Limerick edged out by Tipperary in 'Champions Under Lights' senior hurling challenge

“VERY satisfied with the number of scoring chances we created and, even though we missed a load of them in the first half, our workrate was superb throughout,” was how manager John Kiely reacted after Limerick senior hurlers were edged out 1-21 to 0-23 by All-Ireland champions Tipperary in Champions Under Lights Challenge in aid of the Dylan Quirke Foundation in Fethard on Saturday evening.

Although both sides fielded experimental lineups that gave newcomers a chance to impress, the game ended with a definite competitive streak as Limerick recovered from an eight point deficit just after the break to draw level in the closing minutes only to be squeezed out by two late Tipperary frees.

Early on, it looked as if the home side were laying down a marker for the defence of their All-Ireland crown as they made far more of the chances coming their way in an error-strewn first half during which their opponents racked up 12 of their 19 wides.

READ NEXT: Munster Rugby's second half surge secures Christmas bonus win over Gloucester in Champions Cup

However, the Limerick finishing improved after the change of ends and, once they found some rhythm to their play, a steady stream of scores left the Shannonsiders dictating the game before the hosts steadied themselves to see out the final few minutes.

Although playing into the breeze, Limerick enjoyed most of the early possession four successive wides were a sign of what was to come before Paddy Creedon opened the scoring for Tipp just after goalkeeper Colin Ryan had blocked his attempt on goal.

After Joe Caesar doubled the home side's lead, their opponents wasted another few chances before Oisín O'Farrell finally found the target only to be cancelled immediately by Jack Leamy's pointed free.

However, with the hosts also running up the missed chances, Limerick finally found some consistency facing the posts when points from Shane O'Brien and Aidan O'Connor tied up the scores going past the quarter mark.

Leamy's pointed free and a Seán Kenneally score restored the Premier advantage and, after Colin Coughlan pointed for their opponents, Tipp stepped on the gas for Darragh Tynan, Darragh Stakelum and Kevin McCarthy to add some meat to the margin.

Stakelum immediately then responded with a score for the home side following O'Connor's reply for Limerick.

Monaleen's Darragh Langan then finished off a burst upfield for a well-taken score. However, Tipp stepped on the gas once more as a flashing move by their full-forward line across the square ended with Keneally collecting off Leamy to drill to the far corner of the net.

The opening half ended with Ethan Hurley swapping points with Leamy, from a free and O'Brien's free with a Leamy score from play to leave the home side leading 1-11 to 0-8 going into the dressing-room.

The gap moved up another two points within a minute of the restart as Leamy pounced from play and from a free to see Tip pinto a 1-13 to 0-8 advantage.

However, Limerick found their stride and, finding more direction from their finishing, pulled themselves back into contact as an O'Brien point, two frees from O'Connor and a point from sub Robbie O'Farrell found the target.

With the substitutes starting to pile on, tit-for-tat scoring interrupted the stoppages as O'Connor's pointed free replied to Brian O'Dwyer's score, while Oisín O'Farrell canelled out a Creedon score. However, points from Leamy's free and Creedon from play had the Premier leading again by six points by the three-quarter mark.

At that point, however, Limerick were getting more bang from their replacements and a quick burst of scores that saw Ó Dálaigh, Dylan O'Shea, Paddy O'Donovan and O'Connor tack on four inside two minutes suddenly injected a measure of doubt about the result.

After Leamy's pointed free broke the sequence of scores, Limerick points from O'Shea, Robbie O'Farrell, and O'Connor's free, brought the sides suddenly back level with seven minutes to go.

McCarthy's superb point for Tipp under pressure from a tight angle broke the sequence and, while that was cancelled out by O'Connor's equalising free, Limerick's rearguard was suckered into a pair of fouls for Leamy to punish which proved to be enough to withstand O'Brien's added time reply for Limerick.

SCORERS: TIPPERARY: Jack Leamy 0-10 (8 frees), Seán Kenneally 1-1, Darragh Stakelum, Paddy Creedon, Kevin McCarthy 0-2 each, Joe Caesar, Brian Óg O'Dwyer, Billy Seymour, Darragh Tynan 0-1 each; LIMERICK: Aidan O'Connor 0-8 (5 frees), Shane O'Brien 0-4 (1 free), Oisín O'Farrell, Robbie O'Farrell, Dylan O'Shea 0-2 each, Darragh Langan, Colin Coughlan, Ethan Hurley, Donnacha Ó Dalaigh, Paddy O'Donovan 0-1 each.

TIPPERARY: Brian Hogan; Johnny Ryan, David Nolan, Ray McCormack; Darragh Tynan, Joe Caesar, Mason Cawley; Peter McGarry, Billy Seymour; Joe Fogarty, Kevin McCarthy, Darragh Stakelum; Seán Kenneally, Paddy Creedon, Jack Leamy. SUBS: Brian Óg O'Dwyer for Mason Cawley (37 minutes), Charlie Ryan for Billy Seymour (37 minutes), Adam Daly for Peter McGarry (45 minutes), Adam Hall for Billy Kenneally (45 minutes),

LIMERICK: Colin Ryan; Vince Harrington, Seán Casey, Eddie Stokes; Darragh Langan, Cathal O'Neill, Colin Coughlan; Adam English, Ethan Hurley; Oisín O'Farrell, Aidan O'Connor, Hugh Flanagan; Donnacha Ó Dalaigh, Shane O'Brien, Paddy O'Donovan. SUBS: Robbie O'Farrell for Hugh Flanagan (half-time), Dylan O'Shea for Colin Coughlan (43 minutes), Chris Thomas for Vince Harrington (43 minutes), Joe Fitzgerald for Ethan Hurley (50 minutes), John English for Oisín O'Farrell (50 minutes), Matt Fitzgerald for Darragh Langan (50 minutes), Fintan Fitzgerald for Adam English (50 minutes), Dara Ferlan for Donnacha Ó Dálaigh (51 minutes), James Coughlan for Cathal O'Neill (53 minutes), Fionn O'Brien for Colin Ryan (53 minutes).

REFEREE: Nicky O'Toole (Waterford).