Lidl National League Division 2A Round 3

Tipperary    0-13

Clare         1-7

Report: Thomas Conway (Nenagh Guardian) at FBD Semple Stadium

Photo Credit: Cahir Media 

                                                                             Tipperary’s Cliona O’Dwyer on the attack challenged by Clare’s Orla Devitt. Photo: Cahir Media                      

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Emma Morrissey (Tipperary)

SCORERS – Tipperary: Emma Morrissey 0-9 (6 frees); Maureen Murphy, Neassa Towey, Caitlin Kennedy, Emma Carey 0-1 each.

Waterford: Fidelma Marrinan 1-4 (1-0 pen), Gráinne Nolan 0-3 (2 frees).

A resolute and somewhat refined Tipperary performance ensured that they will remain in Division 2 of the Ladies National Football League next season, as Peter Creedon’s side bucked their losing trend with a much-needed win, condemning Clare to the uncertainty of a relegation play-off.

It was the result they had been waiting for. The performance? Maybe not quite, but almost. Tipp entered this game off the back of two defeats, so aside from the fact that a win was a necessity in order to avoid the perils of a relegation play-off, it was also a very real psychological requirement.

While it would be unfair to suggest that both Tipperary and Clare resemble a mirror image of one another, the similarities were irrefutable last Sunday. They even pursued identical warm-up routines, breaking into two group-based possession games just before throw-in, as if to foreshadow the coming game.

Both teams played in spurts, congesting their own halves of the field before transitioning at lightning pace. Success was variable, but Tipp were certainly the more productive, their three-point winning margin a fair reflection on the game on as a whole.

Usually inseparable, both Caitlin & Anna Rose Kennedy started in their normal midfield berths, and while the latter remained about the middle third throughout, Caitlin was deployed in an entirely different sector, spending her time somewhere in the vicinity of the Clare goal, alongside the ever-dangerous Emma Morrissey. It was never clear whether the tactic actually worked, given that both sides seemed to attack in large, sweeping moves rather than pump the ball directly inside. Those full-field sweeps yielded plenty of scores though, Tipp's first coming after ninety seconds courtesy of a Morrissey free, following a tenacious break from Marie Creedon.

Before long, the Thurles Sarsfields forward would be forced to depart the action, though her replacement, Emma Carey, would slot a vital Tipp point late on in the game, latching onto Emma Morrissey’s ingeniously quick free before sending her effort spinning over the crossbar. That was one of the rare occasions on which Morrissey decided to sacrifice a scoreable placed-ball and instead opt for something more creative. Otherwise, she was pricelessly consistent from frees, knocking them over all afternoon, in the same unhurried yet effective style.

Morrissey was active from play as well, thumping over a point from 25 metres midway through the seventh minute, then scrambling possession out to Maureen Murphy some moments later, providing the wing-forward with just enough space to sky her effort between the posts. Another well-struck free and Tipp were leading by four.

Clare not exactly deprived of the ball but not exactly using it either. Evan Talty’s side eventually shifted up a gear, ace forward Fidelma Marrinan side-stepping and then slotting over Clare’s first point on thirteen minutes.

Gráinne Nolan clipped over a free not long before the water-break, and although Morrissey would add another on the resumption, Clare were now beginning to dominate the possession stakes. Marrinan curled over a beauty from the left, Nolan slotted her second from play, and Clare were improving minute by minute. Although the Banner still trailed at half-time 0-7 to 0-5, Tipp looked like a team under pressure.

The third quarter was the most frenetic, the tenor of the game changing due to a 38th minute Clare penalty which Marrinan dispatched coolly into the corner. It raised the tempo and ramped up the tension, but to their credit, Tipp responded - Morrissey's free-taking yet again proving pivotal.

Tipp exuded confidence in possession, but there was a creeping sense that, despite being the better side, they could still lose this game. The penalty seemed to embolden Clare, but if they had found a rhythm, it was upset by the water-break, after which Tipp began to reassume command. They flirted with the Clare backs, inviting the tackle and eventually forcing frees. One or two went amiss, but Morrissey scored the one which mattered, sending Tipp ahead by the minimum just as the last ten minutes began to tick down.

Having just crafted that vital 55th minute point from substitute Anna Carey, Morrissey landed her sixth free, extending the lead to three and leaving Clare no choice but to spend the final few seconds searching for a goal.

In the end, it proved elusive, causing Tipp to breathe a sigh of relief and Clare to gulp. A relegation showdown against Tyrone now awaits the Banner County. For Tipp, it's next stop Munster Championship.

TEAMS – Tipperary: Lauren Fitzpatrick (Ballymacarbry 7), Niamh Martin (Sliabh na mBan 6), Laura Morrissey (Brian Borus 7), Carrie Davey (Fethard 7), Sarah English (Ardfinnan 7), Maria Curley (Templemore, Capt 7), Emma Cronin (Moyle Rovers 7), Caitlin Kennedy (Aherlow 7), Anna Rose Kennedy (Aherlow 8), Maureen Murphy (Brian Borus 8), Nicole Shelley (Mullinahone 7), Cliona O’Dwyer (Brian Borus 7), Neassa Towey (Templemore 7), Marie Creedon (Thurles Sarsfields NR), Emma Morrissey (Aherlow 9).

Subs: Anna Carey (Clonmel Commercials 7) for Creedon (6 inj); Casey Hennessy (Boherlahan-Dualla 7) for Murphy (50), Clara English (Ardfinnan 7) for Martin (56).

Clare: Micaela Glynn (7), Orla Devitt (7), Tara Kelly (6), Gráinne Harvey (6), Siofra Ní Chonaill (7), Laurie Ryan (7), Ellie O’Gorman (7), Aisling Reidy (7), Sinead Considine (7), Emma McMahon (6), Lizzy Roche (6), Chloe Moloney (6), Amy Sexton (6), Fidelma Marrinan (8), Gráinne Nolan (7).

Subs: Catriona Callinan (7) for Nolan (25 inj); Aoibhinn Malone (7) for Moloney (46); Ciara McCarthy (6) for Marrinan (55 inj).

Referee: Barry Redmond (Wexford)

Report by: Nenagh Guarian