GAA
Former Limerick hurling manager tipping Down and Patrickswell to advance.
As part of out on going GAA coverage at Sporting Limerick, we caught up with Tom Ryan to get his views on the upcoming 1/4 finals in the Limerick senior hurling championship.
First up at 6pm is Ballybrown V Patrickswell followed by Doon and Adare at 7:45pm. Ryan is a man steeped in Limerick hurling and thinks Patrickswell will have too much for parish rivals Ballybrown.
“Ballybrown are a different team to Patrickswell, they have a very skilful young team. They have a lot of players, it’s basically a hurling club and they work hard at their underage but has a problem in managing that on to senior ranks.
“Patrickswell are different, the have the durability, the overall strength and they have a touch of class that will see them through. They have a stronger bench as well.”
The second 1/4 final sees Doon and Adare lock horns. Adare have been the more successful of the two clubs in recent years winning all of their five titles since 2001 while Doon have never claimed the top prize n Limerick hurling.
On paper this looks to be balanced on a knife edge. Adare’s only defeat was to Patrickswell in the first round and they had a superb victory over Na Piarsaigh in round 4. Doon’s only defeat was a narrow defeat to Kilmallock in round 3. so these are two form teams that have been playing very well and racking up high scores. Ryan believes this one has the potential to be a tight affair.
“The biggest disappointment for me has been the lack of success in Doon with their underage programs and the younger players that have come through. It is hard to win a county championship and in Limerick it is particularly hard. I think that this could be they day and I expect Doon to win that.”
The winners of the Doon & Adare game will go through to play 2015 champions Na Piarsaigh while the winners of Patrickswell & Ballbrown will progress to a semi final with 2014 champions Kilmallock.
You can listen to Ryan’s prediction in full on the link below.