Tipperary 6-19 Limerick 2-07

Tipperary will face defending champions Kilkenny in the GAA All-Ireland SHC final following their runaway win over Limerick at Croke Park.

Tipperary v Limerick: As it happened

Rampant Tipp bagged three goals in the opening quarter, with Eoin Kelly, Noel McGrath and Pat Kerwick all hitting the net as they forged ahead confidently.

They led by 3-08 to 0-04 at the interval, before Limerick hit back with goals from goalkeeper Brian Murray (pen) and substitute Brian O'Sullivan.

But Lar Corbett hit a hat-trick in the space of 13 minutes to complete a 24-point rout.

A six-goal mauling will leave Limerick facing a painful reflection on where they stand in hurling's hierarchy, but a rampant Tipp will face into the decider with their confidence on a high.

A dream start saw Liam Sheedy's men unsettle their opponents with three early goals, and following a brief Limerick revival, they mercilessly killed off the Treaty challenge with a late hat-trick from Lar Corbett.

In front of a crowd of 43,808, Tipp were off to a flyer when Eoin Kelly got in behind his marker Stephen Lucey to drill home a fifth-minute goal.

And they sliced through the Treaty defence for two more in the space of two minutes at the end of the opening quarter.

Corbett used his searing pace to cut in from the right to cross for Noel McGrath to finish from close range, and Limerick's plight deepened when sloppy defending allowed Kerwick to send a shot skidding underneath the body of goalkeeper Brian Murray.

Now it was 3-02 to 0-02, and already it looked as if the game was up for Justin McCarthy's side.

They could make no inroads against a Tipp defence which had Conor O'Mahony, Declan Fanning and Paul Curran in defiant form.

O'Mahony fired over a couple of long range frees, and the space was generously afforded to McGrath and Seamus Callanan to steer over points.

Gavin O'Mahony, Niall Moran and David Breen were on target for Limerick, but by the halfway stage, they faced a virtually impossible task, trailing by 3-08 to 0-04.

Limerick needed to turn the game in their favour in the early stages of the second half, but it was Tipp who turned the screw with four quick points to increase the margin to 18, with Kelly, McGrath, Callanan and Kerwick all adding to their tallies.

There was some respite for Limerick when goalkeeper Murray netted from a 47th-minute penalty after Andrew O'Shaughnessy had been fouled, and seven minutes later substitute Brian O'Sullivan drilled home a second goal from Donal O'Grady's pass.

But normal service was restored moments later when Corbett was sent through by Noel McGrath to blast home the best goal of the day.

Corbett followed up with his second three-pointer to open up a 19-point gap with 10 minutes to play, and completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute.

Tipperary: B Cummins, P Stapleton, P Maher, P Curran, D Fanning, C O'Mahony (0-03, 2f), B Maher, J Woodlock, S McGrath, P Kerwick (1-02), S Callanan (0-03), J O'Brien (0-01), N McGrath (1-03), E Kelly (1-06 (6f), L Corbett (3-01).

Substitutes: B Dunne for S McGrath (54), G Ryan for Woodlock (61), M Webster for Kerwick (62), P Kelly for E Kelly (64), W Ryan for Corbett (67).

Limerick: B Murray (1-00, pen), D Reale, S Lucey, M O'Riordan, S Hickey (0-01), B Geary, M Foley, D O'Grady, G O'Mahony (0-02, 1f), J Ryan, N Moran (0-01), P Browne, D Breen (0-01), P McNamara, A O'Shaughnessy (0-01,f).

Substitutes: J O'Brien for Moran (31), Ollie Moran for (h-t) for Browne, B O'Sullivan (1-01) for Ryan (48), M O'Brien for McNamara (56), S Walsh for Lucey (61).


Referee: B Gavin (Offaly).