Tipperary crowned Division 3 champions over Louth
Red hot Conor Sweeney shot 2-5 as Tipperary were crowned Allianz Football League Division 3 champions, in front of a disappointing 5,823 attendance at Croke Park this evening.
Sweeney netted twice in the second half as Tipp claimed revenge for defeat to Louth in Thurles a fortnight ago.
That win ensured Division 2 football for Louth next year and looked to have blown a fatal hole in Tipp’s promotion hopes.
But after a stunning victory in Armagh last weekend, Tipp finished a memorable campaign with silverware at GAA HQ.
In the first half, a devastating scoring burst turned this game on its head, Tipp hitting 1-5 without reply approaching half-time.
Louth had been performing well up to that point and were 0-7 to 0-4 clear before Tipp opened up.
Conor Sweeney and Kevin O’Halloran put over frees before Jack Kennedy and Sweeney pointed from play, moving Tipp into the lead for the first time in the game, 0-8 to 0-7.
The goal arrived on the half hour mark, Sweeney the creator with an excellent hand-pass that found Liam Casey in behind the Louth cover.
The former U21 midfield star held his nerve and crashed a shot past Craig Lynch.
Alan Campbell surged forward for a Tipperary point and the damage had been done in a five-minute spell.
Louth did steady before half-time as the sides shared the remaining four points but the Wee County did have the breeze at their backs in the second half, trailing by 0-9 to 1-11 as play restarted.
They started well, too, as cutting Tipp’s lead back to just two points, 1-12 to 0-13.
But the winners regrouped and the second goal was a knife in Louth’s hearts, coming in the 47th minute.
It was a wholly avoidable concession from Louth’s viewpoint, as Beven Duffy was turned over as he attempted to clear, allowing Sweeney to pounce.
Louth hung in grimly and while they did cut the margin back to four points down the home straight, Tipp made the game safe on the counter-attack in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
Sub Liam McGrath gathered possession inside the Louth half and picked out Sweeney, all on his own on the opposition’s 20m line.
Sweeney turned inside a back-pedalling defender and slotted past Lynch to put the icing on the Tipperary cake.
Scorers for Tipperary – C Sweeney 2-5 (0-3f), L Casey 1-1, K O’Halloran (2f) & M Quinlivan (2f) 0-3 each, J Kennedy 0-2, A Campbell, R Kiely, J Keane, L Boland & L McGrath 0-1 each.
Scorers for Louth – R Burns 0-5 (4f), T Durnin & J McEneaney (3f) 0-3 each, P Smith & D Byrne (1f) 0-2 each, D Maguire, A McDonnell, B Duffy & E O’Connor 0-1 each.
TIPPERARY – E Comerford; A Campbell, P Codd, W Connors; R Kiely, S O’Connell, B Maher; L Casey, J Kennedy; J Keane, K O’Halloran, B Fox; C Sweeney, M Quinlivan, E Moloney.
Subs – G Hannigan for Moloney (52), LBoland for O’Halloran (61), C O’Shaughnessy for Connors (64), A Moloney for Kennedy (66), L McGrath for Keane (70+1), J Hennessy for Quinlivan (70+6).
LOUTH – C Lynch; P Rath, P Reilly, A Williams; D Maguire, J Bingham, J Stewart; T Durnin, A McDonnell; D Byrne, P Smith, B Duffy; A Reid, E O’Connor, R Burns.
Subs – K Murphy for Reilly (h.t.), R Moore for Reid (45), J McEneaney for O’Connor (48), G McSorley for Burns (57), C McKeever for Durnin (64), J Califf for Byrne (70).
Referee – A O’Connor (Wicklow)
