All-Ireland Minor Hurling s-Final: Tipp minors bow out of All-Ireland series

Narrow defeat comes after a below par performance in Croke Park.

Tipperary's minor hurlers bowed out of the All-Ireland series this afternoon at Croke Park when a below par performance saw them fall to rivals Kilkenny.

Despite grabbing two second half goals from sub Mickey OShea, the side still didn't have enough to overcome a better balanced Kilkenny side which could have won by much more had it not been for some erratic shooting.

There were very high hopes for this Tipperary outfit as they headed to Croke park this morning. But, by the half way mark in this game, they faced a real mountain if they were going to make it to the All-Ireland Final. They had played well below par and were three points in arrears deep into injury time when a giveaway goal extended the deficit to six - 1-7 to 0-4.

The goal, which came from Ciaran Brennan was a real bodyblow for a Tipp side which lacked its usual sparkle and it would take a mighty upping in tempo and application if they were to get themselves back into the game.

Tipp fared better in the second half and buoyed by those two goals from O'Shea in the 13th and 26th minutes, they took the battle to Kilkenny. However, they were always chasing the game and were simply unable to claw back the Cats who found the scores when they needed to make it to the All-Ireland Final.

It was a disappointing finale to the campaign for a Tipperary side which gave much excitement to supporters throughout the season.