Limerick Ladies secure inaugural U14 Silver All-Ireland Football Championship

After winning the All-Ireland C titles in 2014 and 2015, Limerick won the inaugural U14 Silver All-Ireland championship after a dominant performance against Tipperary at St Rynagh’s Park in Banagher.

Goals from Aoibhin Murphy, Michaela Cumes and Áine Cleary would prove crucial for Limerick in the final.

Despite some poor conditions, the two Munster sides put on a strong exhibition of football with Limerick’s strong running style paying dividends.

Limerick had the advantage of the stiff breeze in the opening period, but it was Tipperary who opened the scoring when Ciara O’Hora pointed a free for her side in the seventh minute.

From that moment on Limerick dominated the first-half action. Both sides operated with two players in the full-forward line, which meant there was a lot of space for both attacks to operate in, but it was Limerick’s Murphy who shone brightest with a personal tally of 1-6.

On eight minutes, Murphy got her first point to level proceedings, while five minutes later a quickly taken free from the bright Leah Quane set Lucy O’Brien up for the lead score.

Both sides were guilty of kicking wides as the wind picked up, but Limerick added to their lead when Maeve Heenan picked out Caoimhe Smith with a long delivery and Murphy popped up to give her side a 0-3 to 0-1 lead.

Six minutes from the interval, Limerick got the goal their dominance deserved when Murphy stole possession close to goal and fired smartly to the net, but in first-half added-time O’Hora closed the gap with a free for Tipperary.

Limerick were 1-3 to 0-2 clear at the break, and they soon built on that lead with Caoimhe MacNamara and Murphy on target, before goals from Cleary and Cumes put them 3-6 to 0-2 clear by the 38^th minute.

A Nicole Delaney point for Tipp and some excellent defending from Emer Roche and a Muireann Treacy save kept them in touch, but it was fitting that Murphy rounded off the scoring with the final two points.

Scorers – Limerick: A Murphy 1-6, M Cumes 1-0, A Cleary 1-0, L O’Brien 0-2, C Smith 0-1 (1f), C MacNamara 0-1.

Tipperary: C O’Hora 0-2 (2f), H Cleere 0-1, K Hanrahan 0-1 (1f), N Delaney 0-1.

Limerick: L O’Donnell; R Fitzgibbon, C Kiely (c), S McGuinness; C Ryan, K Feasy, R Flaherty; O Ryan, L Quane; M Heenan, L O’Brien, A Murphy; M Cumes, C Smith, C MacNamara.

Subs used: A Cleary, G Purcell, M Cagney, L Geary, C McAuliffe, A Cullinane, O Meehan, G Leaden, C Ryan, C Neenan, L Madden, A Neville.

Tipperary: M Treacy; N Hayes, S Ryan, A O’Farrell; A Column, MA Fitzgerald, E Cremins; N Devaney, C Molloy Hickey; C O’Hora, H Cleere, A Ryan (c); K O’Connor, E Sumner, G Fitzpatrick Ryan.

Subs used: E Roche, A McCormack, K Carr, H Brennan, E Slattery, C Shelly, L Murphy, K Hanrahan, A O’Brien, E Dwan, C Shelly, A Carew.