Doon 0-16 Na Piarsaigh 2-09
Doon are Limerick senior hurling champions for the first time after beating Na Piarsaigh by 0-16 to 2-9 at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.
Eleven points from Adam English was the difference with the Limerick starlet in irrepressible form throughout the contest.
Na Piarsaigh dominated the early stages thanks to goals from Adrian Breen and Daithi Dempsey but Doon were not to be denied.
Conor Boylan opened the scoring for Na Piarsaigh on three minutes with a fine effort but that was soon cancelled out by Adam English's first of the afternoon.
Two further English frees had Doon 0-03 to 0-01 clear at the 11 minute mark but the east Limerick side were then hit by a Na Piarsaigh scoring spree.
JJ Carey got their second point and then they hit the net twice in the space of two minutes. Daithi Dempsey set Adrian Breen up for the first with a slick pass.
Breen was nearly denied by a great effort by Doon keeper Tomas Lynch but his shot had too much power and ended up in the roof of the net.
Seventy seconds later NA Piarsaigh were in again when Dempsey ran in along the end line and buried a beauty beyond the reach of Lynch to leave the score at 2-2 to 0-3 after 15 minutes.
Ronan Lynch extended the lead to six with a free but that was to be the last score of the half for Na Piarsiagh.
An English ’65 and Darragh Stapleton’s strike from play brought Doon back into the game towards the end of the half.
English then took centre stage once again with a pair of frees, the second of which came from well inside his own ’65, to cut the gap to two.
The Doon number 11 then chipped in from play after being set up by Eddie Stokes and Pat Ryan to leave the score at 2-03 to 0-08 at the break.
A ’65 from Shane Dowling ended a 17 minute spell without a score for Na Piarsaigh when the game resumed.
However, Doon drew level with 40 on the clock thanks to an exquisite strike from distance from their captain Darragh O’Donovan.
English then put Doon in front with an excellent effort from play that left but another long range Dowling squared the game up once more.
However, Barry Murphy, Pat Ryan and English soon had Doon 0-15 to 2-06 up with the game close to the 58 minute mark.
Peter Casey, on his return from the horror injury he suffered playing for Limerick against Tipperary in the Munster SHC back in April, made an immediate impact to make it a two-point game with an excellent point.
Ronan Lynch and Dylan Lynch then followed up with scores that saw the game level for a third time heading into the closing stages.
Doon were not to be denied though with their star man English pointing the crucial score to hand them their first ever Limerick senior title.
Doon: Tomas Lynch; Eoin Fitzgibbon, Tommy Hayes, Cian O’Donovan; Chris Thomas, Barry Murphy (0-01), Richie English; Darragh O’Donovan (0-01), Adam English (0-11, 8f, '65); Eddie Stokes, Gareth Thomas (0-01),, Pat Ryan (0-01); Jack Ryan, Kevin Maher, Darragh Stapleton (0-01).
Subs: Cormac Ryan for G Thomas (37), Mikey O’Brien for Stapleton (50), Patrick Cummins for C O’Donovan (59),
Na Piarsaigh: Shane Dowling (0-02, 1f, ’65); Vince Harringon, Mike Casey, Emmet McEvoy; Mike Foley (0-01), William O’Donoghue, Jerome Boylan; Ronan Lynch (0-02, 2f), Tommy Grimes; Kevin Downes, Will Henn, Conor Boylan (0-01); Daithi Dempsey (1-00), JJ Carey (0-01), Adrian Breen (1-00).
Subs: Peter Casey (0-01) for Henn (43), Dylan Lynch for Breen (50), Keith Dempsey for Downes (60).
Referee: John O’Halloran (Bruree).
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