“The two teams are very evenly matched” | Na Piarsaigh’s William O’Donoughue relishing SHC final with Kilmallock

This year’s final will be a repeat of the 2017 decider where Na Piarsaigh picked up their fourth ever title.

Na Piarsaigh are preparing for their ninth Limerick Senior Hurling Championship final since 2011 as they face Kilmallock this Sunday at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

The Caherdavin outfit have dominated this years’ competition and they are yet to lose a game with a round five draw against Ahane, with a semi-final spot already assured, resulting in their only dropped points of the season.

A first place finish in the group allowed the 2020 champions to bypass the quarter-finals and head straight for the semi-finals where they would face South Liberties.

Liberties, who were playing in their first SHC semi-final in 37 years provided a stern test for the side and Na Piarsaigh captain Will O’Donoghue expected a real battle from the side who were playing in the last four with good reasoning.

“They beat Patrickswell the week before, they’re a really good team. At the end of the day it was a county semi-final, it was never going to be a runaway game like you see all the knockouts pretty much since the county championship has went into the knockout stages, it’s been incredibly tight, incredibly competitive.

“Obviously we had some poor wides at the start but that was because they were putting good pressure on us too, it wasn’t just down to poor execution by us they were putting on some really good pressure, some really good tackles and it was 0-8 to 0-5 at half-time, that’s a story in itself of how tight it was.”

Kilmallock are familiar foes for the City side who have faced each other on numerous occasions, including the finals in both 2014 and 2017 where either team claimed a victory, the Balbec in 2014 and Nap three years later.

There’s not much to split the two hurling giants, with that statement coming to fruition already this season with just one point separating the two sides in Na Piarsaigh’s favour during the group stages.

Although, O’Donoghue believes that Kilmallock were unlucky not to win but the game back in August, the result is irrelevant leading up to Sunday’s clash.

“That night, if you look back on it, they probably should’ve won the game, it was the finest of margins anyway only a point, a draw probably would’ve been a fair result but if you look back on some of the wides, the game was probably there for them.

“It won’t have much relevance but I think it does feed into the fact that the two teams are very evenly matched and that the neutrals and the Limerick GAA should have a good county final on their hands.”

The final will be held on the hallowed turf of the TUS Gaelic Grounds which has been closed since mid-July to facilitate a makeover of the new surface.

O’Donoghue is relishing the opportunity to get back on the pitch and although he’s enjoyed the atmosphere of the ‘smaller’ grounds, nothing beats county final day at the Gaelic Grounds.

“To be able to have that (county final) back in the Gaelic Grounds is fantastic.

“The games that were held in the kind of smaller venues around the county in the last few weeks or months were brilliant as well because they were that bit more intimate and had a better atmosphere to it but come county final day you want to be in the Gaelic Grounds, you want to be in the HQ battling it out for the county championship.”

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Accept YouTube Content

Na Piarsaigh face Kilmallock at 4:30pm next Sunday at the TUS Gaelic Grounds in the Limerick Senior Hurling Championship Final.