Limerick have the momentum

Munster SHC/Limerick v Tipperary: A big weekend for hurling gets under way in Limerick this evening with the replay of last weekend's opening-day draw in Thurles. Both sides have been free to take what encouragement and discouragement they can out of the first match but indications are that Limerick have emerged with their self-confidence enhanced whereas Tipp's crisis of morale has changed little.

Joe McKenna named an unchanged team early in the week whereas Tipperary waited until last night to announce that they were making three changes from the at-times frighteningly poor display in Semple Stadium.

It's not so much a question of glasses being half-full or half-empty; Tipperary were outplayed for most of the match and rescued by fortuitous if well-taken goals. The team's one lifeline is the conviction that they can't play as badly again and that's not necessarily the most comforting thought going into a replay six days later.

Limerick conversely have some sense of momentum despite the disappointment of blowing a strong position. As one of the players put it during the week: "It's like TJ (Ryan, captain) said, once we get a win, things will take off. Spirit is very good."

They mightn't have won last week but it was the first time in four years their championship challenge hadn't expired on the first day and they will have taken more out of the drawn match even if their opponents have more room for improvement.

Tipp's changes aren't too surprising. Diarmaid Fitzgerald should have started the last day although ideally he should be in the half-backs. It must have been a toss-up which of the corner backs walked.

Martin Maher didn't look fully himself last week and may be still feeling the effects of injury and he is demoted.

The crucible will be the Tipperary half-forward line's exchanges with Limerick's half-backs. Ken Hogan has moved to strengthen this under-performing sector and there may be raised eyebrows at the omission from the starting line-up of Redser O'Grady with Micheál Webster leapfrogging him into the centre-forward spot in place of Francis Devanney.

It's still the right decision. O'Grady brought great enthusiasm and energy to the team last week and redeemed some wild shooting with an ice-cool finish for the first goal. But who could blame Hogan for keeping him reserve again rather than taking a chance on his producing a sustained display over 70 minutes or hitting the ground running from the start?

John Carroll is named on the bench but how likely is he to play a part after four days back on the panel? Tommy Dunne's starting place was expected but it reflects more Paddy O'Brien's miserable experience than the former captain's irresistible claims. His experience and striking ability are presumably being relied on to steady the team from the start but they are qualities equally needed if the conclusion's fraught and Dunne doesn't look like a 70-minute player at this stage of a distinguished career.

Concerns about the fitness of Eoin Kelly and Lar Corbett had abated by last night but morale doesn't repair as easily as physical injury. The big question for this evening is whether Tipperary can reconstruct their spirit.

Looking at them last week, it was striking how demoralised they seemed. Such self-doubt was most noticeable in the below-par performances of established championship performers like Brendan Cummins, Philip Maher and Eamonn Corcoran - All Stars when the county won the All-Ireland only four years ago.

And it's not as if Limerick have no room for improvement themselves. Ollie Moran was more subdued than his half-back colleagues and McKenna's switch of the player to centrefield didn't work out. Similarly the management was slow to react to O'Grady's move to full forward, which led to the goal.

(They weren't the only ones to miss a trick here. Stephen Lucey was maligned in The Irish Times match report by being saddled with the blame for the first Tipp goal. In fact he moved in to full back thereafter.)

But the one thing Limerick now clearly have is momentum. Tipperary may have the potential to bounce back but it's harder to believe in the likelihood - maybe even for them.

LIMERICK: T Houlihan; S Lucey, D Reale, M Foley; O Moran (capt), B Geary, P Lawlor; D O'Grady, P O'Grady; C Fitzgerald, N Moran, A O'Shaughnessy; D Sheehan, TJ Ryan, D Ryan.

TIPPERARY: B Cummins; D Fitzgerald, P Maher, P Curran; D Fanning, D Kennedy, E Corcoran; C Morrissey, P Kelly; J Devane, M Webster, B Dunne (capt); E Kelly, L Corbett, T Dunne. Subs: D Young, E Buckley, J Carroll, F Devanney, D Egan, M Maher, P Morrissey, P O'Brien, G O'Grady, M O'Leary, C O'Mahoney, E Sweeney.

Referee: A Mac Suibhne (Dublin).

Limerick v Tipperary Today, Gaelic Grounds, 6.30 On TV: RTÉ2