Munster Under 21 Hurling Final – Clare 1-17 Tipperary 2-10

Banner’s rise irresistible

Clare 1-17 Tipperary 2-10

By Diarmuid O’Flynn for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Clare put together back-to-back Munster U21 hurling titles last night at Semple Stadium, and well deserved it was. On a perfect evening for hurling, the Banner lads were too quick, too slick, too sure and too well drilled (kudos again to joint managers Gerry O’Connor and Donal Moloney) for a Tipperary side that began to click into gear only when the game was already gone.

It was always going to be a big ask for the home side, though, Clare backboned by 10 of last year’s All-Ireland-winning side, six of whom are now regular starters with the senior team which on Sunday week will contest the All-Ireland semi-final against Limerick. That experience showed and all six of their big guns were on fire, none more so than full-back and man of the match David McInerney.

Outside him, Alan O’Neill (surely a star of the future) was in superb form, flying wing-back Seadna Morey making several forays up the wing (unlucky to get a second yellow card in the dying minutes but lucky not to have seen straight red for his first yellow, a badly mistimed strike on the helmet of Niall O’Meara, one of Tipperary’s few stars on the night). In midfield the senior pairing of Tony Kelly and Colm Galvin simply blew Tipp off the park, while up front the giant Peter Duggan got the lone Clare goal (a fine double on a long O’Neill free) and the quicksilver pair of Podge Collins and Cathal O’Connell gave the lie to the adage that a good big ’un will always beat a good little ’un — not last night they didn’t, because those two did untold damage to Tipperary.

Tipp it was who were first off the mark, a pointed free from exactly halfway by their lone senior star Jason Forde in the first minute, but that was to be as good as it got for the home side in that opening half. Forde would be on the mark again on five occasions before half-time, all from placed balls, but no other Tipp player would score. Clare, in comparison hit 17 shots in that half, giving a return of 1-9. O’Connell did most of the scoring, most of that from placed balls, but Kelly, Collins and Cunningham also chipped in with points, Duggan’s goal coming in the 18th minute.

Into the second half, and it didn’t get any better for Tipp. They brought on the cavalry, used all five subs, and dual minor star Colin O’Riordan looked particularly impressive, making a series of outstanding catches. When they did finally start to show some of the form that saw Cork blitzed for five goals at this same venue only a few weeks ago, however, it was all too late. Captain Niall O’Meara and Forde combined for their first goal, in the 45th minute, closing what had been a widening gap to just five points (1-14 to 1-9), but by the 53rd minute a composed Clare had again extended the lead to a comfortable seven (1-17 to 1-10).

Tipp were now forced to go for goals but with team captain Paul Flanagan and the tigerish Jack Browne in fine form alongside McInerney, the home side found themselves denied time and again. Even when they finally did break through — Forde again with a blistering shot from point-blank range in the 55th minute — keeper Ronan Taaffe was up to the task. Tipp did goal for a second time, Forde with a well-struck penalty, but it was mere consolation. Onwards and upwards then for Clare hurling, Munster titles starting to accumulate at the lower levels. On this display, it’s only a matter of time before the big one comes.

Scorers for Clare: C O’Connell 0-8 (6f); P Duggan 1-0; T Kelly, C Galvin, P Collins, A Cunningham 0-2 each; S O’Donnell 0-1.

Scorers for Tipperary: J Forde 2-7 (0-6f, 1 65, 1-0 pen); L McGrath 0-2 (1f); N O’Meara 0-1.

CLARE: R Taaffe; P Flanagan, D McInerney, J Browne; S Morey, A O’Neill, S O’Halloran; T Kelly, C Galvin; P Duggan, P Collins, S O’Donnell; D O’Halloran, A Cunningham, C O’Connell.

Subs for Clare: J Shanahan for D O’Halloran (54); C Malone for Duggan (56); N Arthur for Cunningham (60).

Tipperary: D Mooney; M Breen, A Ryan, C Barrett; J O’Dwyer, T Hamill, S Kennedy; J Cahill, B Stapleton; J Forde, N O’Meara (c), T Heffernan; L McGrath, B Walsh, A McCormack.

