Munster SFC quarter-final - Gaelic Grounds, Sat May 31st, 7.30pm, Referee; Anthony Nolan
2014 to date
Tipp were promoted to Division 3 of the National Football League after walking through the 4th Division and beating Clare in the league final.
Limerick just avoided relegation back down to the bottom tier, finishing two points clear of Longford whom they beat in Round 2.
2013 Championship
Both teams exited the Championship in similar circumstances last summer. In the Munster football championship quarter-finals Tipp lost to Kerry by 17 points, scoring just 8 themselves. While Limerick lost to Cork by 18, scoring just 0-08 also.
In Round 1 Tipperary pushed Galway mightily close and really should have beaten them in Pearse Stadium, losing by four points in the end. Limerick limped out against Longford after a very disappointing display.
Limerick - Played 2 - W0 - L2
MSFC quarter-final - Limerick 0-08 3-17 Cork
AIQ Round 1 - Limerick 0-08 2-14 Longford
Tipperary- Played - W0 - L2
MSFC quarter-final - Tipperary 0-08 2-18 Kerry
AIQ Round 1 - Tipperary 0-11 1-12 Galway
Team News
Tipperary; Peter Creedon has named two debutants in his side for Saturday night’s Munster quarter-final clash with Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds. Ger Mulhair is named in the corner, while Colin O’Riordan starts at wing-back. O’Riordan was just 16 when he played at number 5 as Tipperary won the minor All-Ireland in 2011 - points like these were a real feature of his game.
1. Paul Fitzgerald;
2. Ger Mulhair, 3. Paddy Codd, 4. Ciaran McDonald;
5. Colin O’Riordan, 6. Robbie Kiely, 7. Peter Acheson;
8. Steven O’Brien, 9. George Hannigan;
10. Philip Austin, 11. Ian Fahey, 12. Brian Fox;
13. Conor Sweeney, 14. Michael Quinlivan, 15. Barry Grogan.
Limerick: There’s no place for midfielder John Galvin in John Brudair’s Limerick fifteen. There are a number of players making their first Championship starts; Colm Moran and Sean O’Dea in the full-back line, Cian Sheehan and centre-forward and Eoin Hanrahan and Michael Brosnan.
1. Donal O'Sullivan;
2. Colm Moran, 3. Johnny McCarthy, 4. Sean O'Dea;
5. Iain Corbett, 6. Stephen Lucey, 7. Padraig Browne;
8. Thomas Lee, 9. Darragh Tracey;
10. Micheal Brosnan, 11. Cian Sheehan, 12. Seanie Buckley (C);
13. Eoin Hanrahan, 14. Ger Collins, 15. Ian Ryan.
Recent History
Last 5 Championship Meetings
2009: Limerick 1-11 Tipperary 1-9
2008: Limerick 1-8 Tipperary 1-5
2004: Limerick 0-16 Tipperary 3-5
1998: Tipperary 1-13 Limerick 1-12
1997: Tipperary 1-17 Limerick 2-8
Talking Points
Tipperary had a very impressive league campaign, albeit down in Division 4, at underage level they’ve had considerable success in recent years also, their minors beat Dublin in the 2011 All-Ireland final and won the Munster in 2012. While their u21s reached the All-Ireland semi-final in 2010 after winning Munster. With the controversial seeding system in Munster football keeping Cork and Kerry apart in the semi-finals, will we ever see this progression transfer to Championship football?
The respective full-forward lines is where all eyes should be on Saturday night. Conor Sweeney was top-scorer in all four division with a total of 6-49 in 8 games, an average of 8.4 points a game. Barry Grogan 5-26, while Philip Austin kicked 2-16.
There are also two debutants in the Limerick full-back line...just saying!
While still very talented the Limerick full-forward line of Hanrahan, Collins and Ryan scored just 3-53 between them, five points less than Sweeney’s tally. They’ll have to be in top form on Saturday night if they are to stop Tipp.
* The winners will face Cork on June 21nd in the Munster SFC semi-final
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