Minor Final hurt can fuel players for the future

By Shane Brophy

The 2022 and 2024 All-Ireland minor hurling successes will rank among the sweetest of the 22 the county has won in its history to date but this 2026 defeat will rank among the most disappointing.

Not because Limerick didn’t deserve it, they stuck to their task and made more of the fewer chances they had, but because it was a game Tipperary left it behind them.

It wasn’t either because Tipp were favourites, coming into the final unbeaten, accounting for Limerick twice in those six successive victories as each game takes on a life of its own, but because they had the scoring opportunities which they failed to convert.

It wasn’t just the eighteen wides, also the decision-making around them and more, taking on shots that were high-percentage when the better option would have been to find a team-mate in a better position. Then it was turning down good point opportunities in the quest for goals.

This was borne out in the winning point for Limerick where the ball was played into the corner for Rian Horgan, who was stood up by Conor Collins, and could have taken on the shot himself, but instead chose the better option of passing to John Ross O’Rielly who composed himself to step inside the challenge to make the shot easier and put his name up in lights for ever more on Shannonside.

It was still a cruel way for Tipp to lose, having led the whole way from when they took the lead for the first time at two points to one, to the first minute of added time when KJ Dunne’s point put them three up.

At that stage, it looked as if Tipperary couldn’t lose at a minimum, however that Limerick’s equalising goal came so quickly from the following puckout break, a terrific Gavin O’Brien’s drive from an angle that seemed to catch goalkeeper Eoin Connolly, it created the conditions for a snatch and grab raid that followed.

Still, Tipperary had an opportunity to regain the lead with the outstanding Colm Ryan delivering a quality ball into Josh Moroney but he took his eye off the ball at the wrong moment, failing to take possession from where Limerick worked the winning score.

This is where the benefit of home advantage stood to Limerick in those frantic last few minutes as their supporters willed them to a first All-Ireland title in the grade since 1984, but the venue wasn’t the reason Tipperary failed to leave there as All-Ireland champions.

Unfortunately, too many of the forwards in particular, played as individuals, a harsh lesson that will serve them well provided it is learned. It is fully understandable for sixteen and seventeen year olds in the biggest game of their lives so far to want to make an impact and be the hero.

As you would expect from manager James Woodlock, he didn’t sugar-coat it in the aftermath, they did everything but win the game but their decision-making in front of the posts ultimately cost them on the worst possible day.

It didn’t help either that arguably the player of the entire championship, Conall Morrisson, had a rare off day in front of goal. It started off oh so well scoring three points from play and winning two frees for two more inside 21 minutes. However, he failed to score again, hitting no fewer than six wides, a total he didn’t have in the previous six games put together.

Still, he ran himself into the ground, as he along with Chris Dunne were also Tipp’s primary ball-winning targets, and the longer the game went on, the more Limerick got the upper hand and snaffled the breaking ball with man of the match Xavier Nelligan coming to the fore, a style almost similar in style to Limerick senior captain Cian Lynch.

The frustrating thing is that if it were said beforehand that Tipp would hold Limerick to 2-12, you’d be confident of a win.

In front of goalkeeper Eoin Connolly, the inside backs were once again tremendous with Colm Ryan and Conor Collins negating Horgan and O’Sullivan for the most part while Daniel Groome produced his best performance of the campaign.

Tipp’s half-back line didn’t command the game as hoped with Oisin Kennedy and James Finn not prominent in possession with Travis McLoughlin the pick of the three making some terrific interventions.

Shane Ryan produced another strong midfield performance but wasn’t able to get up the field to land a trademark score while Hugo Healy was more prominent on the ball than at any time in the championship, although his primary role was to tag Nelligan who is a slippery operator.

Conor Kennedy was unable to follow in the footsteps of his father Michael ‘Bonnie’ who won an All-Ireland minor in 1996 but he has a bright future, particularly as one of those wing forwards in the modern game with a great engine to get up and down the field, while still contributing on the scoreboard.

Chris Dunne and Conall Morrisson dove-tailed well between centre and full forward, as did Eanna Tucker and KJ Dunne between the wing and corner forward position with Dunne again a constant threat in possession, always looking for the killer goal, setting up Chris Dunne for his 25th minute goal and could have had a couple himself later on when points might have been a better option. Still, he is young and along with sub Ciaran Gantley are the only two players of the seventeen that featured in the final that are eligible for minor again next year.

Zach O’Keeffe hadn’t hit the same heights as he was prior to the head injury sustained against Cork in April and his miss of an open goal shortly before Dunne rattled the net was a huge let off for Limerick at a time when Tipp were really beginning to motor but didn’t make it reflect on the scoreboard.

The management could have gone to their bench more with only two of the five subs used and in the end it was Limerick’s subs which proved to the difference.