Tipp aim for safety in rearranged encounter

GAA: National Hurling League Division 1A Preview

By Shane Brophy

WATERFORD v TIPPERARY

Azzurri Walsh Park, Waterford

Sunday, 15th March

Throw-in @ 2.00pm

Referee: Thomas Gleeson (Dublin)

Waterford and Tipperary will try it again next weekend after last Sunday’s scheduled National Hurling League game was postponed following the untimely passing of Benny Kiely, father of Waterford hurler Michael Kiely (Abbeyside-Ballinacourty).

Both teams had been announced prior to the postponement on Saturday afternoon, with Kiely named among the subs in a strong Deise selection with Ballygunner’s Dessie Hutchinson set to make his first start of the campaign, along with veteran Tadhg de Burca as the home side chase the win they need to improve their chances of survival in division 1A. It wouldn’t guarantee it as they would have to sit back and watch the final round of games on Saturday, 21st March as they are the idle team that weekend.

What we do know following last weekends victories for Galway over Kilkenny and Limerick over Cork is that Tipperary will ensure their survival if they defeat Waterford who would be relegated due to their head-to-head loss to Kilkenny.

A draw would also be enough for Tipp to survive provided they don’t lose to Kilkenny by fourteen points in their final game. Should Tipp lose to Waterford, it would mean Tipp and Kilkenny meeting in a relegation shootout on the final day in Thurles.

Looking more positively, Tipperary do still have a chance of making a league final. It would mean winning their last two games, but also requiring Galway to overcome Limerick, which is a possibility with the tribesmen’s upturn in fortunes. However, those results would also require two big margins of victory for Tipp over Waterford and Kilkenny to improve their score difference total.

However, reaching a league final would appear secondary to ensuring survival in the top division, yet the Tipperary team named for the postponed clash with Waterford still had an experimental feel to it with Kevin McCarthy and Stefan Tobin slated for first senior starts.

They were two of seven changes from the starting line-up which lost to Limerick in their most recent game, including the first appearance of captain Ronan Maher in this campaign after recovering from groin surgery, in a half back line of Eoghan Connolly and Joe Caesar.

Rhys Shelly was set to come back between the posts with defender Robert Doyle set to feature for the first time since the opening round win against Galway, having recovered from a hamstring injury in a full-back line of Bryan O’Mara and Craig Morgan.

Jason Forde is also back following suspension at full forward, with Tobin and Darragh McCarthy either side of him. Darragh’s older brother Kevin was named at centre forward, where he plays a similar role to that of Andrew Ormond with the management keen to see back-up in that position should the JK Brackens clubman become injured or lose form. Oisin O’Donoghue was also named on the forty along with Jake Morris.

With Willie Connors ruled out through suspension, Noel McGrath was set to start in midfield in his 175th senior appearance, alongside Conor Stakelum.

However, the rescheduled fixture does open the opportunity for both managements to alter their starting line-ups and subs, possibly giving Michael Breen extra time to recovery from a nagging calf issue having not featured since January.