MATCH REPORT: Tipperary Goals Prove Crucial As They Condemn Dublin To First League Defeat

Sun, 26th February 2023

DUBLIN 0-24

TIPPERARY 2-23

A brace of goals in the third quarter from Conor Bowe and Jason Forde proved telling as Tipperary edged Dublin by five points in their entertaining Allianz National Hurling League Division 1B clash at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts competed well for the large part and refused to concede defeat right up until the final whistle, but their inability to register a green flag proved costly against a more clinical Tipperary side.

Dublin will also rue a series of wides in the opening quarter.

The exception to the rule once again was through the economy of effort and shooting of Donal Burke, with the Na Fianna talisman highlighting his importance in terms of scoring output with a personal tally of 0-15, eight of those points coming from open play.

With both teams revelling in the wide spaces at headquarters, chances were created at regular intervals throughout with Dublin pushing 0-4 to 0-2 after seven minutes thanks to a brace of Donal Burke points and further scores from deep by the impressive Daire Gray and Conor Burke.

The visitors replied with four points on the bounce through Forde (2), Seamus Kennedy and Gearod O’Connor and an excellent Brian McGrath score saw Tipperary 0-8 to 0-5 ahead by the 21^st minute.

A brace of Donal Burke scores and a sharp Alex Considine effort levelled matters within three minutes but crucially, Dublin were unable to regain the lead as Forde kept the Tipperary scoreboard ticking over on his way to 1-10.

His four frees in the final ten minutes of the half pushed The Premier four points to the good but Donal Burke and Considine replied late in the half to leave Dublin trailing by the bare minimum (0-14 to 0-13) by the interval.

Early second-half points by Jake Morris and Forde punctured any momentum that Dublin may have had at the break and while Chris O’Leary replied at the opposite end, the visitors pounced for the opening goal in the 39^th minute as substitute Conor Bowe fired unerringly past Sean Brennan from ten yards.

A further brace by Burke and Considine’s third of the day ensured Dublin remained in contention but Tipperary hit the net again through the predatory Forde, leaving Dublin with a mountain to climb in the final quarter.

Goal opportunities for Cian Boland came to nothing, while Paul Crummey was denied by both the crossbar and a square ball infringement as Dublin’s frustration in front of goal continued to grow.

They plugged away, however, as points from Crummey and fellow substitute Sean Currie reduced their arrears.

However those scores proved nothing more than consolation points, as their opponents held on to see out victory.

Scorers - Dublin: D Burke 0-15 (6f, 1 ‘65’), A Considine 0-3, C Burke, D Gray, C O’Leary, J Flanagan (f), P Crummey, S Currie 0-1 each. Tipperary: J Forde 1-10 (0-8f), G O’Connor 0-4 (2f); C Bowe 1-0, M Kehoe 0-3, A Tynan, S Kennedy 0-2 each, B McGrath, J Morris 0-1 each.

DUBLIN: S Brennan; J Bellew, E O’Donnell, P Doyle; J Madden, C Burke, D Gray; C Donohoe, C O’Leary; C Costello, D Burke, D Sutcliffe; F Whitely, A Considine, C Boland. Subs: J Flanagan for Costello (53), P Crummey for Considine (55), D Leavy for Sutcliffe (61), D Keogh for Whitely (61), S Currie for D Burke (64).

TIPPERARY: B Hogan; C McCarthy, B O’Mara, Johnny Ryan; M Breen, R Maher, B McGrath; C Stakelum, D McCormack; A Tynan, G O’Connor, S Kennedy; J Forde, J Morris, M Kehoe. Subs: N McGrath for B McGrath (34), C Bowe for Stakelum (half-time), S Callanan for Kennedy (55), P Maher for Forde (62), C O’Dwyer for O’Connor (68).

Referee: Paud O’Dwyer (Carlow).