Tipperary stutter past the Saffrons

Antrim put up a brave fight but could only score a single point in the second half as they were overhauled by Tipperary on a 1-11 to 0-08 scoreline in their Allianz NHL Division 1B clash at Templemore.

Tipp defied the wind and rain and a poor first half display to record their second Division 1B win. In their manager Babs Keating's words: 'It was not a day for hurling.'

Two Eoin Kelly frees were all that Tipp had to show for their first half efforts – they trailed by 0-07 to 0-02 at the break - and a shock looked on the cards with Antrim's Karl McKeegan (0-03) and Brian McFall (0-04 (4f)) impressing.

But a goal from Pa Bourke and Kelly's seven-point tally saved the hosts’ bacon.

Kelly flighted over his two frees (on 2 and 14 minutes) to help Tipp level the game at 0-02 apiece, but Antrim then collected five points on the bounce in an 18-minute spurt, with hard-working midfielder McKeegan striking over three points from play.

Corner forward McFall took his tally to 0-04 – all from frees – as the Saffrons, managed by Terence McNaughton and Dominic McKinley, took their much-vaunted opponents to task.

Incredibly, experienced Cushendall clubman McKeegan was the only player to score from play in the entire first half.

Tipp got the start they wanted in the second half, as after only 14 seconds, Bourke, the 18-year-old Thurles Sarsfields star, blasted past Antrim 'keeper Ryan McGarry from close range.

Centre-back Conor O’Mahony sent a long ball in on top of the Antrim defence, Kelly flicked it into Bourke's path and the 2006 minor made no mistake.

Kelly hit his third free from distance, the Mullinahone forward added his fourth placed ball soon after as the sides were tied up at 1-04 to 0-07.

Credit had to go to Antrim full-back Michael McCambridge, as he was putting in a sterling performance and he managed to keep Micheal Webster quiet before the Tipp forward was taken off.

Kelly slammed over a '65' and Willie Ryan and O'Mahony, who scored from 70 metres out, both added points as Tipp moved 1-09 to 0-07 ahead.

Bourke and substitute Shane Maher also notched points in the closing five minutes to move the hosts' total to 1-11, while Antrim's only point of a disappointing second half, when they simply ran out of steam, came from the hurl of Brendan Herron in the 67th-minute.