Tipperary claim first Minor title since 1934

GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship FinalDublin 1-14 Tipperary 3-9

Tipperary are All-Ireland Minor champions for the first time since 1934 following a dramatic victory over Dublin in a thrilling final at Croke Park on Sunday.

After a brilliant start – they scored 1-1 in the first two minutes – Tipperary trailed until the closing stages of the game when Colman Kennedy smashed home a 57th minute goal that effectively won them the title.

Dublin responded well to the concession of that early goal and a purple patch which yielded 1-7 without reply, including a Gavin Ivory wonder strike, left them comfortably ahead, 1-10 to 2-2, at the break.

However, the Dubs probably should have led by more at that stage but for a Michael Quinlivan penalty just before half-time, which gave Tipperary a cause to rally around.

And rally they did, kicking the first four points of the second half to cut the gap back to a single point within seven minutes of the restart.

Philip Quirke, who was brought on as a sub at half-time, made a massive impact in the second half, scoring three points from play and keeping Tipperary in the game as the clock counted down.

Then, with three minutes left Dublin goalkeeper Ross O’Hanlon unwisely sent a hand pass to full-back Robert McDaid, who was stripped of the ball and substitute Kennedy rifled it into the top corner.

Although Ciarán Kilkenny kicked his seventh point of the game in injury time to close the gap to one, Dublin failed to find an equaliser and the victory went to the Premier County, just their second ever in the grade.

As rank outsiders to win a first Minor title in 77 years, Tipperary needed a good start. They got a great one, Bill Maher sending over a point at the end of the first move of the game, before danger man Liam McGrath scored a quite remarkable goal a minute later. McGrath sliced through the entire Dublin defence and finished neatly past O’Hanlon to give his side a 1-1 to 0-0 lead.

Dublin, clearly the bigger and stronger side, soon got on top after that poor start and two Paul Mannion points did a lot to settle their nerves. After that the powerful Dublin midfield of Emmet Ó Conghaile and Patrick O’Higgins began to dominate and it was one-way traffic for the next 15 minutes.

Just six minutes in, Dublin had scrubbed Tipp’s lead, as Gavin Ivory did his very best to outdo Liam McGrath by scoring an equally stunning goal. Ivory profited from Dublin’s ability to win primary ball, took a pass in his stride and unleashed a superb shot into the top corner.

With Ciarán Kilkenny and Cormac Costello shining in attack, Dublin racked up 1-7 without reply in an electrifying 14-minute spell. Tipperary were struggling without any real target in attack and they continually coughed up possession.

However, they might well have come right back into the game when Ian Fahey was presented with a great chance after good work by Maher, but the giant midfielder skewed his shot badly wide. Tipperary had a goal just before the break, though, when Liam McGrath was taken down by Dublin goalkeeper O’Hanlon and referee Pádraig Hughes pointed to the spot. Quinlivan smashed home from the spot.

Five down at the break, that gap was cut to one within seven minutes of the second half, as Kennedy and Quirke, half-time subs, mad a huge impact in the Tipperary attack.

It was nip and tuck until the closing stages when Kennedy stepped up to inscribe his name in Tipperary folklore with a brilliantly-taken goal.

Dublin Scorers: C Kilkenny 0-7 (0-3f), G Ivory 1-1, P Mannion 0-2 (0-1f), C Costello 0-1, E Ó Conghaile 0-1, J McCaffrey 0-1, J Small 0-1.

Tipperary Scorers: L McGrath 1-2, C Kennedy 1-2, M Quinlivan 1-1 (1-0 pen), P Quirke 0-3, B Maher 0-1.

Dublin: R O’Hanlon; G Hannigan, R McDaid, R Real; E Lowndes, J Small, J McCaffrey; P O’Higgins, E Ó Conghaile; C Costello, C Kilkenny, G Ivory; S Fulham, P Mannion, C Meaney.Subs: D Campbell for C Meaney (40), D Byrne for G Hannigan (53), N Scully for S Fulham (60).

Tipperary: E Comerford; N O’Sullivan, J Meagher, C O’Sullivan; C O’Riordan, D Fitzelle, S Kennedy; S O’Brien, I Fahey; G Henry, P Quirke, B Maher; L McGrath, M Quinlivan, TJ Ryan.Subs: P Quirke for J McGrath (HT), C Kennedy for TJ Ryan (HT), A McGuire for C O’Riordan (44), J Lonergan for G Henry (51), J Martin for B Maher (55).

Referee: P Hughes (Armagh)