Tipp U20 Footballers rally past Limerick to Munster ‘B’ success

GAA: Dalata Hotel Group Munster Under 20 Football Championship ‘B’ Final

Tipperary 2-2-11 (21)

Limerick 2-0-2 (8)

Report: Stephen Barry at Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Liam Freaney (Tipperary)

SCORERS –Tipperary: Liam Freaney 1-6 (1x2play, 0-2 frees); Ciarán Kelly 1-2 (0-1 free); Dylan Cotter (2play), Shane Ryan (1 free) 0-2 each; Oran Gahan, Darragh Bresnan, Jamal Yousif 0-1 each.

Limerick: Callum Kiely, Aidan O’Shea 1-0 each; Michael Mulcahy, Conor Ó Longaigh 0-1 each.

Tipperary captured the Munster Under 20 ‘B’ Football trophy by scoring 2-15 without reply in the second half of an absurd game dictated by the elements at Mick Neville Park on Saturday evening.

The umpires manning the Town End goal didn’t have a flag to raise across the hour as the Premier went scoreless in the first half, before Limerick failed to register in the second.

The game effectively played out like a cricket match as Limerick, who won the toss, looked to set a target for Tipp to catch. They declared on 2-2. Upon the change of ends, Liam Freaney did the heavy lifting with 1-6 on the trot as they bypassed that total by the 42nd minute.

In his acceptance speech, the Kilsheelan-Kilcash dangerman described it as “not the trophy we wanted to lift” but expressed hope that the majority of the squad would be back next year for another crack. Before then, this group will advance to an All-Ireland ‘B’ semi-final against the fourth-ranked Connacht representatives next month.

After defeat to Waterford which saw them miss out on progressing to phase 2 along with Clare, Cork and Kerry, Aherlow duo Paddy Chapman and Seán Bourke gained their first starts, while James Power returned to the side at centre-forward. Liam Kiely, Mark Neville, and Ciarán Kelly stepped out of the starting team, although the latter was introduced on the hour and tagged on 1-2 in stoppage time.

Such was the strength of the wind that Tipp mustered just three shots in the first half and the Treaty totalled only two in the second.

Home prospects were boosted by a giveaway goal after 50 seconds. Barry Griffin poached upon Emmet Bonner’s loose pass and fed Callum Kiely to sweep low to the net.

Tipp didn’t get the ball beyond halfway until the fourth minute. From there, they managed to kill the clock until the quarter-hour mark.

But the Tipp blockade was broken as Limerick rattled 1-2 between the 16th & 18th minutes. Dylan Cotter got in a fine block, but the ball fell for Michael Mulcahy to exploit the space for a point.

From the kick-out, the Treaty worked the ball forward through Cian Costelloe and Conor Ó Longaigh to Kiely. He dragged his shot across goal, but Aidan O’Shea dived in to poke home.

Costelloe and Ó Longaigh combined again for the latter to point for 2-2 to no score. They almost added a third goal as Ó Longaigh brilliantly picked out O’Shea, who fired wide. That was one of nine Treaty misses in the first half.

Tipp dug in and could’ve scrambled a late goal from Limerick errors, but Seán Griffin and Chapman hadn’t time to react to dropped balls.

Trailing by eight, Tipp didn’t make any inroads until the 36th minute. By the 42nd, they were ahead. Emmet Bonner did well to recycle off the turf to Dylan Cotter for a morale-boosting two-pointer. Oran Gahan then sprinted away for a white flag.

The game turned on a six-point swing in the 40th minute. Liam Glynn was denied by a Peter Boland save and Tipp countered. Bonner capitalised on a wayward pass and booted long for Charlie Walsh, who gathered on his knees before laying off for Micheal Freaney with the captain picking out Shane Ryan and made the run to take the return pass to finish.

From the kick-out, Freaney leathered the levelling two-pointer for 2-2 to 1-5. And the captain completed what the GAA has termed a ‘tricolour’ of green, white, & orange flags with a one-pointer, claiming Power’s long ball and tapping over.

Two Freaney frees added to Tipp’s cushion before landing another from play on 55 minutes for a four-point lead. By that juncture, he had strung together 1-6 without reply.

He turned provider for the next score, slotted by Shane Ryan, and would later lay on the 63rd minute goal for Kelly. Matthew O’Connor was sin-binned for a late hit on Freaney in that move.

Tipp added 1-4 off the bench with 1-2 from Kelly plus points from Darragh Bresnan and Jamal Yousif.

TEAMS –Tipperary: Peter Boland (Moyle Rovers); Jack McGonigle (Rockwell Rovers), Gavin Neville (Fethard), Emmet Bonner (Galtee Rovers); Paddy Chapman (Aherlow), Jamie O’Keeffe (Clonmel Commercials), Jack Kearney (Ballyporeen); Seán Griffin (Upperchurch/Drombane), Dylan Cotter (Thurles Gaels); Seán Bourke (Aherlow), James Power (Clonmel Commercials), Oran Gahan (St Patrick’s); Charlie Walsh (Fethard), Shane Ryan (Ardfinnan), Liam Freaney (Kilsheelan/Kilcash, Capt).

Subs: Darragh Bresnan (Arravale Rovers) for Gahan (42); Killian Smith (Clonmel Commercials) for Walsh (52); Jamal Yousif (Clonmel Óg) for Bourke (56); Ciarán Kelly (Arravale Rovers) for Ryan (60); Dayle Hogan (JK Brackens) for Cotter (60).

Limerick: Cian Purcell; Cian O’Sullivan, Matthew O’Connor, Danny McCarthy; Paudie Hennessy, Andrew Kearney, Conor Ó Longaigh; Aidan O’Shea, Evan Curry; Barry Griffin, Liam Glynn, Cian Costelloe; Callum Kiely, Pádraic Phelan (Capt), Michael Mulcahy.

Subs: Samuel Colgan for Phelan (44); Cillian Meade for Glynn (52); Darragh O’Carroll for Kiely (57); Conor Mangan for Costelloe (59).

Referee: Gary Twomey (Clare).