Tipp miss out on league final in controversial circumstances

CAMOGIE: Littlewoods Ireland National League Group 1 Round 5

Galway 1-11

Tipperary0-13

Report: Thomas Conway in Ballinasloe

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Caoimhe Maher (Tipperary)

SCORERS – Galway: Siobhan McGrath 1-0; Áine Keane, Niamh Hanniffy, Rebecca Hennelly (frees) 0-2 each; Sabina Rabbitte, Carrie Dolan, Ailish O’Reilly, Niamh Kilkenny, Orlaith McGrath 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Cáit Devane 0-7 (6 frees), Casey Hennessy 0-2; Caoimhe Maher, Roisin Howard, Clodagh McIntyre, Caoimhe McCarthy 0-1 each.

Tipperary’s National League campaign ended in controversial circumstances last Saturday with Galway awarded a contentious last-ditch free which Rebecca Hennelly dispatched to secure the All-Ireland champions a crucial win, virtually securing them a place in this year’s league final.

It brought an end to an already fractious contest, but the closing passage of play was the most intense, a maelstrom of high-drama controversy and raucous confusion.

With the scores level and the clock ticking towards the sixth minute of stoppage-time, Tipperary forward Claire Hogan emerged from her own defence with the ball in hand. Standing in her path was Galway’s Niamh Kilkenny. It was either a full-blown tackle from the Galway midfielder, or a frontal charge from the Tipp full-forward. Referee John Dermody deemed it to be the latter, awarding Galway a decisive match-winning free. Hennelly showed no signs of capitulating to the pressure, nor did she pay much attention to the visibly irate reaction of the Tipperary players and management. The centre-forward held her nerve, negotiating the wind brilliantly and sweeping her effort straight between the posts. For Galway, it lacked the feel of a great escape, perhaps because the champions have yet to return to their midsummer peak, but it reinforced their aura of invincibility.

Still, Tipp can justifiably argue that it should never have come to that. Had they been permitted to play the entirety of the game with fifteen players, rather than fourteen, Galway might never have been in contention so late into stoppage-time. The dismissal of Casey Hennessy in the fifteenth minute certainly influenced the outcome, but its impact only came to bear in the final fifteen minutes, when Galway began to ignite.

Tipperary led 0-9 to 0-4 at half-time, and they were every bit the better side. Their first point was pitch-perfect, delicately finished by Hennessy herself after a beautifully-woven four-player move. Grace O’Brien picked up possession in front of the Tipp 45, broke a tackle and slid the ball to Caoimhe Maher, who sent it spiralling down the far wing towards Cáit Devane. Devane then launched it cross-field, where Hennessy completed the act, beating her marker, bursting in, and slotting over on the run.

Two Devane frees then followed, before Caoimhe Maher, restored to the starting line-up following a rest against Dublin, increased Tipp’s total to four. Galway could only manage one in those first ten minutes, but it was an impressive individual score - Áine Keane juggling the ball into possession along the stand side and snapping a wristy strike over from a tight angle.

Hennessy had just landed her second point when an altercation with Galway midfielder Aoife Donohue underneath the stand transpired to be her downfall. Donohue struck her first, Hennessy responded, and that was her mistake. Both were guilty of uncivil behaviour, but whether Hennessy’s action merited such a harsh punishment was highly debatable.

And yet Tipp continued to play with the same, calm efficiency, while Galway failed to exploit their newfound advantage. Moments after Maher had thundered over her second from play, Devane channelled the wind to land a monstrous free on the cusp of half-time. Things were going surprisingly smoothly.

Galway brought an energy to the second-half which had been non-existent in the first, and yet Tipp maintained their distance. Caoimhe McCarthy slapped over an early score, Devane landed another free, before McIntyre whizzed down the stand side and arrowed over from the wing. Galway were building scores as well, but not with any great frequency.

A tidy Niamh Hanniffy point reduced the deficit to four by the 46th minute, Tipp now leading 0-12 to 0-8, but less than sixty seconds later the complexion of the scoreline had changed, and with it the trajectory of this game.

Held in reserve following their All-Ireland club final victory with Sarsfields, Orlaith & Siobhán McGrath announced their return to the inter-county stage in the most quintessentially brilliant style. Less than a minute after the two sisters had skipped across the white line together, holding hands almost, they had combined in an effortless, flowing move - Orlaith carving open a channel to the right of goal and offloading to Siobhán, who swept the ball home with the most stylish of finishes. Galway transformed, if only momentarily.

They shifted from their somewhat casual, National League form into All-Ireland champions mode, suddenly oozing conviction. Hennelly fired them level with a pressure free but there was more to come. Five minutes plus of stoppage-time brought a haze of drama and tension, culminating in one final, frustrating denouement - from a Tipp perspective.

TEAMS - Galway: Sarah Healy (7), Shauna Healy (6), Sarah Dervan (7), Rachel Hanniffy (7), Roisin Black (7), Emma Helebert (7), Dervla Higgins (7), Aoife Donoghue (7), Niamh Kilkenny (8), Carrie Dolan (7), Rebecca Hennelly (8), Áine Keane (8), Sabina Rabbitte (6), Niamh Hanniffy (7), Ailish O’Reilly (7).

Subs: Siobhan McGrath (8) for Rabbitte (47); Orlaith McGrath (8) for O’Reilly (47); Heather Cooney (7) for Dolan (56).

Tipperary: Áine Slattery (Shannon Rovers 7), Julieanne Bourke (Borris-Ileigh 7), Mary Ryan (Moneygall 7), Eimear Loughman (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7), Sarah Delaney (Boherlahan-Dualla 6), Courtney Ryan (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7), Aoife McGrath (Drom & Inch 7), Caoimhe Maher (Burgess/Duharra 9), Grace O’Brien (Nenagh Eire Og 7), Caoimhe McCarthy (Knockavilla Kickhams 7), Roisin Howard (Cahir 7), Casey Hennessy (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7), Clodagh McIntyre (Lorrha 8), Claire Hogan (St Cillian’s 6), Cáit Devane (Clonoulty/Rossmore 8).

Subs: Ciardha Maher (Burgess/Duharra 7) for Delaney (HT); Karin Blair (Cashel King Cormacs 7) for McCarthy (39); Eimear McGrath (Drom & Inch 7) for Howard (53); Ereena Fryday (Knockavilla Kickhams NR) for Caoimhe Maher (59); Sorcha Ryan (Cashel King Cormacs NR) for M Ryan (60+3 inj).

Referee: John Dermody (Kildare).