Kenneally catches the eye in Tipp win

There was no repeat of their famous win of 2022 for the Kerry senior hurlers over Tipperary as Liam Cahill’s charges were much too good for their visitors in their dead-rubber Munster Hurling League clash on Sunday.

GAA: Coop Superstores Munster Hurling League Group B Round 3

Tipperary 1-28

Kerry 1-14

Report: Shane Brophy in Nenagh

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Sean Kenneally (Tipperary)

SCORERS - Tipperary: Gearoid O’Connor 1-10 (1-0 pen, 0-8 frees, 0-2 65s); Sean Kenneally 0-4 (1 free); Barry Heffernan 0-3; Conor Bowe, Cian O’Dwyer, Conor Whelan (1 free, 1 ’65) 0-2 each; Bryan O’Mara, Mark Kehoe, David Kelly, John Campion, Max Hackett 0-1 each.

Kerry: Shane Conway 0-8 frees; Dan Goggin 1-2; Luke Crowley 0-3; Brandon Barrett 0-1.

With both sides having lost to Waterford in their respective round 1 openers, there was little at stake on a bitter afternoon, although Kerry were still very much in the mix at half time, trailing 0-17 to 1-11 with Shane Conway top-scoring with seven points while Dan Goggin scored a well-taken 25th minute goal.

It was very much an experimental Tipperary side with just seven players having featured in the 2023 championship, but an All-Ireland medal winner in 2016 & 2019 Barry Heffernan, who missed last year through injury, impressed with three points from midfield on home turf.

Gearoid O’Connor top-scored with 1-10, all coming from placed balls, including a 46th minute penalty goal following a foul on Andrew Ormond but the moved owed much to Sean Kenneally who was his sides leading performer with three points from play but also was an excellent ball-winner in difficult conditions.

“It was kind of a mixed bag really,” admitted Tipp manager Liam Cahill in the aftermath.

“Delighted with some aspects of our play, delighted with some of our new guys coming in, it was a good mix between new fellas and guys blended in from twelve months previous.

“We were a little slow to get going, our discipline was a bit of a concern early on giving away a lot of cheap frees but once we settled down to put extra pressure on Kerry and force Kerry to go long on their puckout, we started to take over.

He added: “Every inter-county team are in a heavy block of training in January, that is the only real window you get to get in the heavy work. We trained reasonably hard on Friday night, and you could see signs of that today early on, we were that bit heavy legged, but it is all about getting preparation for the first round of the league on February 3rd against Dublin.”

Catching the Eye

In games such as these where Tipp had nothing to gain and were expected to win, management can learn most about the attitude of a player who is willing to go hard in January hurling as you can also rely on them when the going gets tough in the summer.

With time running out before the panel is culled ahead of the start of the National League, it was an opportunity for players to catch the eye and one off the back of Sean Ryan’s impressive display against Waterford, the standout in this game was Sean Kenneally, the Moneygall clubman a constant thorn in the Kerry defence from the first minute to the last in terms of making the ball stick in the full forward line, and also chipping in with three points from play, as well as being central to the move that led to the penalty.

In terms of other fringe players, Enda Dunphy had a solid debut in goals while there was certainly an element of Tipp working on a few puckout moves. Brian McGrath struggled out of position at full-back while the half back of Enda Heffernan, Bryan O’Mara and Conor Bowe were commanding.

The notable feature of the early season games has been the consistent trialling of Conor Bowe at left wing back and he impressed again, and you can see what the management are thinking in terms of having a powerful runner from deep in the mould of Kyle Hayes and can take a score too. The only mark against him was that Kerry’s Luke Crowley picked off two points going the other way but those are elements Bowe has to work on and is certainly a plus point so far.

Having the power and guile of Barry Heffernan pack after missing the 2023 campaign is certainly welcome while outside of Kenneally, Cian O’Dwyer was the pick of the other starting forwards, along with Gearoid O’Connor, while held scoreless from play, is developing into a real leader.

All subs bar keeper Rhys Shelly got a run with Ballina’s David Kelly particularly catching the eye with his quick feet and pace. A fantastic juvenile hurler, injuries have beset him over the years, but he had a very good club campaign last year and justified a good look, also with Gavin O’Halloran and Max Hackett showing well, while Conor Whelan has really filled out into an imposing half-back and his long range free-taking will be an aspect that will be in his favour when the final panel is confirmed in the coming weeks.

TEAMS - Tipperary: Enda Dunphy (St Mary’s 6); Cathal Quinn (Cashel King Cormacs 7), Brian McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney 6), Killian O’Dwyer (Killenaule 6); Enda Heffernan (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7), Bryan O’Mara (Holycross/Ballycahill 7), Conor Bowe (Moyne-Templetuohy 8); Barry Heffernan (Nenagh Eire Og 7), Johnny Ryan (Arravale Rovers 7); Cian O’Dwyer (Clonakenny 7), Gearoid O’Connor (Moyne-Templetuohy 7), Josh Keller (Nenagh Eire Og 6); Mark Kehoe (Kilsheelan/Kilcash 6), Mikey O’Shea (Mullinahone 6), Sean Kenneally (Moneygall 8).

Subs: Danny Slattery (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7) for K O’Dwyer (20 inj); Andrew Ormond (JK Brackens 7) for O’Shea (HT inj); David Kelly (Ballina 7) for Quinn (49); Gavin O’Halloran (Carrick Swan 6) for B Heffernan (49); Darragh Stakelum (Thurles Sarsfields 6) for C O’Dwyer (49); John Campion (Drom & Inch 7) for E Heffernan (55); Pauric Campion (Drom & Inch 6) for Ryan (49); Max Hackett (Moycarkey/Borris 7) for O’Connor (55); Joe Fogarty (Moneygall 6) for Keller (60); Conor Whelan (Mullinahone 7) for O’Mara (60).

Kerry: Louis Dee (7); Morgan Madden (6), Evan Murphy (7), Kyle O’Connor (7); Ronan Walsh (7), Daithi Griffin (6), Tomas O’Connor (6); Darragh Shanahan (6), Killian Hayes (6); Luke Crowley (7), Shane Conway (8), Brandon Barrett (6); Dan Goggin (7), Michael Leane (7), Tom Doyle (6).

Subs: Gavin Dooley (6) for Doyle (49); Maurice O’Connor (6) for Shanahan (49); Feilim O’Sullivan (6) for T O’Connor (59); Niall Mulcahy (6) for Crowley (59); David Woulfe for Goggin (60); Seanie Brosnan (6) for Leane (69); Tom Doyle for Walsh (70+1 inj).

Referee: Joe Mullins (Clare).