Preview: Electric Ireland Minor Hurling Final - Tipperary v Limerick
Éanna Tucker of Tipperary in action against Diarmuid Crowe of Limerick during the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Minor Hurling Championship final match between Tipperary and Limerick at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
Saturday, June 27
All-Ireland MHC final
Tipperary v Limerick, TUS Gaeilc Grounds, 3pm - TG4
If Tipperary are to win a third Electric Ireland minor title in five years, they’ll have to beat Limerick for a third time in the one campaign.
If it’s true you learn more in defeat than victory then the young Shannonsiders should have gleaned a lot from those two results about how to go about finally getting the better of the Premier County team.
There wasn’t much between them in those two games regardless, and you would imagine the margins will be even smaller this time around.
The Limerick players will be desperate not to lose for a third time against the same opponents, and the fact they’re hurling for the county’s first All-Ireland title since 1984 in front of their home supporters should ensure the hunger pangs are all the sharper.
If Limerick are to turn the tables they’ll have to somehow spike Tipperary’s massive goal-scoring threat.
The Premier County have scored a highly impressive 19 goals in six matches to date in the campaign, and have some seriously gifted forwards in their ranks.
Chris Dunne, who scored 3-5 in the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork, tops the bill in that regard, but the supporting cast is pretty stellar too.
Limerick will be very wary of Conall Morrison who scored 2-8 from play over the course of the two matches they played against Tipp, while on any given day Éanna Tucker, and KJ Dunne are just as likely to be match-winners.
Limerick have very talented forwards of their own in Shane Waters and Rian Horgan, but they don’t have the same range of threats or ability to score very heavily in bursts that Tipp do, so if they are to win they’ll need to dominate the ball.
They’re capable of doing this because midfielder Xavier Neligan is a force of nature in the middle third and he’s ably assisted by his midfield partner Jack Roche.
The Limerick half-back line of John O’Riordan, Conor Ryan, and Eoin Hennessy are a serious unit too, and if they can dominate to the extent they did in Limerick’s very impressive All-Ireland semi-final win over Clare then the Shannonsiders have a great chance.
It’s primed to be a serious match between two teams that hurl with a lot of fire in their bellies, but if Tipperary can match Limerick’s industry in the middle third they their star-studded attack will be difficult to hold for the duration of the game.
