Hat-trick of Limerick U21 hurling titles for Doon with final victory over Na Piarsaigh

DOON won a seventh Limerick Premier U21 hurling championship title this Sunday afternoon.

The decider in the TUS Gaelic Grounds finished Doon 3-19 Na Piarsaigh 1-14.

The win secured a hat-trick of titles for the east Limerick men in what was their seventh straight final appearance.

Doon were 2-6 to 0-7 ahead at half time and a flurry of late scores confirmed their 11-point win.

Adam English ended with 1-6 from play, Jack Ryan 2-1 and Bob Purcell 0-4.

James Daly had the game's opening score after 8 seconds but was later forced off injured for Na Piarsaigh.

Doon soon hit the front, Adam English with a cracking individual goal in the third minute for a 1-1 to 0-1 lead for the east Limerick side.

The men in red were to find five successive scores to open a 1-4 to 0-1 lead and 11-minutes played - Cormac Ryan and Bob Purcell with scores from distance in that run of Doon points.

Keith Dempsey ended an 11-minute barren spell for the Caherdavin side but just ahead of the water break came the second Doon goal.

Na Piarsaigh will think they should have cleared the ball but Jack Ryan won back possession and then neatly finished to the net.

That left it 2-4 to 0-2 at the water break.

On the restart, Na Piarsaigh had their purple patch and hit five successive point of their own.

Dylan Skehan and sub Dylan Lynch had points within two minutes of the restart.

Sean Long was also on the scoresheet in this spell and the lead was cut to 2-4 to 0-7 and 24-minutes played.

Doon were without a score in the second quarter but English rectified that with the final two points of the half for a five point half time lead.

In the second half Na Piarsaigh started well and two Dempsey frees had cut the lead.

Then came another Doon goal - Jack Ryan was somehow left totally unmarked in front of goal and when possession was transferred across to the corner forward he calmly found the net despite the advancing goalkeeper.

That left it 3-7 to 0-9 and five minutes gone in the second half.

Justin Norden and Dempsey (free) replied to cut the gap to five points.

From here until the water break were another two fine points from play by English for Doon, while Na Piarsaigh had Sean Long and JJ Carey points.

But Na Piarsaigh were also up to 11 wides, compared to five for Doon.

So entering the final quarter it was 3-11 to 0-13.

Bob Purcell was soon onto four points from play to stretch the Doon lead.

Then came a Na Piarsaigh goal - Dylan Lynch finding the net.

But Doon responded in style to finish with the game's final five points to seal their title win.

* See the print edition of the Limerick Leader for a full match report.