Subs for Tipperary: J McGrath for Heffernan (28); C O’Riordan for Cahill (35); T Gallagher for Walsh (41); J Meagher for Stapleton (48); M O’Brien for McCormack (57).

Referee: S Hourigan (Limerick)

Clare crowned Munster U21 hurling champions following victory over Tipperary

Tipperary 2-10 Clare 1-17

Report by Jackie Cahill for theScore.ie

CLARE ARE BORD Gáis Energy Munster U21 hurling champions for the second year in a row. The classy Banner County ran out four-point winners against Tipperary in front of 8296 spectators this evening.

Clare lined ten of the team that started last year’s final and claimed a third Munster crown in this grade. And they were full value for the win as Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor plotted further underage success. And Clare march on to an All-Ireland semi-final showdown with Galway on August 24 harbouring high hopes of retaining their national crown.

There was a gulf in class in Thurles as Jason Forde, scorer of 2-7, offered token Tipperary resistance. Clare finished with 14 players when Seadna Morey was dismissed for a second bookable offence in stoppage time. From the resultant penalty, Forde netted but it was an academic goal with time up. Forde had also raised a green flag in the 45th minute to give Tipp a glimmer of hope.

They trailed by 1-9 to 1-14 but Clare hit back with two unanswered points to steady the ship again. Clare, fielding six of the starters from the recent senior quarter-final victory over Galway, were excellent in the first half. Tipp didn’t have a shot at goal from play until the 30th minute and while Clare registered seven wides, they also managed to rack up 1-9 in the opening half.

Tipp, in contrast, were didn’t manage a score from play as six pointed frees from senior panellist Forde represented the sum total of their efforts. Clare’s goal was avoidable from a Tipperary viewpoint as goalkeeper Darragh Mooney was left exposed after deciding to come from his line, with Peter Duggan flicking home Alan O’Neill’s long free. That goal, in the 18th minute, handed Clare a 1-5 to 0-3 lead and they would extend that to six points by half-time. But Tipp were aggrieved in the 30th minute when O’Connell drove a free a foot wide at the Town End – but the ‘point’ was allowed to stand.

Scorers for Tipperary: J Forde 2-7 (1-0 pen, 0-6f, 0-1 65), L McGrath 0-2 (1f), N O’Meara 0-1.

Scorers for Clare: C O’Connell 0-8 (6f), P Duggan 1-0, C Galvin, T Kelly, P Collins & A Cunningham 0-2 each, S O’Donnell 0-1.

TIPPERARY: Darragh Mooney (Éire Óg Annacarty); Cathal Barrett (Holycross-Ballycahill), Michael Breen (Ballina), Andrew Ryan (Toomevara); Joe O’Dwyer (Killenaule), Tomás Hamill (Killea) Seamus Kennedy (St Mary’s, Clonmel); Justin Cahill (Kilruane MacDonaghs), Brian Stapleton (Templederry Kenyons); Tommy Heffernan (Éire Óg Nenagh), Jason Forde (Silvermines), Niall O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs); Aidan McCormack (Thurles Sarsfields), Bill Walsh (Carrick Swan), Liam McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney)
Subs for Tipperary: John McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney) for Heffernan (28), Colin O’Riordan (JK Brackens) for Cahill (36), Tadhg Gallagher (Kildangan) for Walsh (41), John Meagher (Loughmore-Castleiney) for Stapleton (49), Michael O’Brien (Thurles Sarsfields) for McCormack (57).

CLARE: Ronan Taaffe (Tubber); Paul Flanagan (Ballyea), David McInerney (Tulla), Jack Browne (Ballyea); Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge) Alan O’Neill (St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield), Stephen O’Halloran (Clarecastle); Colm Galvin (Clonlara), Tony Kelly (Ballyea); Peter Duggan (Clooney Quin), Podge Collins (Cratloe), Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg); Davy O’Halloran (Éire Óg), Aaron Cunningham (Wolfe Tones), Cathal O’Connell (Clonlara)
Subs for Clare: Jamie Shanahan (Sixmilebridge) for D O’Halloran (55), Cathal Malone (Ennistymon) for Duggan (56), Niall Arthur (Inagh Kilnamona) for Cunningham (60+1).

