Roscrea looking to become Munster champions as they face Monaleen in intermediate final

AIB Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship Final

Roscrea vs Monaleen (Limerick) in Pairc Úi Rinn, Saturday December 4th @ 1.00pm

Roscrea's 2022 journey reaches new heights this Sunday, as they look to become just the third Tipperary club to win the intermediate hurling championship crown when they take on Monaleen of Limerick in Pairc Úi Rinn, Cork.

The Tipperary premier intermediate champions face into their first provincial decider since they won the senior Munster title by beating Clarecastle of Clare way back in August 1970, and the current crop will be hoping to emulate that team on Sunday.

They were impressive for large swathes of their semi-final win over Ballysaggart, limiting the damage in the first half playing against the wind, but they did manage to catch a large break early in the game, with Shane Bennett having to retire from the game through injury, and from the throw-in of the second half they took over.

A minor worry for Roscrea will be the late concession of two goals while in the driving seat of that game, but they will feel they had much of the hard work done as they eventually seen out the win after a largely positive performance.

The opposition on Sunday comes in the form of the Annacotty/Castletroy based team in Monaleen, who are led by former Toomevara and Tipperary hurler Eoin Brislane who has led them back to the senior ranks at their first attempt after the city club were relegated from the Limerick senior championship last year.

A very youthful team, they were made to work very hard for their place in this final after edging a titanic battle against Clare champions St Joseph's Doora Barefield in Kilmallock.

Having played with a very strong wind in the first half of that semi-final they only managed to build up a 1-6 to 0-5 half time lead, and by the time St Joseph's took a one point lead and were well on top by the 54th minute, it looked like it could be curtains for the Limerick men, but a brilliant solo goal from centre forward Mark O'Dwyer two minutes later turned the tide for them, as they managed to eek out a 2-13 to 0-16 win.

Both teams have similar personnel and should the weather be half decent, it could make for a cracker with free flowing hurling likely from two teams with a lot of pace and scoring ability.

Roscrea will be looking to their leaders to step up in the form of Alan Tynan, Evan Fitzpatrick, Darren O'Connor, and Shane Fletcher who have all impressed this year on the run to this match, while Luke Cashin really stepped up his levels in the win over Ballysaggart and they will need his like to come good again in a youthful team playing on a big stage like this for the first time.

Monaleen have no standout players in their ranks, with no representatives on the senior panel, but they do have a young team with fresh talent in the likes of Donnacha O Dalaigh, Mark O'Dwyer, and Ronan Lyons while they have some intercounty experience in their ranks through former senior panelist Andrew La Touche Cosgrave.

Monaleen boss Brislane will have intimate knowledge of his Roscrea opponents, having hurled with his counterpart Liam England in the past, but this looks like a Roscrea team that has the potential to score heavy, and should they hold up defensively they have a real chance to claim provincial honours here.