Tipperary started where they left off last season with a comfortable 20-point win over Derry at Thurles yesterday.

The margin of victory flattered Tipperary, who found a battling Derry hard to subdue and it wasn't until the closing stages that the champions ran up the match-winning scores. Derry were the more committed side early on but a Paul Shelley goal after 16 minutes put Tipperary 1-3 to 0-3 ahead. Derry responded immediately and went four points clear when John O'Dwyer finished Geoffrey McGonagle's pass to the net.

Tipperary then stepped up a gear. Goals from Mark O'Leary in the 28th minute and Paddy O'Brien in the 30th minute gave them a 3-7 to 1-9 lead at the break. Derry were still in with a chance going into the last quarter. Then Eugene O'Neill raced through for a smashing Tipperary goal in the 16th minute. That sparked a litany of Tipperary scores, climaxed by an injury-time goal by Paul Ryan.

It was not a quality display by Tipperary, but they fully deserved the points. Eugene O'Neill was Tipperary's man of the match.

Tipperary: B Cummins; P Ormonde, F Heaney, M Ryan; B Horgan, D Kennedy, P Maher; E Enright (0-1), E O'Neill (1-5); M O'Leary (1-3), J Carroll (0-1), A Moloney (0-1); P O'Brien (1-3), P Shelley (1-1), T Dunne (0-4). Subs: E Corcoran for Heaney, D Fahey for Ormonde, P Ryan (1-1) for A Moloney, M Ryan for E O'Neill.

Derry: K Stevenson; E McKeever, C Murray, N Mullan; B Ward, C McEldowney, B Kelly; O Collins (0-4), D Cassidy; K McCloy, K McKeever, R McCloskey; D Doherty, G McGonagle (0-6), J O'Dwyer (1-1). Subs: P McEldowney for Mullan, M Collins (0-1) for Doherty, K O'Hagan for McCloskey, M Quinn for P McEldowney, S McCartney for Cassidy.

Referee: S McMahon (Clare).