2003 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final

23 years ago since the Offaly senior hurlers contested an All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final

All-Ireland SHC Quarter-Final

27th July 2003

Tipperary 2-16 Offaly 2-11

Attendance: 46,075

Tipperary booked their place in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship semi-final with a deserved five-point victory over Offaly at Croke Park, though the final scoreline failed to reflect their dominance for much of the contest.

Before an attendance of 46,075, Michael Doyle’s side controlled the game from the second quarter onwards and looked set for a much more comfortable victory until a late Offaly scoring burst reduced the deficit in the closing minutes.

Offaly made the brighter start and led 0-4 to 0-2 after the opening quarter as they matched Tipperary in most sectors. However, the Premier County gradually took control through the influence of their half-back line, with Thomas Dunne, Eamon Corcoran and Paul Kelly driving them forward.

Five unanswered points turned the game in Tipperary’s favour before Brian O’Meara struck a crucial goal three minutes before the interval. The score gave Tipp a commanding 1-8 to 0-5 lead at the break and left Offaly facing an uphill battle.

Any hopes of an Offaly revival were effectively ended within a minute of the restart. John Carroll capitalised on a defensive lapse to fire Tipperary’s second goal, stretching the lead to nine points and putting daylight between the sides.

From that point onwards Tipperary dictated proceedings. Their defence repeatedly snuffed out Offaly attacks while Brendan Cummins provided a reliable last line of resistance when called upon. The Tipp goalkeeper produced several important saves, including a vital first-half stop from Brian Carroll that denied Offaly a potentially game-changing response to O’Meara’s goal.

Despite their superiority, Tipperary’s display was not without flaws. Their shooting proved wasteful at times, finishing with 20 wides, and they again showed a tendency to lose concentration late in games.

Those shortcomings allowed Offaly to salvage some respectability from the contest. Gary Hanniffy and substitute Neville Coughlan both found the net in the closing stages as the Faithful County mounted a late rally, but the outcome had long since been decided.

The winners were best served by their outstanding half-back line, with Dunne excelling in a sweeping role while Corcoran and Kelly continually broke forward to support the attack. Up front, O’Meara and Carroll delivered the decisive goals, while Eoin Kelly contributed five points.

For Offaly, Gary Hanniffy battled throughout and finished with 1-2 from play, while goalkeeper Brian Mullins impressed with a series of fine saves that prevented a heavier defeat. However, Offaly struggled to gain a foothold around midfield and rarely managed to put sustained pressure on the Tipperary defence.

The victory sets up a mouth-watering All-Ireland semi-final clash with Kilkenny, a repeat of last year’s memorable encounter won by the Cats. Tipperary will take confidence from reaching the last four but know that significant improvement will be required if they are to overcome the reigning champions and continue their march towards Liam MacCarthy.

The Scorers

Tipperary:

Brian O’Meara 1-0, John Carroll 1-0, Eoin Kelly 0-5 (4f), Thomas Dunne 0-3 (2 ’65s), Paul Kelly 0-3 (1f), Eamon Corcoran 0-1, Benny Dunne 0-1, Mark O’Leary 0-1, Conor Gleeson 0-1, Lar Corbett 0-1.

Offaly:

Gary Hanniffy 1-2, Neville Coughlan 1-1, Brian Carroll 0-2 (f), Rory Hanniffy 0-2 (1f), Colm Cassidy 0-1, Michael Cordial 0-1, Brendan Murphy 0-1, Simon Whelahan 0-1.

The Teams

TIPPERARY

Brendan Cummins;

Thomas Costello, Paul Curran, Martin Maher;

Eamon Corcoran, Thomas Dunne, Paul Kelly;

Benny Dunne, Eddie Enright;

Mark O’Leary, Brian O’Meara, John Carroll;

Eoin Kelly, Conor Gleeson, Lar Corbett.

Subs:

David Kennedy for Thomas Dunne (56),

Ger O’Grady for Lar Corbett (58),

Denis Byrne for Mark O’Leary (63),