Tipp gear up for minor hurling showdown with Limerick

Liam Cahill's a straight talker and he knows it will take something special for Limerick to defeat his Tipperary side in tomorrow's Electric Ireland minor hurling final.

Cahill masterminded a 17- point Munster final victory against the same opposition and his young guns put seven goals past Galway in the recent All-Ireland semi-final.

But Cahill also warned that Limerick are a much improved team since July and a player who didn’t line out on that occasion, Ciarán O’Connor, filled the sweeper role to near perfection when the Shannonsiders beat Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Speaking to Tipp FM this week, Cahill offered a wholly honest assessment of the challenge that lies in store.

He recalled: “We were going in as underdogs last year as a certain extent [against Galway].

“This year, expectation levels are very high. Things stay the same in relation to preparation even though, thankfully, we’ve got a little bit more preparation work done this year compared to last year.”

Earlier this year, Cahill issued a directive that it was one code only for prospective panel members.

So far, he can claim to have been proven right, as Tipp bounced back from an opening round Munster championship defeat to win the province in style, before gaining revenge for last year’s All-Ireland final defeat against Galway.

Last time out, Tipp were devastating in attack. Galway, once again, went with a sweeper, but abandoned that tactic early in the second half.

But Cahill believes Tipp will face something similar at Croke Park tomorrow.

He said: “They’ll have be very aware of the pace we have up front. I predict we will meet a similar set-up in relation to a sweeper . . . We believe it will be very close, so it’s about being patient and doing the simple things right.”