Referee: Shane Hourigan (Limerick)

Munster U21 Hurling Final: More glory for Clare

Bord Gáis Energy Munster U21 Hurling Championship Final: Clare 1-17 Tipperary 2-10

Report from the GAA.ie web site

The Clare hurling renaissance continued at Semple Stadium on Wednesday evening as the Banner County comfortably defeated Tipperary to retain the Munster U21 Hurling title for the first time in their history. The reigning All-Ireland U21 champions have only won the provincial U21 crown three times in their history, but all of those titles have come in the last five years.

Tipperary were no match for a Clare team brimming with already experienced senior championship hurlers. Tony Kelly, Colm Galvin, Aaron Cunningham and David McInerney were all central to the victory as Clare took control of the game at the end of the first quarter and never looked back thereafter. Clare led 1-9 to 0-6 at half-time, after a first half which had started slowly before the victors began to dominate midway through.

With Clare’s Cathal O’Connell and Tipperary’s Jason Forde accurate from frees in the opening quarter, Clare lead 0-5 to 0-3 after 15 minutes, with both Forde and O’Connell hitting three points apiece from placed balls. Clare took control of the game on 18 minutes when Peter Duggan scored a brilliant goal. It came about from an Alan O’Neill free, which was pumped from distance up towards the Tipperary goal. Duggan, first-time, rose and flicked the ball straight into the net.

It was a moment of individual genius, and Clare finished the half with points from O’Connell (2), Tony Kelly and Podge Collins. All of Tipperary’s first-half points were placed balls from Forde, and Clare lead by six at the interval. Tipperary finally registered a score from play shortly after the restart, Liam McGrath fizzing over a fine score. However, six remained the gap 10 minutes into the second half, with Colm Galvin (2) and O’Connell pointing in response to another from McGrath and a fine score from Brian O’Meara.

Tipp’s improvement was admirable, but Clare had opened up a 1-14 to 0-9 lead by the 45th minute following a free from O’Connell and a point from Shane O’Donnell. However, just as the match entered the final quarter, Tipperary gave themselves hope. O’Meara did brilliantly to hold up possession before flicking it into the path of the onrushing Forde, who made no mistake as he bore down on goal, rattling the sliotar to the net past Clare goalkeeper Ronan Taaffe.

That left five in it, but Clare immediately restored a seven-point lead with superb scores from Podge Collins and Cunningham, and the scale of the challenge facing Tipperary in the closing stages was apparent once more. Seven remained the gap for the next 10 minutes, but there was some late drama when Seadna Morey was sent off after picking up a second yellow card, and Forde was given the chance to score from the spot. The Silvermines man made no mistake as he clinically buried to the net to take his tally for the evening to 2-7, but there was hardly any time left on the clock, and Clare regained their title with a fully-deserved four-point win.

Team News

The Tipperary under 21 hurling team to play Clare in the Bord Gais Energy Munster under 21 final on Wednesday night is unchanged from the team which started against Cork in the semi-final:

1. Darragh Mooney (Éire Óg Annacarty)

2. Cathal Barrett (Holycross Ballycahill)

3. Michael Breen (Ballina)

4. Andrew Ryan (Toomevara)

5. Joe O’Dwyer (Killenaule)

6. Tomás Hamill (Killea)

7. Seamus Kennedy (St. Marys Clonmel)

8. Justin Cahill (Kilruane MacDonaghs)

9. Brian Stapleton (Templederry Kenyons)

10. Tommy Heffernan (Nenagh Éire Óg)

11. Jason Forde (Silvermines)

12. Niall O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs) Capt

13. Aidan McCormack (Thurles Sarsfields)

14. Bill Walsh (Carrick Swan)

15. Liam McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney)

For the Record

BORD GAIS ENERGY MUNSTER GAA
HURLING UNDER 21 CHAMPIONSHIP 2013

Quarter-Final

Friday May 31^st

@ Semple Stadium Thurles           Tipperary 2-18 Limerick 2-11

Semi-Finals

Wednesday July 17^th

@ Semple Stadium Thurles           Tipperary 5-19 Cork 2-13

Thursday July 18^th

@ Walsh Park Waterford                Clare 2-15 Waterford 0-17

Final
Wednesday August 7^th

@ Semple Stadium Thurles           Tipperary v Clare                                                      @ 7:30pm

