WESTSIDE: Dreams of an historic underage Munster hurling double close to reality
Tipperary will play in the Munster U20 and minor hurling championship finals
The prospect of winning minor and U20 All-Ireland titles in the same year remains alive - for now - after both Tipperary sides progressed to Munster finals with a midweek double over Limerick. The minors battled hard to stretch their winning sequence to three games; the U20s recovered well from the Clare loss to secure the necessary score difference.
1980 was the only occasion when Tipperary won a minor/U21 double in the same year. Loughmore’s Jim Maher captained the under-eighteens to victory over Wexford. Nenagh Eire Og’s Philip Kennedy led the U21s to a one-point win over Kilkenny. It was the middle title in a three-in-a-row sequence. Tipperary underage hurling was booming, though it still took almost a decade before we saw a senior payoff.
Today, the underage landscape looks healthy too, though things can change rapidly. The U20s will seek a Munster three-in-a-row when they line-up against either Cork or Clare next week. Their passage to the final was made difficult by that late collapse to Clare but they did the needful in racking up an 18-point margin against a Limerick side already out of contention.
The score difference calculation is interesting. I assumed – wrongly – that when three teams tie on points the score difference nowadays is calculated using only the games involving those three sides. If that were the case here then Cork would be through to the final with Tipperary facing a semi-final at home against Clare.
However, having all games factored in created the opportunity for Tipperary to enhance their score differential in the final match against a limerick side playing for pride alone. It was a fortunate break for Tipperary.
Anyway, the team still had a major job on its hands to build up that score differential and hope that Cork would defeat Clare - but only by a modest margin. Fortunately, the stars aligned and we now prepare for a provincial final against opponents who will be known by the time this appears in print. On known form its likely to be Cork for a repeat of the 2024 decider.
This win over Limerick was signposted early on and never wavered much, apart perhaps from a five-minute spell in the second period when the locals hit two goals. From there to the end, however, normal service resumed as we outscored them by 1-8 to 0-3. Ultimately, it was a resounding result.
David Costigan signalled the team’s intention early on with an instant goal. Jamie Ormond followed up with a second midway through the half and they led by 13 points at half time. Costigan added his second after resuming and Cormac Fitzpatrick had another to polish off a comprehensive outcome.
Two caveats should be referenced. Firstly, Limerick senior panellists, Matthew Fitzgerald and Hugh Flanagan, were rested ahead of the county’s senior clash with Clare on Sunday. Secondly, Limerick hit a record-sounding 21 wides in the match. Convert half of those opportunities and you have an entirely different game.
No matter, Tipperary kept Oisin O’Donoghue on the sideline until late in the day and any side that racks up 4-20 and wins by 18 points must have done a lot right.
It was a game where Tipperary had to go after scores and that brought the best out of them. For once there was none of the tactical nonsense that chokes the team. Instead, they played on the front foot and showed the attacking flair that the side possesses.
The timing of the final, on Wednesday of next week, creates a major issue for the respective managements. To play or not to play, that is the question surrounding Oisin O’Donoghue and Stefan Tobin. It’s a real dilemma. Senior always takes priority but you want to win the U20 also and Oisin O’Donoghue being captain adds another layer of complexity.
Famously, Limerick’s Cathal O’Neill was ineligible to play in the 2022 All-Ireland U20 final because of his senior involvement. Arguably, it cost Limerick that title where Kilkenny won by a single point.
This time it’s a Munster final for Tipperary, one where there’s no backdoor: the winners go straight to an All-Ireland decider against the Leinster champions. It’s a tough one for Liam Cahill and Brendan Cummins.
Perhaps some compromise will be found. Oisin O’Donoghue is an established senior now, so maybe he will be held back until some stage during the second half of the U20. Stefan Tobin has been impacting as a senior substitute so maybe there’s more leeway for him to start with the U20s. Either way it’s a decision that won’t please everyone.
Meanwhile, the minors maintained their one-hundred percent record with a third win on-the-spin, which guarantees their place in the final irrespective of the outcome against Waterford this week in the last round.
It was a deserved, if hard-earned win against battling Limerick. There were only two points separating them at half time but that 0-9 to 0-7 scoreline didn’t adequately reflect Tipperary’s first-half display.
Newport’s Ollie Roche was twice denied goals by Limerick’s impressive ‘keeper, Sam Collins. The first came from a penalty after centre back, Conor Ryan, was black carded for a foul on K.J. Dunne. Minutes later Roche was again denied when the goalie made a marvellous reflex save.
Still, Tipperary were having the better of matters and after 20 minutes led by five, 0-9 to 0-4; Conall Morrison hit three of those scores. However, Limerick finished the half strongly, spearheaded by the excellent free taking of Shane Waters.
In the third quarter Tipperary consolidated their position with goals from Kiladangan’s Riain McGrath and Ollie Roche, the latter finally hitting the rigging after those first-half frustrations. They went eight-up but then endured a worrying 15-minute barren patch where Limerick chipped away at the lead, eventually reducing it to just three points.
That final phase of the game was concerning. Limerick had the momentum and were getting all the frees. It was a nervy finish for the Tipp lads. J.K. Brackens’ Sean Burke had a precious steadying point and the team withstood a late free to take the spoils by three points in the end.
On a night of some spurious officiating, Limerick relied heavily on frees. A dozen of their 16 points came from the stick of Shane Waters, with just one from open play. Tipperary were without Zach O’Keeffe and Chris Dunne so, overall, there was much to admire about the display.
Elsewhere, Limerick thundered back into the senior championship with a demolition of Clare at Ennis. A Limerick win was no surprise but a 15-point mauling certainly was. The yanks would refer to it as awesome, a display full of the three P’s, passion, power and precision. They out-muscled, our-hurled and out-shot the Banner. It was certainly reflective of the best we’ve seen from Limerick in the past decade of unprecedented glory.
How much of it stemmed from Clare’s complicity will be debated. The Banner were certainly off requirements here, not getting to Limerick’s intensity level and two faulty in much of their play. With Tony Kelly mostly peripheral and Shane O’Donnell taking heavy hits, their twin strike force was blunted. The others struggled to make up.
Limerick were impressive - and on the edge. Adam English collected a second yellow card, which was very untypical of the player. How Barry Nash escaped censure on the Clare penalty is incomprehensible. It was a stonewall penalty and black card offence. How two umpires and a referee – three sets of eyes – got this wrong beggars belief.
Ger Hegarty too was fortunate to escape serious sanction. In total Limerick could have been down to twelve and how that might have altered matters.
A warning for Tipperary: this game was not reflective of Clare’s potential. Beware the backlash when they come to town on Saturday week for what looks increasingly like a knock-out game.