Celtic Challenge
The Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge Cup finals took place across three venues over the course of this weekend, and there were wins for Sligo, Kildare Lily Whites, North Cork, Offaly and Tipperary in their games played at Abbottstown, Markievicz Park and the TUS Gaelic Grounds. The action will also extend into next week as Wicklow Blue and Laois played out a thrilling 1-16 to 2-13 draw in Sunday’s only contest, with the replay provisionally set to take place next Saturday.
Tipperary and Galway played out a contest of incredible intensity and physicality on Saturday afternoon at the National Centre of Excellence in Abbottstown, with the Premier County eventually showing their class to lift the Corn Michael Hogan.
The contest was live streamed and can still be viewed on the official GAA youtube channel, and there should be plenty of viewers from the Premier County after they produced a masterclass of powerful, direct and classy hurling to win by 3-17 to 0-9.
Robbie Ryan top-scored for the winners with a bountiful haul of 1-10, but it was the industry and power of players like Simon Blackmore, Daniel Rossiter and Bill Flanagan that helped set the tone to Tipperary.
Vice-captain Jim Ryan played a free role as a sweeper and Galway couldn’t find a way to keep the ball away from the Holycross/Ballycahill player, despite some excellent hurling from players like Niall Feeney and David Mannion.
Robbie Ryan set the tone with a magnificent strike from out on the right wing while David McGrath also led the line well and popped over two good first half points, at a time when both sides struggled to adapt to swirling breeze. Shane Buckley notionally lined out at corner forward but dropped back to play a marking role at centre back, which freed up Jim Ryan to control the game from the edge of his own arc.
At 0-9 to 0-4 in arrears at half-time, Galway were just about hanging in, but they were rocked back when a barnstorming run from Blackmore set up Rossiter for the game’s first goal in the opening minute of the second half.
Darragh Kelly fired in a second with his very first touch after coming onto the field, also laid on by Blackmore, and Tipperary were well on their way to their 3-17 to 0-9 victory by the time Ryan whipped in their third goal with roughly ten minutes to play.
Tipperary team: James O’Dwyer; Oisín O’Donoghue, Darragh Linnane, Pádraic O’Dwyer; Eoin Larkin, Jim Ryan, Kieran Purcell; James Doyle, Kieran Grace; Bill Flanagan, Robbie Ryan (1-10, 0-6f), Simon Blackmore (0-1); Daniel Rossiter (1-0), David McGrath (0-2), Shane Buckley.
Subs Used: Joey Davis, Anthony Walsh (0-1), Darragh Kelly (1-1), Jamie Lahart (0-1), Andrew Irwin, Jack Bergin, Conor Cooney, Luke Ryan, Daniel McAllister (0-1), Emmet Ralph, Cathal Treacy, Danny Quinn, Filip McIntyre, Cormac Bourke.
Visit https://tipperary.gaa.ie/tipperary-gaa-scene-june-8th-2022/
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