Munster Cup (SH) Final/Tipperary 3-13 Waterford 0-13:Two goals in the opening seven minutes and an on-song Eoin Kelly sent Tipperary on their way to a nine-point win in a competitive final of the Waterford Crystal Munster Cup at Templemore yesterday.
It may be only January, and this competition is well down the order of priorities for both counties, but the 3,000 attendance was treated to a full-blooded encounter.
Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy said afterwards that, while he was happy to win, he was under no illusion about the task facing him as he tries to reclaim major trophies for the county.
"Tipperary won this trophy last year and look what happened afterwards. We played reasonably well, but I would have been very disappointed had we not won this game, given the work we have done. Waterford are only coming back into training, and that was the big difference between the sides."
Tipperary set out their stall straight away. Inside the first minute Eoin Kelly had the ball in the Waterford net when he flicked home the rebound of a John O'Brien shot which goalkeeper Clinton Hennessy failed to hold.
It was the ideal start for Tipperary and it got better. In the seventh minute Larry Corbett chalked up number two off a Shane McGrath delivery.
Former All Star Eoin Kelly was razor-sharp in attack, scoring two delightful points from play, as Tipperary built an interval lead of 2-8 to 0-5.
And Kelly sealed Tipperary's win four minutes after the break when he pounced for his second goal, blazing home off an Eamon Corcoran free.
Tipperary were 3-8 to 0-6 clear.
Credit Waterford for a gutsy display. They never threw in the towel, but had to rely on the accuracy of their own Eoin Kelly for the bulk of their scores. Indeed, Waterford scored only three points from play, a statistic which will give manager Justin McCarthy food for thought as he prepares for the start of the National League on Sunday week.
To add to his woes he had defender Wayne Hutchinson, one of Waterford's better players on the day, sent to the line eight minutes from the end for a dangerous tackle on John O'Brien.
Being short a man did not help Waterford's chances of a late rally, but in reality they were never going to catch a spirited Tipperary side who were on top in most departments. They were still three goals adrift (0-12 to 3-12) when Hutchinson was red-carded, and Tipperary's grip on the trophy was well established.
The most encouraging aspect for Tipperary was the display of Kelly. After an indifferent 2007, the Mullinahone man, who captained Tipp, was back to his exceptional best. His goals were vintage Kelly, grasping two half-chances expertly, and he inspired a lively attack, all of whom got on the scoreboard.
Sheehy, was keeping his feet on the ground afterwards, pointing out that Tipperary failed to add to their lead in the second half and that Waterford scored 10 points from frees.
"This is not acceptable. We gave away far too many frees. If we do not sharpen up on that it will come back to bite us when the competition is more serious," he said.
Kelly took the individual honours for Tipp, but he had plenty of competition. Their defence gave Waterford's much-vaunted forward line no scope and little was seen of stars such as Dan Shanahan and John Mullane.
Declan Fanning, a late replacement for flu victim Conor O'Mahoney, was a towering figure at the heart of the defence, with Paul Curran and Benny Dunne also on top of their game. Tipperary also had big games from Séamus Butler and Larry Corbett.
McCarthy won't be too disappointed with the outcome, but he has a lot of work ahead of him as they set about defending their National League title. Few of his "big guns" played to form, though Eoin Kelly did clock up 10 frees.
Wayne Hutchinson, Jack Kennedy, Séamus Prendergast and Shane Walsh all battled hard, but could never match Tipperary's early scoring burst, and their ability to score goals.
TIPPERARY: B Cummins; E Buckley, P Curran, C O'Brien; E Corcoran, D Fanning, B Dunne; J Caesar, S McGrath; S Butler (0-2), R O'Dwyer (0-1), J O'Brien (0-2); E Kelly (2-5, three frees), L Corbett (1-0), P Bourke (0-2). Subs: J Woodlock (0-1) for McGrath, S Callinan for O'Dwyer.
WATERFORD: C Hennessy; A Kearney, D Prendergast, E Murphy; W Hutchinson, B Phelan, J Kennedy; D Bennett, M Walsh (0-1); E Kelly (0-11, 10 frees), S Prendergast, S O'Sullivan; D Shanahan, J Mullane, S Walsh (0-1). Sub: S Casey for Bennett.
Referee: S McMahon (Clare).