Munster Under 21 Hurling Championship Roll Of Honour

Tipperary (20) – 1964, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010

Cork (18) – 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2007

Limerick (6) – 1986, 1987, 2000, 2001, 2002 , 2011

Waterford (3) – 1974, 1992, 1994

Clare (2) – 2009, 2012

Munster Under 21 Hurling Championship – List of Winning Teams

Visit the Munster GAA web site History section to view the complete list of each winning team since the competition began in1964 – https://munster.gaa.ie/history/u21h_teams/

Munster Under 21 Hurling Cup

Corn na Cásca presented by the Munster Council in 1966 to commemorate the jubilee of the 1916 Rising.

All Ireland Under 21 Hurling Championship

In the Under 21 Hurling All Ireland Roll of Honour, Cork top the charts along with Kilkenny with 11 titles.

Galway have 10 titles followed by Tipperary with 9. Limerick have won 4 All-Ireland titles in this grade. Clare have won 2 titles (both in the last 4 years) while Waterford have 1 title.

2013 Munster Under 21 Hurling Championship Matches played to date

Tipperary 2-18 Limerick 2-11 – May 31st @ Semple Stadium Thurles (Munster Quarter-Final)

Tipperary: Darragh Mooney; Cathal Barrett, Michael Breen, Andrew Ryan; Joe O’Dwyer, Tomás Hamill, Seamus Kennedy; Niall O’Meara, Justin Cahill; Jason Forde, Dan McCormack, Brian Stapleton; Aidan McCormack, Bill Walsh, Liam McGrath
Subs: Conor Kenny for Walsh (46), Bill Maher for O’Dwyer (51), Tommy Heffernan for McCormack (55), John Meagher for Barrett (60+1)

Limerick: Owen Webb O’Rourke; Alan Dempsey, Mark O’Loughlin, Mark Carmody; Dan Morrissey, Barry O’Connell, Kevin O’Donnell; Thomas Ryan, Shane Kenny; Declan Hannon, William Hickey, David Reidy; John Fitzgibbon, Shane Dowling, Adrian Breen
Subs: Kevin O’Brien for Hickey (25), Barry Lynch for O’Connell (h.t.), Michael Ryan for Fitzgibbon (h.t.), Robbie Egan for Reidy (45)

Referee – Colm Lyons (Cork)

Tipperary 5-19 Cork 2-13 – July 17^th @ Semple Stadium Thurles (Munster Semi-Final)

Tipperary: D Mooney; C Barrett, A Ryan, M Breen; S Kennedy, T Hamill, J O’Dwyer; B Stapleton, J Cahill; J Forde, N O’Meara (c), T Heffernan; L McGrath, B Walsh, A McCormack.
Subs: J McGrath for McCormack (35); C O’Riordan for L McGrath (50); C Kenny for Walsh (55).

Cork: P Collins; C Spillane, P O’Mahony, D Lester; D O’Mahony, C Joyce (c), D Cahalane; R O’Shea, B Murray; D Lordan, J Coughlan, C Lehane; A Cadogan, J Wall, B Hartnett.
Subs: M Sugrue for Lordan (27); N Kelly for Cadogan (38); S Murphy for O’Mahony (44); K Kavanagh for Murray (49); C Buckley for Hartnett (52).

Referee: Shane Hourigan (Limerick)

Clare 2-15 Waterford 0-17 – July 18^th @ Walsh Park Waterford (Munster Semi-Final)

Waterford: D. Duggan; S. McNulty, T. Bourke, S. Roche; R. Barry, D. Fives, P. Prendergast; K. Power, D. Breathnach; J. Dillon, E. Murphy, C. Curran; C. Dunford, S. Roche, J. Barron
Subs: P. Mahony for C. Dunford, 40; A. Gleeson for Barron, 45; C. Heffernan for E. Murphy, 49.

Clare: R. Taaffe; P. Flanagan (c), D. McInerney, J. Browne; S. Morey, A. O’Neill, S. O’Halloran; C. Galvin, T. Kelly; P. Duggan, P. Collins, A. Cunningham; C. O’Connell, D. Keane, S. O’Donnell
Subs: J. Shanahan for T. Kelly, 10; D. O’Halloran for D. Keane, 42; C. Malone for S. O’Donnell, 52; M. O’Neill for P. Collins, 60.

