Noel McGrath hailed his brother John’s resilience after Tipperary’s draw with Limerick in the Munster championship.
Having come on as a sub, John won the free and then levelled the match with the last puck of the game. The Loughmore-Castleiney player had missed a crucial free against Cork last week, but he bounced back here and Noel hailed his mental toughness.
“Fair play to John, he stepped up, after probably being disappointed with the one in Cork,” said the Tipperary captain in an interview with Damien Lawlor on The Sunday Game.
“He’s doing it for years. You miss some, you score some. That’s the character of him and a lot of the other lads on the team,” added Noel.
“He had a knock last week against Cork but he came back and nailed the last puck today, and that’s what you do in sport.
“There’s no point feeling sorry for yourself, you get up, you go again and you grind it out and I’m delighted for him there now,” added the man-of-the-match.
Noel McGrath relished being part of the exciting Munster Hurling Championship clash with Limerick which ended in a draw this afternoon. #sundaygame pic.twitter.com/LUZNjvAtIu
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 21, 2023
There was some niggle surrounding that late free and, for a finish, it led to the Tipperary and Limerick players clashing after the game, as you’ll see in the clip below.
Subbed moments earlier, an un-typically flustered Noel McGrath came in from the sideline to confront Diarmaid Byrnes moments after the free.
Dan McCormack also had words with the Patrickswell man, who had scored some big frees of his own on a day when he was one of Limerick’s best players. Eventually, this led to a schmozzle between a number of players from the two teams, but there were no serious blows struck.
Liam Cahill and John Kiely shook hands on the sideline and shared a joke. On the evidence of this one, you’d imagine they’ll meet again later in the summer.
The Premier had led for large periods, with Jake Morris on fire, but the brilliant Diarmaid Byrnes and Cathal O’Neill kept Limerick in the game.
John McGrath rescues a draw for Tipperary with a late free.
Tempers then boil over after the full-time whistle
📱 Updates – https://t.co/Xy5c5gtVsQ
📺 Watch – https://t.co/NcrNtKeU0O#SundayGame pic.twitter.com/HWZe5gmOvX— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 21, 2023
Tipperary looked like they might have won it when Seamus Callanan scored an injury-time point, but the influential Graeme Mulcahy brought Limerick back into it and almost won it for them.
What a day of Munster hurling!
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