Na Piarsaigh secure senior return with Limerick intermediate football final win

NA Piarsaigh's exile from senior football lasted just twelve months when the city side captured the county intermediate title at the expense of Dromcollogher-Broadford, the side they sent down in the 2020 relegation final at Askeaton on Saturday.

It finished Na Piarsaigh 2-8, Dromcollogher-Broadford 2-6 in an entertaining intermediate decider.

Despite a pre-match downpour turning the playing surface into a quagmire, both sides gave it everything in a most dramatic and entertaining decider, filled with twists, turns and surprises before the Caherdavin club made their dominance play after the break.

Like most games played in treacherous conditions at the end of October, finishing decided the outcome. The Broadford men managed just two points from play over the hour, one of them from their second-half substitute while their opponents sent over four from a forward unit that was more willing to take on the shot.

Needless frees and a goal conceded from a comedy of errors looked as if it would leave Na Piarsaigh trailing against the run of play but a penalty on the stroke of half-time sent them into the dressing-room on level terms and, after soaking up Drom's second wind on the restart, they patiently built up the biggest margin of the game as it drew to a close.

But, in another twist to the plot, the West Limerick side produced a goal from nowhere on the stroke of normal time but failed to find an equaliser in an incident-packed injury-time that produced goal chances at either end in its final minute.

The sides had been tied, 1-3 each, at the end of the opening half.

SCORERS: Na Piarsaigh: Dylan Cronin 1-5 (0-4 frees), Kevin Nolan 1-0 (penalty), Evan Egan 0-2, Kieran Daly 0-1; Dromcollogher-Broadford: Derry McCarthy 0-4 (4 frees), Brian Aherne 1-1, Jack Pierce 1-0, Brian Noonan 0-1.