Will history be made in mid Tipperary on Sunday?

For the first time in thirty-three years Moycarkey-Borris GAA Club will host the Centenary Agri Mid Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship final at Littleton on Sunday afternoon (3pm) and it is a final which is much-anticipated in the division.
The fantastic new facilities at Littleton will be on show for all patrons to admire and there will surely be plenty to see on the field of play as well with the clash of Upperchurch-Drombane and favourites Drom & Inch certain to set pulses racing.
The sides have met in a number of high-octane clashes over the last few seasons, but Upperchurch-Drombane have yet to win a Mid senior hurling title and they have the world of incentive to do so; not only would they be making history, they would also cement their place in the concluding stages of the county championship.

Drom & Inch have not won a Mid senior title in five years and captain David Butler is quick to point out that quite a number of their panel have not played in nor won a Mid final. So, Drom & Inch have loads of incentive as well and the fact that they are already through to the concluding stages of the county championship will not diminish their desire to win the Mid final.

Anyone who might suggest that the new championship format has diminished the importance or the prestige associated with the divisional competition should have taken a trip to Holycross for the Mid semi-finals where a bumper attendance enjoyed tremendous fare - two hard-fought semis showed exactly what the competition means to the clubs involved.

And, when referee Johnny Ryan (Boherlahan-Dualla) throws the ball in on Sunday afternoon next for the final, we will see the two clubs going hell for leather in a game which will feature the contrasting styles of the teams.
Drom & Inch are playing the game through the lines at the present time and they are trusting their hurling capabilities to do so.

Seamus Callanan has been coming very deep of late with David Butler and Michael Connors getting the lion's share of the scores from play. In fact, Drom & Inch had more scores from play, from outside their forward division, than they had from the attackers - something Upperchurch- Drombane will have noted and will be keen to close down.
Give Johnny Ryan, James Woodlock, David Collins and Liam Ryan a chance to shoot from distance and they will raise flags.
Drom & Inch manager Seamus Kennedy will be demanding more scores from his attack though and they will need to find them if they are to progress.

Then, you have the Upperchurch-Drombane question. Padraig Greene notched up a baker's dozen of points in the semi-final.
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That was a game in which Upperchurch Drombane went nine points down, but still found the desire and ability to recover.
James Barry got into the game for them and the subs introduced all made impacts - Loughlin Ryan getting 1-1, Michael Lee and Niall Grant all contributing to a recovery and the victory.

Paul Shanahan too is a real handful for any defender while Pat Shortt can hurt teams with his scoring capabilities.
Defensively, Upperchurch-Drombane will miss the presence of Matt Ryan at full-back, but Gavin Ryan, Colm Ryan and James Greene form a very potent half-back line and will do much to stamp out any opposing half-forward line. How they deal with Seamus Callanan will be interesting and could have a big bearing on the game. However, it often works out that while a lot of attention will be focused on a star player, it is a player who commands less attention who could turn out to be match winner - that goes for both sides.

Upperchurch-Drombane are a much more direct side and they have ball-winning forwards who can wreak havoc if they get the chances - a lot will depend on the supply from their defence and midfield, and of course this in turn puts responsibility on Drom & Inch to defend from their attack.
It promises to be an intriguing battle - it really is all to play for.