John Allen ‘totally confident’ that Limerick would topple Tipperary and draw for qualifiers made

Limerick manager John Allen says he was totally confident that his team would beat reigning Munster champions Tipperary, even if others weren’t so sure. Limerick were very much the underdogs at the Gaelic Grounds yesterday without a provincial win since 2007, while Tipp were impressive in the league before losing to Kilkenny in a competitive final. Former Cork boss Allen however felt that he saw enough in last year’s performance to suggest a victory was not beyond his team and so it proved. “I suppose we had some measure in last year’s game as well where there were a lot of the same players playing so I knew we weren’t going to be that far off the mark,” he told The Irish Examiner. “I felt totally confident that we would win the game but you can’t say that too loudly in case people think you’re suffering from some type of a dementia! He was particularly impressed with Limerick’s response to falling behind heading into the crucial final quarter when they blitzed their highly fancied opponents. “It was great to see us going from three up to three down and scoring 0-9 (to Tipperary’s 0-2) in the final period. That was fantastic.” They will now meet either Clare or his native Cork in the Munster Final on July 14th.

 Offaly hard draw for Waterford in Phase 1 qualifiers

Meanwhile the draw has taken place this morning for Phase 1 of the All-Ireland hurling qualifiers and the stand-out tie of the round is the meeting of Waterford and Offaly. Ollie Baker’s side will have home advantage, as they did yesterday, when they entertain the Deise in less than two weeks’ time. The winners will then travel away to whoever comes through the London/ Westmeath tie, while Wexford or Dublin will be at home to Antrim with the winner hosting Carlow in Phase 1. The preliminary round takes place on June 22 with the Phase 1 games taking place on June 29. Think you know your stuff when it comes to the GAA Championship. Why not join the JOE GAA Prediction League in association with Eircom? Find out more details right here and pit your wits against your fellow GAA enthusiasts and be in with a chance to win All-Ireland Final tickets.