TIPPERARY HAMMERED WATERFORD by 22 points in yesterday’s Munster senior football quarter-final but an injury to Colin O’Riordan cast a shadow over an emphatic win.
O’Riordan hobbled out of the Semple Stadium mismatch in the 42nd minute with a hip problem and manager Peter Creedon admits that his 19-year-old star is a concern ahead of the Munster semi-final with Kerry on 14 June.
JK Brackens star O’Riordan was an Allstar nominee in 2014 and captained Tipperary’s U21s to Munster glory this year.
He was a key figure for the Premier County in their All-Ireland U21 semi-final victory over Dublin before starring in the narrow final defeat at the hands of Tyrone.
Creedon was in charge two years ago when Tipp’s seniors were hammered by 17 points against Kerry in Killarney.
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Peter Creedon (right) shakes hands with Waterford boss Tom McGlinchey after the game. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
And while the Cork native insists that the gap between the two counties has closed, he’ll need O’Riordan fully fit and firing if Tipp have any chance of shocking the Munster and All-Ireland champions in less than a fortnight.
“His hip is quite sore. He had a scan last week so fingers crossed but it doesn’t look too good to be honest,” Creedon admitted.
“His hips are at him – a common injury now for a lot of players.
“Please God it might settle down after a day or two.”
The emphatic nature of Tipp’s win provided further evidence that Creedon could oversee another successful season.
For two of the previous three seasons, Tipp have reached the last 12 of the All-Ireland series, and went desperately close to beating Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last year.
Brian Fox and Tipperary were close to beating Cork in last year's Munster championship. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
And Creedon noted: “We are moving on, we’re moving up a level alright, considering one or two of the U21s (Evan Comerford, O’Riordan and man of the match Steven O’Brien started) played today, that’s great credit to the senior players.
“Kerry will be warm favourites for that particular match and we’ve just got to bring a level of performance which shows that we’re improving and we’ll see have we closed the gap on Kerry from two years ago.
“I suspect we have but we’ll find out about that in two weeks time.
“We’re really looking forward to having a crack off Kerry and see where we are. We’d like to push on try to get to an All-Ireland quarter-final.”
Tipperary's 19-year-old colossus is an injury doubt ahead of Kerry showdown
TIPPERARY HAMMERED WATERFORD by 22 points in yesterday’s Munster senior football quarter-final but an injury to Colin O’Riordan cast a shadow over an emphatic win.
O’Riordan hobbled out of the Semple Stadium mismatch in the 42nd minute with a hip problem and manager Peter Creedon admits that his 19-year-old star is a concern ahead of the Munster semi-final with Kerry on 14 June.
JK Brackens star O’Riordan was an Allstar nominee in 2014 and captained Tipperary’s U21s to Munster glory this year.
He was a key figure for the Premier County in their All-Ireland U21 semi-final victory over Dublin before starring in the narrow final defeat at the hands of Tyrone.
Creedon was in charge two years ago when Tipp’s seniors were hammered by 17 points against Kerry in Killarney.
And while the Cork native insists that the gap between the two counties has closed, he’ll need O’Riordan fully fit and firing if Tipp have any chance of shocking the Munster and All-Ireland champions in less than a fortnight.
“His hip is quite sore. He had a scan last week so fingers crossed but it doesn’t look too good to be honest,” Creedon admitted.
“His hips are at him – a common injury now for a lot of players.
“Please God it might settle down after a day or two.”
The emphatic nature of Tipp’s win provided further evidence that Creedon could oversee another successful season.
For two of the previous three seasons, Tipp have reached the last 12 of the All-Ireland series, and went desperately close to beating Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last year.
And Creedon noted: “We are moving on, we’re moving up a level alright, considering one or two of the U21s (Evan Comerford, O’Riordan and man of the match Steven O’Brien started) played today, that’s great credit to the senior players.
“Kerry will be warm favourites for that particular match and we’ve just got to bring a level of performance which shows that we’re improving and we’ll see have we closed the gap on Kerry from two years ago.
“I suspect we have but we’ll find out about that in two weeks time.
“We’re really looking forward to having a crack off Kerry and see where we are. We’d like to push on try to get to an All-Ireland quarter-final.”
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Colin O'Riordan Munster SFC GAA Peter Creedon Race Against Time Tipperary