Tipperary 1-24 Waterford 0-5
The hip injury that forced Colin O’Riordan to hobble off during the second half of Sunday’s Munster SFC quarter-final was the only setback on an otherwise superb afternoon for Tipperary’s senior footballers.
The Premier County hammered hapless Waterford by 22 points at Semple Stadium to set up a Munster semi-final showdown with provincial and All-Ireland champions Kerry on June 14th.
But O’Riordan, an All Star nominee last year and captain of the Tipp under-21 team that contested last month’s All-Ireland final, made way in the 42nd minute.
By then, the end result was never in doubt as Tipp were 13 points clear at half-time, 1-13 to 0-3.
Peter Creedon's rampant hosts were six points in front before Waterford registered their first score and in the entire second half, the Déise managed just a point from play, scored by corner back Shane Briggs.
It really was that bad for a Waterford side that must somehow regroup for the qualifiers following this demoralising defeat.
But Tipp’s performance provided further encouragement that a senior breakthrough might be just around the corner.
They went desperately close to shocking Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last year before hitting back to reach the fourth round of All-Ireland qualifiers. And on this evidence, Kerry could be in for an uncomfortable afternoon.
Steven O’Brien, O’Riordan’s midfield sidekick at under-21 level, was the star of the show for Tipp with six points from play, three in each half.
But O’Brien was just one of 10 different scorers for Tipp on a productive afternoon.
In front of 1,641 spectators, Tipp claimed the only goal of the game in the 25th minute when Michael Quinlivan fisted home the loose ball after Conor Sweeney struck Sean Barron's left-hand upright with a free.
Tipp piled on the misery for Waterford in the second half, opening with five unanswered points before Briggs registered the Déise’s opening point of the second period in the 51st minute.
A more accurate barometer of where Tipp stand will be provided by Kerry, who beat them by 17 points in Killarney two years ago.
But Tipp manager Peter Creedon is confident that the gap has closed considerably since then.
He said: “We are moving on, we’re moving up a level alright.
“It was a good win, the lads played very well in the first quarter of an hour and probably put the game out of Waterford’s reach.”
The main concern for Creedon in the immediate aftermath of yesterday’s win was O’Riordan’s wellbeing.
And he admitted: “His hip is quite sore. He had a scan last week so fingers crossed but it doesn’t look too good to be honest.
“His hips are at him – a common injury now for a lot of players.
“Please God it might settle down after a day or two.”
Creedon’s opposite number, Tom McGlinchey, could offer up no excuses for his side’s abject display.
He said: “You prepare a team, you send them out to battle and you hope they perform to the best of their abilities.
“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.”
TIPPERARY: E Comerford; P Codd, C McDonald, R Kiely; A Campbell, P Acheson (0-1), S Kennedy (0-1); S O'Brien (0-6), G Hannigan (0-2); G Mulhaire (0-1), C O'Riordan, P Austin (0-3); C Sweeney (0-3, two frees), M Quinlivan (1-3, one free), B Fox (0-3).
Subs: J Lonergan (0-1) for O'Riordan (42 mins), B Grogan for Quinlivan (44 mins), L Casey for Sweeney (58 mins), B Mulvihill for Fox (58 mins), A Morrissey for Acheson (64 mins), S Flynn for Mulhaire (66 mins).
WATERFORD: S Barron; T Ó hUallacháin, T O'Gorman; M O'Gorman; D Crowley, S Briggs (0-1), L Lawlor; P Hurney, T Prendergast; M Ferncombe, M O'Halloran (0-2), JJ Hutchinson (0-2, two frees); M Curry, P Whyte, J Veale.
Subs: L Ó'Lonáin for Curry (half-time), C O'Keeffe for Hurney (49 mins), S Prendergast for Ferncombe (51 mins), R O'Ceallaigh for Whyte (59 mins).
Referee: R Hickey (Clare)
