Tipperary snatch draw late on against Waterford in Munster Championship

Tipperary snatched a draw with Waterford to stay afloat in the Munster Championship after trailing by four points in injury time.

Waterford looked to have held off Tipp’s best efforts coming down the stretch to record a second successive win in front of 11,966 at Walsh Park but a goal from sub Seanie Kenneally in the 72nd minute cut the gap to one and Gearoid O’Connor converted a free at the death, a dubious call by referee James Owens following a challenge by Tadhg de Burca on Jake Morris.

It wasn’t the result that either side particularly wanted but, with two home games now to come for Tipp as Cork and Clare come to Thurles, while Waterford now go on the road against Clare and Limerick, it’s a more useful point for Liam Cahill against his old team.

Cahill, as expected, made three changes from the 15-point defeat to Limerick as Cathal Barrett, Noel McGrath and Darragh Stakelum came in for Johnny Ryan, Willie Connors and Sean Hayes respectively and their already brittle confidence was rattled by a fast Waterford start.

The home side opened with a goal in the fourth minute, a penalty converted by Stephen Bennett after a combination of Craig Morgan and Cathal Barrett fouled Michael Kiely as he charged at goal.

Dessie Hutchinson tagged on a brilliant point a minute later but Tipperary settled and brought the game to Waterford for much of the next 20 minutes or so, with Mark Kehoe having a penalty claim waved away, while Stakelum drew a fine save from Shaun O’Brien.

Kehoe was a problem for Waterford as hit 0-3 in the first half with Mark Fitzgerald picking up marking duties on him after Conor Prunty was forced off in the seventh minute.

Kehoe’s third point put Tipp in front for the first time in the 22nd minute and Jason Forde doubled the advantage before Waterford hit back, with points from the impressive Bennett and Darragh Lyons drawing them level.

Hutchinson then picked out Jack Prendergast, who was inexplicably left unmarked in front of the Tipp goal and drilled past Barry Hogan to raise his side’s second green flag in the 28th minute.

Waterford held a two-point lead at half-time, 2-8 to 0-12, and although they matched Tipp for wides struck (seven each), may have felt they could have put some more distance between the sides given the source of their misses, with Hutchinson’s radar deserting him as he hit four uncharacteristic misses.

He missed a free from in front of the posts early in the second half as Tipp hit the first four points without reply but quick-thinking from the Ballygunner man helped deliver Waterford’s third goal as he played a free to Bennett, who fired past a thicket of defenders on 42 minutes.

Waterford were never led from there though couldn’t shake Tipp off either and while a draw looked a likely outcome for periods, and the sides were locked at 3-16 to 0-25 in the 66th minute, it came about in a most unlikely manner.

Waterford hit four points without reply through sub Patrick Curran (two), Hutchinson (free) and Calum Lyons and though John McGrath replied for Tipp, a brilliant move ending with Jack Prendergast restored the four-point advantage and seemed to have wrapped up both match points for Davy Fitzgerald’s side.

But Kenneally scrambled the ball to the net after Morris’s effort flashed across goal, before the latter earned a free and, with it, a share of the spoils.

WATERFORD: S O’Brien; I Daly, C Prunty, K Bennett (0-1); C Lyons (0-3), T de Burca, M Fitzgerald; N Montgomery (0-1), D Lyons (0-1); J Prendergast (1-1), S Bennett (2-3, 1-0 pen), J Barron; D Hutchinson (0-6, 0-3f), M Kiely (0-1), K Mahony.

Subs: J Fagan (0-1) for Prunty (7), Shane Bennett (0-1) for Mahony (51), P Hogan for Montgomery (58), Patrick Curran (0-2) for Stephen Bennett (64).

TIPPERARY: Barry Hogan; C Barrett, R Maher (0-2, 0-f), C Morgan; M Breen (0-1), B O’Mara, C Bowe; A Tynan (0-2), E Connolly (0-2); G O’Connor (0-4, 0-3f), N McGrath (0-2), J Forde (0-3, 0-2f); J Morris (0-3), M Kehoe (0-4), D Stakelum (0-1).

Subs: Patrick Maher (0-1) for Forde (51), W Connors for Connolly (54), J McGrath (0-1) for McGrath (56), S Kenneally (1-1) for Stakelum (64), D McCormack for O’Mara (68).

REFEREE: J Owens (Wexford).

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