Forde scores hat-trick as Tipperary cruise past Offaly in Tullamore.
Score: Offaly 1-18 Tipperary 5-24.
Venue: Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore.
Competition: Allianz Hurling League Division 1A (Round 2).
All-Ireland champions Tipperary continued their strong early-season momentum with an emphatic 5-24 to 1-18 victory over Offaly in Round 2 of the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A at Glenisk O’Connor Park this Sunday afternoon.
It was a second win of the campaign for Liam Cahill’s crew, who will be pleased not just with the margin, but with the sharpness of their movement and the opportunity taken to give valuable league minutes to a number of players.
While Offaly are back operating at the top tier and will take positives from their first-half endeavour, injuries and absentees left them facing a formidable task against a Tipperary team that looked well ahead of the curve. Once Tipp moved through the gears early in the second half, the game became a damage-limitation exercise for the home side.
The finishing touch was the clearest separator. Jason Forde delivered a remarkable 3-10, (19pts) with a significant portion of that tally coming from open play, in a display of accuracy and economy that repeatedly punished Offaly, whenever Tipperary created daylight.
Tipperary had effectively seized control by half-time despite playing into the wind, leading 2-12 (18pts) to 1-10 (13pts) at the break. Offaly worked hard to crowd space and make exchanges difficult, but to seriously threaten an upset, they needed to be the side with a cushion at the interval, not seen chasing the champions.
Goals did the heavy lifting. Paddy McCormack struck first on 10 minutes to push Tipp into a 1-4 (7pt) to 0-2 (2pt) lead. Offaly responded through a well-taken opportunist goal from Brian Duignan to bring the contest back to life, but Tipperary steadied immediately and rebuilt their advantage.
A pivotal moment arrived on 28 minutes when Offaly full-back Ben Miller received a black card for hauling down an attacker through the middle, conceding a penalty that Forde thumped to the net to establish a gap Offaly would struggle to bridge.
Any lingering doubt was removed after the restart. A goal from substitute John McGrath in the 39th minute opened the floodgates, and with Tipperary’s tempo rising, Offaly found themselves unable to stem the wave as Forde added another goal driving the score on relentlessly.
Offaly showed spirit in the closing stages and searched for consolation goals, but Tipperary’s defence held firm. Forde completed his hat-trick late on, after an initial effort struck the post, to cap an afternoon that underlined both Tipperary’s early league sharpness and the size of the challenge facing a rebuilding Offaly side, back at the top table.
Scorers:
Tipperary: Jason Forde 3-10 (1-0, penalty, 5-f and 2 x’65’s); John McGrath 1-1; Conor Stakelum and Jack Leamy 0-3 each; Paddy McCormack 1-0; Darragh Stakelum and Josh Keller 0-2 each and Conor Martin, Gearoid O’Connor, Noel McGrath 0-1 each.
Offaly: Brian Duignan 1-2; Eoghan Cahill 0-4 (2-f ); Dan Bourke 0-3; Oisin Kelly and Liam Hoare (2-f ) 0-2 each and Ben Conneely, Luke Watkins, Dan Ravenhill, Cathal King, Adam Screeney (-f ) 0-1 each.
Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Brecon Kavanagh); Tipperary – 1 (Noel McGrath).
Black cards: Offaly – 1 (Ben Miller).
Referee: C McDonald (Antrim).
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