“Hopefully we can make it a hat-trick”

LIMERICK’S under-21 hurling selectors are concerned about the fitness of key players Mark Keane and Niall Moran ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland final against Galway in Thurles.

Ace free-taker Keane pulled a hamstring playing with his club South Liberties in a county IHC match, while Moran picked up a badly bruised thumb in training.

Both players are receiving intensive treatment.

Good news from Limerick is that team captain Peter Lawlor has recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of the semi-final against Antrim.

Sunday’s final is historic, not least for the fact that six Limerick players are in line to win their third All-Ireland medal in a row in the grade.

Timmy Houlihan, Damien Reale, Eugene Mulcahy and Mark Keane played in the 2000 and 2001 victories, while Kevin Tobin and Conor Fitzgerald made appearances as substitutes.

While history will weigh heavily on the reigning champions, those close to the team are anxious to shield the players from such talk.

“There is certainly no mention about winning three titles in a row in any of our team chats, and we have cautioned them to try and keep away from the papers in the lead-up to the match,” selector David Punch said.

“In fact, we are more concerned for the players who are chasing their first medal at this level. It’s a huge game for them, and so far they have not failed us.

“Creating records is not what we are about. It’s another game that has to be won,” Punch said.

“This will be our third year in a row playing Galway at this level. We began our run with victory over them in the 2000 final, maintained our dominance in the 2001 semi-final, and hopefully we can make it a hat-trick of victories on Sunday in the biggest game of all,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kevin Brady will hope for a Galway win on Sunday which would be the first of a possible three All-Ireland medals for the Castlegar youngster.

He is also a member of the county’s intermediate hurling team which drew with Tipperary in the All-Ireland final ten days ago.

Last Saturday he showed he is an accomplished footballer, playing a key role in Galway’s triumph over Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Brady was the only player involved over the weekend and he came through unscathed, but team coach John Hardiman must wait on a fitness report on his centre-back Cathal

Dervan before naming his team.

Dervan was concussed badly in the intermediate final against Tipperary and had to be carried off.

If he were to miss Sunday’s final, he would be an enormous loss as he was a commanding figure at centre-back in the demolition of Wexford in the semi-final.

Galway last won the title in 1996,defeating Wexford, while Tipperary achieved the three-in-a-row in 1979-81.

Cork hold the record of four title wins in a row from 1968 to 1971.