Referee: Johnny Ryan (Tipperary)

2013 Top Scorers – Munster Under 21 Hurling Championship

Jason Forde (Tipperary) – 3-16 (0-10 frees, 1-1 penalty)
Jake Dillon (Waterford) – 0-13 (0-11 frees)
Bill Walsh (Tipperary) – 2-2
Aidan McCormack (Tipperary) – 1-4
Cathal O’Connell (Clare) – 0-6 (0-4 frees)
Niall O’Meara (Tipperary) – 0-5
Shane Dowling (Limerick) – 0-5 (0-3 frees)
Shane Kenny (Limerick) – 1-1
Mark Sugrue (Cork) – 1-1
Jamie Coughlan (Cork) – 0-4 (0-3 frees, 0-1 65)
Tommy Heffernan (Tipperary) – 1-0
Liam McGrath (Tipperary) – 0-3
Brian Stapleton (Tipperary) – 0-3
Aaron Cunningham (Clare) – 1-0
Seadna Morey (Clare) – 1-0
Michael Ryan (Limerick) – 1-0
Cian Buckley (Cork) – 1-0
Rob O’Shea (Cork) – 0-3
Dan McCormack (Tipperary) – 0-2
Alan O’Neill (Clare) – 0-2 (0-2 frees)
Declan Hannon (Limerick) – 0-2
Kevin O’Donnell (Limerick) – 0-2 (0-1 free)
Brian Murray (Cork) – 0-2

Justin Cahill (Tipperary), John McGrath (Tipperary), Daire Keane (Clare), Padraic Collins (Clare), Stephen O’Halloran (Clare), D. O’Halloran (Clare), Jamie Shanahan (Clare), Colm Galvin (Clare), Peter Duggan  (Clare)  (sideline 0-1), David Reidy (Limerick), Christopher Joyce (Cork), Conor Lehane (Cork), Jamie Wall (Cork) 0-1, Donie Breathnach (Waterford), Colm Curran (Waterford), Stephen Roche (Waterford) and Padraic Mahony (Waterford) (0-1 free) each

Useful Information

Last meeting – 2012 Munster Under 21 Hurling Final on August 8^th at Semple Stadium Thurles

Clare 1-16 Tipperary 1-14

Clare: R Taaffe; P Flanagan, D McInerney, K Ryan; S Morey, C Ryan, P O’Connor; C Galvin, S Golden; A Cunningham, P Collins, T Kelly; C O’Connell, C McGrath (c), D O’Halloran.

Subs: C McInerney (O’Halloran 42); P Duggan (O’Connell 50); N Arthur (Cunningham 58). Blood sub: S O’Halloran (O’Connor 42/45).

Tipperary: P Ryan; S Maher, A Ryan, P Ryan; B Stapleton, W Ryan, J Cahill; D McCormack, N O’Meara; L McGrath, S Curran, D Maher; J Forde, C Hogan, J O’Dwyer (c).

Subs: E Murray (McCormack 41); A McCormack (Hogan 55); P Greene (Curran 59).

Scorers for Clare: T Kelly 0-7 (2f, 1 65); N Arthur 1-0; C O’Connell 0-3 (1f); C McGrath 0-3 (3f); P Collins 0-2; S Morey 0-1.

Scorers for Tipperary: J O’Dwyer 1-7 (3f); C Hogan 0-2; J Forde, D Maher, L McGrath, E Murray, A McCormack, 0-1 each.

Referee: John Sexton (Cork)

Attendance – 8.379

Tipperary have won at least 1 match in the Munster Under 21 Hurling Championship in 12 of the last 13 seasons (2007 being the exception thanks to a 1-14 to 2-10 defeat to Cork at Pairc Ui Chaoimh in the first round),

Since 2007, 4 of the 5 counties in the Munster Under 21 Hurling Championship have won the title – Cork (2007), Tipperary (2008 and 2010), Clare (2009 and 2012) and Limerick (2011).

The Munster Under 21 Hurling champions have captured the All-Ireland crown on just three occasions since 2003 but have done so in three of the last four seasons – Clare (2009 and 2012) and Tipperary (2010).