Tipperary 4-20; Kilkenny 0-30
On a weekend of hurling semi-finals, who would have believed that 13 goals would have been scored across the two matches - and that Kilkenny would not register a single green flag.
The Cats’ calling card in the Brian Cody era was goals, goals and more goals as DJ Carey, Eddie Brennan, Henry Shefflin and Co. terrified defenses every time they hit Croke Park for a Liam MacCarthy quarter, semi or final contest.
The absence of a potent goal threat against Tipperary was the single biggest reason why it is the blue and gold, and not the black and amber, which will face Cork on Sunday week in the All Ireland final.
The losers hit 30 scores to their opponents 24, but in the crucial ledger entry under three-pointers, they were sadly lacking, despite having Eoin Cody, Mossy Keoghan and TJ Reid in their full -forward line.
So history awaits us as the majestic Rebels will be overwhelming favorites following their 20-point decimation of Dublin to complete a hat-trick of League, Munster and All Ireland titles against a Liam Cahill led Tipp side which has come from virtually nowhere this season to be one of only two teams still standing.
And they can thank super sub Oisín O'Donoghue who came on and despite being surrounded by half a dozen Kilkenny jerseys, managed to unleash an exocet to the top corner of the net - a strike that gave goalkeeper Eoin Murphy absolutely no chance.
It looked anything but rosy for the Premier county 10 minutes earlier when teenage forward Darragh McCarthy saw red for the second time this summer.
Even then when leading by two points, a smash and grab victory looked on when Cats center forward John Donnelly unleashed a goal-bound shot which beat goalkeeper Rhys Shelley but corner back Robert Doyle was on the line to bat the ball away to a teammate before Wexford ref James Owens called time on an absorbing derby game.
Tipp’s last appearance in the final came six years ago when they beat the same opposition after Richie Hogan had been controversially sent off. This time around, they faced a Pat Ryan led Cork side who appear to have the measure of all sides, particularly as Dublin did them the favor of removing Limerick from the semi-final equation.
On the evidence of this year’s championship, there is no doubt that the standards in Leinster have slipped as six-in-a-row winners Kilkenny were nowhere near the standards of old and now have lost successive All Ireland semi-finals.
Derek Lyng’s side started like a train and scored the first eight points of the game which might have counted had Tipp not found a route to goal on three first half occasions.
The first scored by veteran John McGrath was quickly followed by two clever net finders from McCarthy and a lob volley from man of the match Jason Forde. The fact that all three in the full forward line scored and O’Donoghue when he entered that line, showed up how poorly the much vaunted Kilkenny full back line played on the day.
Despite playing poorly the first-half goals gave Tipp a 3-11 to 0-16 interval lead but when they missed four point chances on the resumption, it looked like they were leaving the door open for the Cats to go in and take the cream.
The evergreen TJ Reid in contrast was deadly accurate mostly from frees while Keoghan with 0-6 from play was the one Kilkenny forward who enhanced his reputation in this encounter.
The teams were level by the 48th minute and with McCarthy departing on the 58 minute, well the game was there for the taking for the Leinster men, if they were good enough.
It was Tipperary who manned up from there to the final whistle with Forde showing nerves of steel to land four crucial frees to keep his side level until O’Donoghue shot home the deciding score.
At the end of the day Kilkenny were slow to make changes when Tipp’s plan to get Huw Lawlor away from the full back position was not neutered in time to prevent the three first half goals.
Cahill and his backroom team came out well on the tactical front with the switch of Ronan Maher to mark Reid and Eoghan Connolly positioned at centre back from where he scored three great first half points, worked like a dream on the day. That and the inclusion of Conor Stakelum who also scored three points and covered every blade of grass in a midfield which did well against Cian Kenny and Jordan Molloy, who hit four points on the day.
Afterwards, a clearly emotional Cahill praised the bravery of his charges to fight to the end. “It's so hard to process after a titanic battle like that but I’m just really proud of the battling quality of our players today.
“It was two age-old rivals going at it hammer and tongs and huge credit to Kilkenny as well. They’re just a super hurling county and you never have them put away. It’s testament to our guys and the commitment and the work ethic they’ve shown all week has been incredible. I’m very proud of them.
“Towards the middle of the first half we got to grips with the way that we intended to play and we were reasonably happy going in four up at halftime. We lost our way again at the start of the second half, but we finished with a flurry and it’s credit to the work that has been done with these fellas.
“The younger brigade again came to the table and with the mix of the more elder statesmen helped make it a great day for Tipperary,” he emphasized.
He went on: “I genuinely thought with three or four minutes to go that we weren’t going to get out the gap. Richie Reed with that short puckout was hurting us big time, it was just so difficult when you were playing 15 against 14 and with the skill of those Kilkenny players and the way they were able to work the ball up the field.
“But the way we were able to work back and defend together, and then attack together even though we were down to 14 with whatever minutes to go, it was testament to the resilience and the big commitment and fitness levels that these guys have,” he added.
Kilkenny: E Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, S Murphy; M Carey, R Reid, P Deegan; C Kenny (0-2), J Molloy (0-4); A Mullen (0-2), J Donnelly (0-1), B Ryan (0-2); M Keoghan (0-6), TJ Reid (0-11, 0-8f, 0-1 65), E Cody (0-2) Subs: D Blanchfield for S Murphy (h-t), K Doyle for Kenny (70), St Donnelly for Mullen (65).
Tipperary: R Shelly; R Doyle, E Connolly (0-3), M Breen; C Morgan, R Maher, B O'Mara; W Connors, C Stakelum (0-3); J Morris (0-4), A Ormond, S O'Farrell (0-1); D McCarthy (1-2, 0-2f), J McGrath (1-2), J Forde (1-5, 0-4f) Subs: N McGrath for J McGrath (50), A Tynan for O'Farrell (53), D Stakelum for Connors (57), O O'Donoghue (1-0) for C Stakelum (63), S Kenneally for Ormond (70).
Ref: J Owens (Wexford).
