NFL DIVISION THREE: Tipperary 0-10 Limerick 0-6:SUBSTITUTE CONOR Sweeney came off the bench to kick two second-half points as Tipperary surprised a fancied Limerick at Thurles yesterday.

The under-21 star from Ballyporeen was afterwards singled out for praise by manager John Evans, who said it was great to see the younger Tipperary players “growing up”.

Tipperary shot nine wides in a best-forgotten first half at the end of which they trailed 0-1 to Limerick’s 0-3.

The latter side had only two wides in the half and Tipp were dominating without making it count where it mattered – on the scoreboard.

The second half was a different matter.

Some harsh words from Evans at the break saw the home side hit the ground running to draw level with points by Barry Grogan and Brian Jones inside the opening eight minutes.

Sweeney was denied a goal a minute later when his fierce shot came off the crossbar.

Limerick regained the lead through Ger Collins but the Tipperary charge continued as they shot six points in 10 minutes to go five clear on the hour mark.

Limerick rallied with two Ger Collins points and Séamus O’Carroll broke through in the 65th minute only to have his effort for a levelling goal charged down.

Three minutes later, Limerick had defender Mark Riordan sidelined after a second yellow card and, from the resulting free for a foul on Peter Acheson, Sweeney kicked the insurance point for Tipperary.

Evans stressed the importance of winning home games as the Premier side bid to reclaim Division Two status.

Apart from Sweeney, he also lauded the efforts of other newcomers Lorcan Egan and Dara Dwyer. The duo, along with Ciarán McDonald, were key players in the Tipperary win.

TIPPERARY:P Fitzgerald; C McDonald, P Codd, A Morrissey; C Aylward, L Egan, C Dillon; B Jones (0-1), S Grogan (0-1); B Fox, G Hannigan (0-1), P Acheson (0-2); S Hahessy, P Austin (0-1), B Grogan (0-2); Subs: D Dwyer for Dillon, C Sweeney (0-2) for Hahessy, B Mulvihill for Austin, N Curran for Fox.

LIMERICK:B Scanlon; M Riordan, J McCarathy, S Gallagher; J Riordan, S Lucey, P Ranahan; J Donovan, P Corrigan; S Kelly, S Buckley, I Ryan; S O'Carroll, J Galvin (0-1), G Collins(0-5); Subs: E O'Connor for Buckley, J Cooke for Donovanl, J Mullane for Ryan.

Referee:S Doyle (Wexford).