By Jack Flynn
Tipperary 5-14, Waterford 2-6
A hat trick from full forward Alan Slattery helped propel Tipperary to a crushing 5-14 to 2-6 blowout of Waterford in a Senior Hurling match at Gaelic Park on Sunday.
“We knew that today was going to be a hard game, because Waterford is strong,” Slattery said. “But we’re proving that we’re going to win it this year.”
“It” is a Senior Hurling championship, and Tipperary looks like a top contender for the crown. After a slow start on Sunday, they let loose with a scoring barrage that left Waterford far behind.
Waterford jumped out to an early 1-2 to 0-0 advantage, on a goal from Sean Fitzpatrick and points from Mike Molomphey an Pauric Lawlor.
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Owen Cummins, who converted several long frees for Tipperary on the afternoon, put his side on the board soon after, then a Waterford mistake led to an own goal that made the score 1-2 to 1-1.
Molomphey scored his second point on the afternoon to temporarily quiet the storm, but the worst was yet to come for Waterford. Tipperary ran off eight straight points to take a 1-9 to 1-3 lead.
Slattery and Joe Madden each contributed two points to the run, which gave Tipperary a lead they would not relinquish. A Jason Lawlor point just before the half cut into the Tipp lead a bit, but Slattery made sure there would be no cause for alarm.
He scored the first of his three goals in the opening minutes of the second half and Tipperary had a 2-9 to 1-4 lead. A goal by Shane Commerford after points from Cummins and Paul Hogan put Tipp 13 points clear of Waterford.
Slattery scored two goals in succession later in the match, making the score 5-12 to 1-6. The first of the two straight goals was a beauty, as an excellent Jimmy Lyons feed was one-timed into the back of the net by the prolific full forward.
Despite the scoring explosion, Slattery later downplayed the significance of his goals in the match.
“They were put into play well by the boys. They were easy goals,” he said. “The boys set them up for me, and I just put them away.”
Slattery almost had a fourth goal early in the second half, but was stymied by a brilliant save from Waterford keeper Jimmy Duggan. Duggan’s denial caused Slattery to toss his hurley skyward in his displeasure.
Waterford had been put away as well. Points from Cummins and Lyons gave Tipperary a 20-point advantage before Richie Purcell’s surprising goal somewhat softened the devastating blow that had been struck by Tipperary.
Unfortunately, blows of a different kind were struck several times during the match, as several skirmishes escalated into a full-blown confrontation. The fighting gave an otherwise fine match (and perhaps a few combatants) a black eye.
Tipperary scorers: Slattery 3-3, Commerford 1-0, O. Cummins 0-4, Kennedy and Madden 0-2, Lyons, Ryan and Hogan 0-1.
Waterford: Fitzpatrick and Purcell 1-0, Molomphey and Hennessy 0-2, J. Lawlor and P. Lawlor 0-1.