Tipperary need to turn the tables on Clare to achieve three in-a-row in Munster
Counties meet in provincial Under 20 hurling final
Holders Tipperary will renew acquaintances with Clare in the Fulfil Munster Under 20 Hurling Championship final at the TUS Gaelic Grounds at 7.35 in Limerick this evening, Wednesday.
All-Ireland champions Tipp, who are trying to win a three in a row in the province, beat The Banner by 3-19 to 1-20 in last year’s final with the help of goals from Cathal English, Oisín O’Donoghue and Darragh McCarthy.
Clare gained some measure of compensation for that disappointment by beating Tipp by a point, 2-15 to 2-14, when the sides met in Round 4 at FBD Semple Stadium last month.
The home team looked to have the win secured when they led by seven points with just a few minutes left on the clock. However, Clare turned the game on its head by scoring 2-2 in the last six minutes against 14-man Tipperary.
Midfielder Sam Rowan received a second yellow card with nine minutes remaining, but Tipp still appeared comfortable when Tiarnán Ryan found the net shortly afterwards.
However, they were guilty of sitting too deep, with goals from Daniel Costello and Marco Cleary in the first and third minutes of stoppage time pulling the game out of the fire for Clare.
Tipp got their campaign back on track with a landslide 4-20 to 2-8 win over Limerick in their final group game. The win, coupled with Cork’s narrow victory over Clare on the same evening, provided Tipp with a straight passage to the decider.
Clare subsequently avenged that defeat by beating Cork by 3-20 to 2-17 in last week’s semi-final.
There’s an added incentive for the teams in this evening’s decider, with the winners advancing directly to the All-Ireland final.
It remains to be seen if Tipp’s Oisín O’Donoghue will feature at any stage of this evening’s game, with the crunch senior clash between the same counties following just three days later.
The Cashel player replaced the injured Robbie Ryan after 44 minutes of their win over Limerick.
The Under 20s can also call upon the services of another senior player in Carrick Swan’s Stefan Tobin.
In the aftermath of their defeat of Limerick, manager Brendan Cummins said “we made it happen and that was the most important thing.
“While there was a lot of doom and gloom after the Clare game (when Tipp were beaten the previous week), we knew that with the bunch of men that we have, the opportunity might be here if Cork could win below in Páirc Ui Chaoimh.
“I’m just delighted and proud of those men in there that we have gotten to another Munster final and that’s the absolute key”.
This will be the 11th meeting of the counties at the Munster Under 20/21 final stage. Tipperary have won eight of the previous deciders, with Clare claiming victory on two occasions.
Tickets for the game are available online through the Munster GAA website while tap-and-go payment will also be available at the venue.
The game will be broadcast live on TG4 and the referee is Waterford’s Nicky O’Toole.