Patrick Maher’s two goals proved extremely decisive. Both came in response to Clare goals, in the first and second halves. Patrick Donnellan’s goal for Clare in the 40th minute left Davy Fitzgerald’s side just three behind, but Maher’s goal four minutes later revived a flagging Tipp, and they kicked on from there.
Clare stayed in the game in the final quarter, and the game was in the balance until the closing 10 minutes. However, Tipperary finished strongly, and points from Woodlock, Shane Bourke (2) and the highly impressive Callanan completed a fine win for a side that had seemingly been on the brink of relegation from Division IA just a few weeks ago.
Tipperary were in firm control at half-time, with Callanan’s haul of 0-8 in the opening 35 helping them into a seven-point interval lead.
He hit two early points to make it 0-3 to 0-1 but Clare found the net after just four minutes, with Cathal McInerney managing to bundle the sliotar over the line after a scramble with the Tipperary goalkeeper Darren Gleeson and a couple of Premier County defenders.
Tipperary weren’t too rattled by the goal though, and after the sides traded a couple of points, they found the net themselves on the 20 minute mark. Maher took his goal well, finishing sweetly after emerging from a ruck of players with the ball under firm control on his hurl. That made it 1-7 to 1-3, and five more points from Callanan, three of them from placed balls, had Tipperary 1-13 to 1-5 ahead as the first half drew to a close.
A Noel McGrath point then put Tipperary into a nine-point lead, but Clare finished the half with scores from Tony Kelly and McInerney to give themselves hope for the second period.
Those hopes became more concrete after the restart when Donnellan found the net, smashing the ball home after a scramble close to the Tipperary goal. That strike left just a goal between the sides, and with Tipperary looking decidedly less vigorous than they had in the first half, Clare looked confident. However, just like he did in the first half, Patrick Maher raced in on goal and found the net at a crucial stage of the game. His superbly struck goal, which came about after a clever Conor O’Mahony free, restored Tipperary’s six-point lead and left Clare with a serious challenge on their hands.
The All-Ireland champions tried gallantly to meet it, with brilliant scores from Tony Kelly and David McInerney leaving just four between the sides again, and although Tipperary responded with scores from James Woodlock and Callanan, Clare points from Colm Galvin, Colin Ryan and Podge Collins left them three behind, at 2-16 to 2-13, as the game entered the final quarter.
Fortunately for Tipperary, they saved some of their best wine until last and they outscored their opponents by 0-8 to 0-4 in a high-quality final 15 minutes. Callanan tapped a penalty over the bar in that period, while Niall O’Meara (2) and Shane Bourke (2) both found their range to complete what was in the end, a comfortable victory for Tipperary, who take on Kilkenny in the decider on Sunday, May 4.
***
Scorers for Clare: C Ryan 0-5 (4f), C McInerney 1-1, P Donnellan 1-1, P Collins 0-2, C McGrath 0-2, C Galvin 0-2, T Kelly 0-2 (1f), D McInerney 0-1, J Conlon 0-1
Scorers for Tipperary: S Callanan 0-12 (6f, 2 ’65’, 0-1 pen), Patrick Maher 2-0, N O’Meara 0-3, J O’Dwyer 0-2 (1f), S Bourke 0-2, D Maher 0-1, J Barry 0-1, N McGrath 0-1, J Woodlock 0-1, G Ryan 0-1
CLARE: D Tuohy; J Browne, C Dillon, D McInerney; B Bugler, C Ryan, P O’Connor; P Donnellan, C Galvin; J Conlon, T Kelly, C Ryan; C McGrath, P Collins, C McInerney
Subs: A Cunningham for C MGrath (Temporary, 5-7), P Duggan for C McInerney (HT), S Collins for C Galvin (62), A Cunningham for J Conlon (67).
TIPPERARY: D Gleeson; C Barrett, Padraic Maher, M Cahill; J Barry, B Maher, C O’Mahoney; K Bergin, J Woodlock; D Maher, Patrick Maher, J O’Dwyer; N McGrath, S Callanan, N O’Meara
Subs: G Ryan for D Maher (47), S McGrath for N McGrath (51), S Bourke for J O’Dwyer (62), M Breen for J Woodlock (68).
Referee – Colm Lyons (Cork)
Allianz Hurling League Division 1 semi-final result: Clare 2-17 Tipperary 2-24. http://t.co/6LetA9EERA #GAA pic.twitter.com/Ww3AnWiESS
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) April 20, 2014
Allianz Hurling League Division I Semi-Final Preview – @GaaClare v @TipperaryGAA , Gaelic Grounds, 4pm, Sunday: http://t.co/Hbl4UVQmvu #GAA
— The GAA (@officialgaa) April 18, 2014
Admission Details
Match Day Stand Tickets – Adults €20, Students OAP’s €15
Pre-Purchase Stand Tickets – Adults €15
Under 16s €5
Team News
AHL Division 1 S-Final – Tipp SH team to play Clare at 4pm tomorrow in Limerick shows 5 changes – http://t.co/1alDttWKRA
— Tipperary GAA (@TipperaryGAA) April 19, 2014
The Tipperary Senior Hurling team to play Clare in tomorrow’s Allianz Hurling League semi-final shows 5 changes from the team which defeated Cork in the Quarter-Final. Darren Gleeson, Cathal Barrett, Padraic Maher, Michael Cahill and Patrick “Bonner” Maher return to the team in place of Darragh Egan, Paddy Stapleton, Conor O’Brien, Thomas Stapleton and Shane Bourke.
Tipperary (SH v Clare) – Darren Gleeson (Portroe); Cathal Barrett (Holycross-Ballycahill), Conor O’Mahony (Newport), Michael Cahill (Thurles Sarsfields); James Barry (Upperchurch-Drombane), Brendan Maher (Borris-Ileigh – Captain), Padraic Maher (Thurles Sarsfields); Kieran Bergin (Killenaule), James Woodlock (Drom & Inch); Denis Maher (Thurles Sarsfields), Noel McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney), Patrick Maher (Lorrha/Dorrha); John O’Dwyer (Killenaule) Seamus Callanan (Drom & Inch), Niall O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs)
Clare (HL v Tipperary): Donal Tuohy; Jack Browne, Cian Dillon, David McInerney; Brendan Bugler, Conor Ryan, Patrick O’Connor; Patrick Donnellan, Colm Galvin; John Conlon, Tony Kelly, Colin Ryan; Cathal McInerney, Conor McGrath, Podge Collins.
Ahead of Sunday’s semi-final between @GaaClare and @TipperaryGAA, we spoke to John Conlon and Shane McGrath: http://t.co/ymydQr7Utu #GAA
— The GAA (@officialgaa) April 17, 2014
