Limerick 3-11

Tipperary 1-10

Limerick produced the first shock of the summer when they scored three second half goals to oust Tipperary from the Munster SFC at Semple Stadium this evening.

Having plied their trade two divisions above the visitors in this year's Allianz League and been boosted by the return of key players from injury, Tipp were the hottest of favourites to progress to a provincial semi-final meeting with Cork on June 1, but Limerick didn't read the script and rocked Liam Kearns' men with three second half strikes after the sides had gone into the break level on 0-8 apiece.

Captain Iain Corbett scored the first 11 minutes after the restart, and Cillian Fahy and substitute Peter Nash also raised green flags in a brilliant second half showing from the underdogs which delighted their small band of supporters in the  2,165 attendance. It was the Treaty County's first win in the Munster SFC in seven years.

Billy Lee's charges signalled their intent with early points from Jamie Lee and Adrian Enright. Former All Star Michael Quinlivan replied with a fisted point when a goal was on before Conor Sweeney levelled from a free. Steven O'Brien then gave the hosts the lead after Hawk-Eye was called upon.

Corbett and Sweeney exchanged scores before efforts from Enright and Lee restored Limerick's lead. Frees from Sweeney and Liam McGrath had the sides level again before Fahy fisted the visitors back in front. Quinlivan replied as the sides retired at half-time on level terms.

But Limerick upped the ante on the restart when Corbett pointed before steaming forward again to hammer home a stunning goal after taking a pass from Tommie Childs. Tipp were rattled and they conceded another goal in the 56th minute when Fahy netted after making a fine catch.

Quinlivan got a goal back in the 64th minute with a low shot to the bottom left hand corner of the net, but Limerick weren't to be denied as Nash put the result beyond doubt with a third major from close range with two minutes of normal time remaining.

Limerick - D O’Sullivan; B Fanning, S O’Dea, P Maher; C McSweeney, I Corbett (1-2), G Brown; D Treacy, T Childs; A Enright (0-2), C Fahy (1-2), M Fitzgibbon; S McSweeney (0-1), S O’Carroll (0-1f), J Lee (0-3). Subs: P Nash (1-0) for J Lee, S Keeley for A Enright, P De Brun for M Fitzgibbon.

Tipperary - E Comerford; A Campbell, J Meagher, S O’Connell; K Fahey, R Kiely, E Moloney; S O’Brien, L Casey (0-1); J Keane, P Maher, B Fox; C Sweeney (0-4, 3f), M Quinlivan (1-3), L McGrath (0-2f). Subs: L Boland for P Maher, B Maher for R Kiely, J Kennedy for J Keane, D Brennan for K Fahey, D O’Meara for B Fox, J Feehan for J Meagher.

Referee - J Molloy.

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