Ruthless Tipperary run up record tally to demolish Offaly

Sunshine, thunder, lightning and torrential rain all descended upon Glenisk O'Connor Park at various stages of this afternoon’s All-Ireland senior hurling preliminary quarter-final.

On the field of play, Tipperary were every bit as electric as the Tullamore sky, and they rained misery down on top of the heads of the home team, who looked every bit like a team that failed to bounce back from their heart-breaking defeat to Carlow in the Joe McDonagh Cup final.

The Premier County appear to be right in the thick of the race for the big prize, and 2-11 from the returning Jason Forde, not to mention incredible scoring displays from Jake Morris, Mark Kehoe and Conor Stakelum, suggest that they will pose problems for any defence.

In contrast, veterans Noel McGrath and Séamus Callanan didn’t make anything like the same contribution on the scoreboard directly, but the pair were incredibly creative, using the ball very well and helping to unlock an Offaly rearguard that was simply unprepared for what Tipperary brought to the table here.

Five points in the first five minutes gave a clear indication of what was to follow, and once Mark Kehoe pounced on an Offaly puckout to run in and fire the first goal, it was clear that the Premier men had arrived in Tullamore ready to run riot.

Even then, the 9,962 supporters wouldn’t have suspected that they were about to see Tipperary rack up the biggest total in the history of senior inter-county championship hurling – though by half-time, that was very much on the table.

Ten minutes had passed by the time Eoghan Cahill whipped over Offaly’s first point, and already Tipp were motoring with 1-7, and they showed no sign of letting up, continuing at a rate of a point a minute up to half-time.

Alan Tynan,