Limerick finish with a flourish to knock out holders Tipperary

Ronan Lynch scored the 53rd minute penalty that ended Tipperary's reign as Munster and All-Ireland minor hurling champions last night.

Lynch scored 1-7 as the Shannonsiders advanced to a first minor provincial final since 2005.

In front of 3,314 supporters on a sunny evening at Semple Stadium, Limerick were full value for their win, as a powerful second half performance saw them home.

Tipp led by 0-14 to 0-10 early in the second half but Limerick hit six points without reply to move two points clear.

Indeed, the visitors outscored Tipperary by 1-7 to 0-3 in the final 20 minutes. Tipp also went 18 minutes without a score in the second half as Limerick turned up the heat.

It was a far cry from their free-scoring form in the first half – as Josh Keane and Colin O'Riordan hit four points each to help open up a 0-12 to 0-10 interval lead.

TIPPERARY: B Hogan; R Mulcahy, J Ryan, D Peters; T Fox (0-1), R Maher, B Heffernan; W Connors (0-1), T Kirwan; C Lanigan (0-1), C O'Riordan (0-4), S Conlon (0-1); M McCarthy (0-1), J Keane (0-7, four frees), S Ryan. Subs: T Nolan for Conlon (42 mins), D Quinn (0-1) for Lanigan (48 mins ), A Tierney for Peters (51 mins), F O'Sullivan for Connors (57 mins).
LIMERICK: C Ryan; J Porter, R English, S Finn; S Ryan, A La Touche Cosgrave, S Flanagan; J Butler, D Donovan; B Nash (0-1), R Lynch (1-7, goal pen, six frees), C Lynch (0-2); D Coleman (0-1), D Dempsey (0-4), P Ryan (0-1). Subs: G Whelan for Butler (39 mins), T Morrissey (0-1) for P Ryan (44 mins).
Referee: Damien Fox (Clare)