Strong second half performance from Limerick means that Tipperary bow out of National Hurling League

Limerick  1-28 Tipperary 0-25 

Tipperary surrendered their unbeaten record in the Allianz National Hurling League when they were beaten by Limerick in tonight’s semi-final at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

The signs were promising for Tipp when they led by four points at half-time, but by the finish they had been soundly beaten by a Limerick team that eased through the gears of control in the second half.

A Diarmaid Byrnes free eleven minutes into the second half brought the sides level for the seventh time, and the first time since the 14th minute. And once Limerick regained the lead within a minute, to give them the lead for the first time since the seventh minute, there was an inevitability about the result.

From the 46th to the 61st minutes, they outscored Tipp by 1-7 to 0-2 to put the outcome beyond doubt. 

Limerick were three ahead when they seized the game’s crucial score in the 56th minute, when Peter Casey caught a long ball and kicked to the net (1-23 to 0-20).

As the minutes ticked away, five points without reply from Tipp, four from Jason Forde and another from Gearoid O’Connor, left just four points in it. 

But Limerick reaffirmed their superiority with late points from Barry Murphy and Cian Lynch.     

A large and expectant attendance, mostly from Limerick, turned up for the game, with a couple of hundred supporters waiting for the turnstiles to open in the Mackey Stand an hour and a half before the throw-in.

The teams were level six times in the opening half before Tipp went three ahead thanks to points from Noel McGrath, Jason Forde and Alan Tynan.

Tipp held a five-point lead on three occasions in the opening half, and even though they had to settle for a four-point lead at the break (0-16 to 0-12) they would have been satisfied with their first half performance, which mostly silenced the sizeable Limerick support. 

Early in the half Limerick had been playing with something of a swagger, an assuredness borne of having enjoyed so much success in recent years.

But with Noel McGrath pulling the strings around the forty, Jason Forde frequently finding the target from frees and from play (he scored eight points in the first half), and Alan Tynan, Ronan Maher, Bryan O'Mara, Seamus Kennedy and Gearoid O’Connor all standing tall, Tipp grew in confidence and were more than Limerick’s match in the opening thirty minutes.

However, Limerick rediscovered their mojo with devastating effect in the second half.

Tipperary: Barry Hogan, Eoghan Connolly, Michael Breen, Johnny Ryan, Dan McCormack, Bryan O’Mara, Ronan Maher, Conor Stakelum, Alan Tynan (0-4), Seamus Kennedy (0-2), Noel McGrath (captain 0-1), Gearoid O’Connor (0-3), Jason Forde (0-14, 11 frees), Patrick Maher, Jake Morris (0-1).

Substitutes: Enda Heffernan for Conor Stakelum (51 minutes), Mark Kehoe for Patrick Maher (51 minutes), John McGrath for Jake Morris (56 minutes), Conor Bowe for Seamus Kennedy (65 minutes).

Limerick: Nickie Quaid, Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash (0-1), Diarmaid Byrnes (0-6, 5 frees), Declan Hannon (captain 0-2), Colin Coughlan (0-1), Barry Murphy (0-2), William O’Donoghue (0-2), Cathal O’Neill (0-2), Cian Lynch (0-2), Tom Morrissey (0-2), Aaron Gillane (0-7, 6 frees), Peter Casey (1-1), Donnacha Ó Dálaigh (0-1).

Substitutes: Gearoid Hegarty for Cathal O’Neill (60 minutes), Conor Boylan for Tom Morrissey (62 minutes), Richie English for Sean Finn (65 minutes), Seamus Flanagan for Aaron Gillane (70-plus minutes), Michael Houlihan for William O’Donoghue (70-plus minutes).

Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).