Tipperary 0-7 Tyrone 0-19
Tipperary manager Peter Creedon stepped down in the wake of this 12 point defeat after four seasons in charge.
Creedon cited a new job as a school principal and having served ten of the last twelve years as an inter-county manager, through the age grades, as his primary reasons.
But Tipperary’s collapse here leaves everything in question everything except the undeniable fact that they are a hurling county.
The Colin O’Riordan situation leaves us in no doubt about that.
Football won out for long stretches of the opening 35 minutes. Thereafter it quickly became an established football county easing past their undisciplined, unfocused, inaccurate hosts.
Earlier in the day Tyrone travellers gathered around Hayes hotel, soaking up the history, clearly enjoying their journey to hurling’s capital. They filled up the Kinane stand with the official capacity of 4,620 well short the 7,000 or so who swelled Semple stadium when you include children.
Vociferous was how their radio correspondent described them as Seán Cavanagh and Darren McCurry made hay down the left flank to build a 0-4 to 0-1 lead before Tipp could settle despite their familiar surroundings.
The black stripe down Steven O’Brien’s left hamstring was seemingly enough to keep him upright while we looked for signs of weariness in O’Riordan, who ran into the dirt not 48 hours previous for Tipperary’s under-21 hurlers.
O’Riordan certainly wasn’t the colossus witnessed in Parnell Park last May when Tyrone squeezed past Tipp to the under-21 football All-Ireland. That was a game littered with cynical play and accusations of unnecessary chatter. Tipperary officials denied the Tyrone manager Fergal Logan entry to the losing dressing room to commiserate with them.
A bad feeling hung in the air that night. Tyrone deservedly prevailed though.
That animosity reappeared on the stroke of half-time as the Tipperary management avoided a tunnel brawl by keeping their players on the field until Mickey Harte’s men disappeared.
Always Tyrone. Such a shame when you see the quality of footballer at their disposal.
And we eventually did.
When the left boot of Kevin O'Halloran (0-4 from placed ball), Michael Quinlivan and Robbie Kiely drew Tipp level, Tyrone all too briefly lifted their football to a beautiful plain.
Peter Harte momentarily abandoned his rigorous defensive activity to fly forward and brilliantly point. Alan Campbell broke up two more attacks off Cavanagh but the five time All Star was not to be denied, finishing off some patient yet rapid Tyrone play to make it 0-6 to 0-4.
Harte’s second brilliant score made it 0-7 to 0-4 before O’Halloran’s accuracy brought it back to the minimum.
And then we entered that period of ambiguous violence. O’Brien and Cathal McCarron became entangled. It was a scuffle and it wasn’t a scuffle. They grappled as Tyrone peacemakers arrived with heavy shoulders. This incensed several Tipperary players. O’Brien and McCarron tumbled over the sideline, onto the grass.
When the grabbing petered out, Meath referee David Gough conferred with his lineman before booking Peter Acheson, Joe McMahon, O'Brien and McCarron. A few seconds until half time, Gough thought it a good idea to throw the ball up. More mayhem ensued. Gough quickly whistled for the interval.
There followed the best of Tyrone football; their ability to suck the life out of a contest. A Conor McAliskey point was followed by a Darren McCurry brace and another by McAliskey all within 10 minutes of the throw in.
Then, after Colm Cavanagh won clean possession deep in his own territory, the snoozing Tipperary defence gave McCurry a sight of goal. He aimed for the top corner. The point put Tyrone six clear.
Mattie Donnelly added a fine score, Tyrone's thirteenth, moments later. It was bloodless stuff. O'Riordan was still anonymous, O'Brien was replaced by Liam Casey.
Casey was gone within two minutes for stamping on Colm Cavanagh.
Tipperary discipline crumbled with their challenge. They finished with that straight red, seven yellows and one black card.
It also ended with Harte withdrawing his most prominent players - Harte, Colm Cavanagh, McCurry and McAliskey - as Tipp’s failure to make a contest of it making it seem highly questionable whether they can transfer recent underage success to the senior championship.
Tipperary: 1 Evan Comerford; 7 Alan Campbell, 3 Paddy Codd, 2 Ciarán McDonald; 5 Séamus Kennedy, 23 Robbie Kiely (0-1), 10 Brian Fox; 6 Peter Acheson, 8 Colin O'Riordan; 17 Ger Mulhair, 26 Steven O'Brien, 15 Philip Austin; 13 Kevin O'Halloran (0-5, four frees, 45), 14 Michael Quinlivan (0-1), 11 Conor Sweeney.
Substitutions: 12 Liam Casey for S O'Brien (53 mins), 19 Barry Grogan for P Austin (55 mins),4 Jimmy Feehan for C McDonald (58 mins, black card), 22 Brian Mulvihill for C O'Riordan (64 mins), 20 C Shaughnessy for G Mulhair
(66 mins).
Tyrone: 1 Niall Morgan; 2 Aidan McCrory, 3 Ronan McNamee, 4 Cathal McCarron; 10 Tiernan McCann, 6 Joe McMahon, 5 Ronan McNabb; 8 Colm Cavanagh, 9 Mattie Donnelly (0-3); 11 Mark Bradley, 7 Peter Harte (0-2), 24 Conor Meyler; 13 Darren McCurry (0-5, three frees), 14 Seán Cavanagh (0-3), 15 Conor McAliskey (0-5, three frees).
Substitutions: 18 Jason Lonergan for C Sweeney (39 mins), 21 Conall McCann (0-1) for D McCurry 26 Barry Tierney for C Meyler (58 mins), 17 C Clarke for C Cavanagh, 25 Ronan O'Neill for M Bradley (both 60 mins), 22 P McNulty for P Harte (63 mins), 23 C McShane for C Maliskey (66 mins).
