Tipperary 3-13 Waterford 0-13
Sunday, 27 January 2008Eoin Kelly starred as Tipperary lifted the Waterford Crystal Cup for the second year running at Templemore.
The Mullinahone marksman shot 2-5 as Tipp comfortably beat Waterford to secure the first silverware of Liam Sheedy's managerial reign.
Kelly's goal after only 45 seconds and Lar Corbett's opportunistic seventh-minute strike sent Sheedy's men on their way.
Kelly's second goal arrived four minutes after the break.
Waterford trailed by 2-8 to 0-5 at half-time and relied on their own Eoin Kelly for ten of their points.
The Deise lined out with a largely experimental team but their big names, including Dan Shanahan and John Mullane, performed well below par.
In a cracking opening, Tipp talisman Kelly got in on the end of a John O'Brien shot to beat Clinton Hennessy in the Waterford goal.
Kelly's namesake landed his first free in reply before Michael 'Brick' Walsh doubled Waterford's tally for a 1-0 to 0-2 scoreline.
Seamus Butler then watched his point attempt bounce over off the crossbar and the bar also had a role to play in Corbett's goal.
The Thurles Sarsfield clubman was the first to react to the rebounded shot, he caught the ball and netted clinically from five metres out.
Waterford's Kelly landed his third point in the 12th-minute, cutting the gap to 2-2 to 0-4, but his Tipperary namesake hit four points in a row between the 17th and 22nd minutes, including a brilliant 'over the shoulder' score, to stretch his side into a comfortable lead.
Kelly of Waterford and Tipp's Pa Bourke traded points late in the half as Sheedy's charges turned around with a 2-8 to 0-5 buffer, with only one of Waterford's first half points come from play.
Neither side were able to produce top form in a second half that saw Tipp easily maintain their advantage.
Waterford captain Walsh led by example but too few of his colleagues failed to match his standard.
Kelly's second goal effectively sealed the result for Tipp.
Waterford's afternoon went for bad to worse when their wing-back Wayne Hutchinson was red carded.
