Liam Cahill ends the 2021 Allianz League Campaign with his unbeaten record at Walsh Park still intact.
Before the league began, the manager had said that they wanted the home venue to become a fortress and across these five games, that has held through.
Liam Sheedy's team came to Suirside unbeaten in 2021, with two wins and two draws to their name (D Limerick, Cork. W Galway, Westmeath), while Waterford had won two and lost two (L Cork, Galway. W Westmeath, Limerick).
Last weekend, the story of the clash with Limerick was that goals win games. Todays in Walsh Park, the lesson learned is that attacking players should run straight at defenders.
Tipperary had command of the opening quarter scoring 1-9 to Waterford's 8 points. The Premier midfield was more adept at recovering the breaking ball and with Jason Forde already reliable over the free's, he pounced on a ball sent deep by Alan Flynn and stuck it past Billy Nolans left shoulder.
By the 12th minute, all of Tipp's half-backs had scored and jake Morris became the seventh Tipp man to register on the score sheet moments later (Breen, Ford, Kennedy, Maher, Flynn, Morris all preceding him).
Waterford had struggled to find inroads through the Tipp defence, with Dessie Hutchinson being the stand-out player despite not scoring until after the water break.
The water break has become a thing that teams will have to deal with for some more time still, but today's Waterford handled it well.
Hutchinson entered the game proper with his first score and with Tipperary's goal proving to be the difference so far, it was the Ballygunner ace who stood up to change the flow of the game. Jack Prendergast had a surging run at the heart of the defence, he laid it off to Jack Fagan feeding Hutchinson who doubled on it and sent it to the back of the net - a superb goal.
That wasn't to be the end of the Waterford surge. Minutes later, Tipp opted for the long puck out - and while their puck out strategy had been changing regulary to keep Waterford guessing - Austin Gleeson claimed the ball from the air, he sent it forward to Hutchinson, who took a step off his left and buried it in the bottom right corner.
Having proved crucial in the second goal for Hutchinson, Austing Gleeson took a heavy knock and needed significant attention from the medics. Thankfully he left the field under his own steam. Speaking after the match, the Waterford boss said it's too early to say what the case is, but he is concerned because of the twisting nature of the injury. Likewise, for Shane Fives who left the field in the first half also, Cahill said that for a player who would not go down all that easily, he has his concerns about him, but they will need to wait and see what happens over the next two weeks.
13 June 2021; Austin Gleeson of Waterford awaits medical attention during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A Round 5 match between Waterford and Tipperary at Walsh Park in Waterford. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Tipp's early dominance was not to last into the second 35, with Cahill's charges taking control and stretching their legs - outscoring the Premier 17 points to 1-8 in on the home stretch.
Before the damage could be done to the visiting side, the home team had to deal with another worry when Conor Prunty made his way to the sideline. Cahill didn't want to comment on the severity of the injury, but he did say that it's likely a quad strain and it will be a concern over the next two weeks.
With both Prunty and Jack Fagan no longer involved in the game, Darragh Lynch and Mickeal Kiely entered the fray and the team returned to the job at hand.
Tiring legs on both sides of the pitch lent itself to more frees being offered by the man in the middle and Stephen Bennett came more and more into the game, putting his frees over the bar with ease.
Shane Bennett had a superb chance on goal with twenty minutes to go, only for Brian Hogan to deny his effort.
All-in-all, Cahill can be happy with his team's performance on the day. He will have worries with the number of players who look to be heading for the treatment room, but with this team needing to find a way into the game after the opening quarter and then managing to take control of the game, he can only be satisfied.
Aside from the walking wounded, the three goals conceded will be addressed in training. The scoreline was helpful, but those three goals don't look good heading into the championship against Clare, especially when they put four past Kilkenny 24 hours ago.
This can be considered a good result to end the league campaign with the players in the right mindset heading into the Championship and Walsh Park remains the fortress that the manager wants it to be.
Full-Time Score from Walsh Park Waterford 2-29 Tipperary 3-21
