All square in League Final Thriller

Waterford and Tipperary have to do it all over again as the LIDL Division 3 final played in Conneff Park Clane Co. Kildare ended all square in a welter of excitement. Played in conditions which saw the pitch surface become very slippery with a heavy shower before throw-in both teams dished up a brilliant exhibition of non-stop football which ebbed and flowed from end to end. Tipperary were dealt a double hammer blow with two injuries, the first being to Niamh Lonergan who was injured in the warm-up and had to be replaced by Eimear Myles and after only 23 seconds of the game half back Claire Carroll had to be replaced by Bernie Ryan.

Waterford started brightly, a run from mid-field from Katie Murray left the young Comeragh Rangers star in front of goal and she made no mistake and duly dispatched the ball to the Tipp net in the 2^nd minute to give Waterford the dream start they were looking for. Waterford could have had a second goal but Sinead Ryan’s shot was expertly saved at the expense of a 45 metre kick by Tipperary goalie Patricia Hickey .Maria Delahunty made no mistake with the 45 to add to Waterford’s lead with a wonderful point to leave four between the sides after 5 minutes. Tipp star corner forward Aisling Moloney open the Premiere County’s account on 6 minutes but this was cancelled out with a Katie Murray point in the 9^th minute.

Waterford extended their lead with two well taken points the first from Maria Delahunty and the second by Sinead Ryan when referee Gavin Corrigan played an excellent advantage. Liz Devine added to the Waterford tally with a point on 14 minutes to stretch the advantage to six points but Tipperary roared back with a point from Aisling Moloney and a wonderful goal from full forward Edel Hanley having been set up by Moloney to turn the game around in the 16^th minute of the first half. Waterford responded well to this onslaught and had three unanswered points from Katie Murray, Sinead Ryan and Caoimhe Mc Grath. Eimear Myles hit back with a Tipp point on 20 minutes before the game was held up with a long stoppage due to an injury to Waterford’s Grainne Kenneally who was replaced at this stage by Ciara Hurley. Hurley made an instant impact with a perfect pass to Aileen Wall whose rocket of a shot hit the cross bar and was somehow cleared by the Tipp defence. Waterford got an unexpected boost when a free from 45metres deceived everyone and nestled in the back of the Tipp net to give Waterford a 2-9 to 1-4 advantage with three minutes left in the first half. But Tipperary did not buckle under this blow and a sweeping attack led to Aisling Moloney getting Tipperary’s second goal in the last minute of the first half to leave the score at half time Waterford 2-9 Tipperary 1-4

This lead was held for the first eight minutes of the second half as both teams cancelled out each other with the only scores being a point from Maria Delahunty and a reply from Aisling Moloney.The game was turned on its head in the 11^th minute when Michelle Mc Grath was sin-binned and Tipp took full advantage. Waterford goalie Katie Hannon was dispossessed by Aisling Moloney and the Cahir girl kicked it into an empty net for a Tipp goal. This was followed by points from Aisling Mc Carthy, Gillian O Brien and Aisling Moloney to leave Tipperary in the lead for the first time with 13 minutes remaining. Credit to the Waterford girls however they refused to panic and points from Sinead Ryan and substitute Roisin Tobin put the Déise back in front by one with 11 minutes to go. Eimear Myles levelled matters in the 21^st minute and it looked all over for Waterford when midfielder Sheelagh Carew put Tipp back in front with two minutes left on the clock. Waterford attacked and were rewarded when Maria Delahunty slotted over the equaliser with 33 seconds on the clock. There was time for one last Waterford attack but the Tipperary defence held out to ensure that the teams will have to meet in a replay.

Scorers for Waterford: M Delahunty 1-4 (1-2f, 0-1 ,45f), K Murray 1-2, S Ryan 0-4 (1f), C McGrath, L Devine & R Tobin 0-1 each.

Scorers for Tipperary: A Moloney 2-4, E Hanley 1-0, G O’Brien 0-2, S Carew, E Myles, E Carroll & A McCarthy 0-1 each.

WATERFORD: K Hannon; M Wall, M McGrath, L Wall, E Murray; M Dunford, L Ryan; G Kenneally, K Murray; C McGrath, M Ryan, M Delahunty; S Ryan, L Devine, A Wall.

Subs: C Hurley for Kenneally (23), Kenneally for Devine (37), R Tobin for M Ryan (42), A Mullaney for Kenneally (51), L Mc Gregor for Hurley (57).

TIPPERARY: P Hickey; B Condon, S Lambert, S Delahunty; A O’Dwyer, J Grant, C Carroll; L O’Shea, S Carew; C Walsh, M Morrissey, E Myles; A Moloney, G O’Brien, E Hanley.

Subs: B Ryan for Carroll (1), A McCarthy for Ryan (h.t), E Carroll for Walsh (44), K Hackett for Hanley (54).