All square in Semple after epic battle

Munster Senior Hurling Championship Round 3

Tipperary 0-25

Limerick 0-25

A magnificent contest between Tipperary and Limerick in a pulsating Munster senior hurling championship tie at FBD Semple Stadium this afternoon resulted in no goalkeeper having to make a save. But, what an exhilarating contest which had spectators on the edge of their seats right down to the final sequence of the play.

It took a last gasp free from sub John McGrath to force a draw after these two sides went at it in epic proportions at a heaving stadium in a game which had it all. There were even plenty of afters when the final whistle sounded with a coming together of a swarm of players right in the middle of the field to add further fire to an already heaving stokes contest.

Limerick were down to fourteen men for the crucial last few moments of the game following the dismissal of Barry Nash, but they seemed to be heading for victory when Tom Morrissey fired them a point clear deep into injury time.

However Tipperary, as they had done throughout the game, showed tremendous composure, character and heart to fashion that final free for McGrath to share the spoils.

Events earlier in the day in Ennis meant that even if Tipperary had turned over the All-Ireland champions in this third round clash it would not have meant the elimination of the holders from the championship. Clare had secured their place in the Munster Final and the second spot was very much up for grabs as the sides lined up for the National Anthem.

Limerick introduced Cathal O’Neill at corner forward from the very off instead of Peter Casey while Tipperary lined out as named earlier in the week with four changes from their last outing including starting championship debuts for goalkeeper Rhys Shelly and wing back Eoghan Connolly.

It was a spectacular contest with both sides tearing into it with ferocious intent, the scores were flying over with great regularity as the game plundered along in breath-taking fashion towards the half way mark. At that stage Tipperary possessed a well-deserved 0-15 to 0-12 advantage with Gearoid O’Connor hitting 0-6 of those, while corner forwards Jake Morris and Mark Kehoe were in sparkling form and had 0-3 apiece from play – Morris in particular was causing huge concern to the Limerick defence with Nash and Byrnes both on yellow cards for pull-down fouls on forward driving Tipp attacks. Perhaps that alone was an indication of the kind of problems the Tipp attack was posing to the Limerick half back line in particular.

Limerick at times struggled to gain any foothold in the game. But, at the business end of the field Tom Morrissey and Cathal O’Neill were causing all sorts of problems for Tipp with O’Neill hitting 0-3 in the first half – the same tally as Aaron Gillane who was living off scraps but making the most of the ball supply he received.

Tipp were full value for their three point cushion and the workrate of Patrick Maher and Conor Stakelum was really taking its toll on that much famed Limerick middle third. Hayes, Lynch, Hannon, Byrnes, O’Donovan, Hegarty and O’Donoghue were not getting it all their own way and they were perhaps beginning to show some frustration. The question at half time was could Tipperary hold out in the second half and consign the champions to a second successive championship defeat?

This was far from Premier thoughts upon resumption as Limerick came at Tipp in droves and four points in succession from Gillane, Cathal O’Neill (2) and Seamus Flanagan sent them in front.

The decibel levels were gone through the roof now and famous old stadium shook with the tension and the passion which was spilling over from then until the end.

Tipperary responded to level through Gearoid O’Connor and with the introduction of Conor Bowe who bagged three points from play, the Premier County hit back.

Again and again, Limerick kicked-on and every time Tipp shoved in front, the champions hit back with drawing scores from the likes of Morrissey, sub Graeme Mulcahy and Mulcahy again deep in injury time.

But, Tipp had the final say to tie up what was a remarkable contest with that John McGrath pointed free levelling the game for the final time in what was a breathless, ninety miles an hour Munster championship battle royale.

Still the spectacle wasn’t over and the afters in the middle of the field only heightened the sense of tension in the stadium – Tipp Manager Liam Cahill had received a red card for remonstrating with the linesman before the end.

But, when it all cooled down, most agreed that a share of the spoils was the fair result in a game which will live long in the memory.

MATCH DIGEST

Scorers:

Limerick: Aaron Gillane 0-6 (0-3 frees) Cathal O’Neill 0-5, Diarmuid Byrnes 0-4 (0-3 frees), Tom Morrissey 0-4, Seamus Flanagan, Graeme Mulcahy 0-2 each, Peter Casey, Declan Hannon 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Gearoid O’Connor 0-10 (0-9 frees), Jake Morris 0-4, Mark Kehoe 0-3, Conor Bowe 0-3, Noel McGrath 0-2, Seamus Callanan, Rhys Shelly, John McGrath 0-1 each.

Teams:

Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Mike Casey, Dan Morrissey, Barry Nash; Diarmuid Byrnes, Declan Hannon, Kyle Hayes; Darragh O’Donovan, Will O’Donoghue; Gearoid Hegarty, Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey; Aaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan, Cathal O’Neill.

Subs: Peter Casey for Cian Lynch; Conor Boylan for Gearoid Hegarty; Graeme Mulcahy for Seamus Flanagan; David Reidy for Cathal O’Neill; Richie English for Mike Casey

Tipperary: Reece Shelly, Cathal Barrett, Michael Breen, Ronan Maher, Eoghan Connolly, Bryan O’Mara, Seamus Kennedy, Dan McCormack, Alan Tynan, Conor Stakelum, Patrick Maher, Noel McGrath, Jake Morris, Gearoid O’Connor, Mark Kehoe; Sean Ryan for Conor Stakelum; John McGrath for Noel McGrath.

Subs: Seamus Callanan for Alan Tynan; Conor Bowe for Patrick Maher.

Referee: Sean Stack (Dublin)