Without a Limerick county championship to their name, Doon knew that they faced an uphill battle against Na Piarsaigh in this evening's county final. All-Ireland winners in 2016, a wonderful Adrian Breen goal all but put such hopes to bed.
Grabbing goals early on in both halves of the match, Doon had twice given themselves a platform upon which they could stage a serious upset.
Yet, whatever good work they did, Na Piarsaigh were relentless and scores just seemed to come that little bit easier. A dreadfully cold night in the Gaelic Grounds, no 'keeper in the land would have fancied themselves to save Breen's thunderous effort.
Adrian Breen hits the net for Na Piarsaigh. pic.twitter.com/momQ1gXCB7
— The GAA (@officialgaa) October 27, 2018
As the commentator on Limerick's Live95 surmised; "You could hear the air come out of the Doon balloon there."
Much like their semi-final defeat of Kilmallock, Na Piarsaigh's superiority was demonstrated in stages. With Doon trailing by only two points shortly into the second-half, David Dempsey's opening goal for the holders hinted at what this team are capable of when they get going.
David Dempsey gets his team's first goal of the game. pic.twitter.com/42YDmSWZzD
— The GAA (@officialgaa) October 27, 2018
In the end, Na Piarsaigh ran out 2-22 to 3-10 winners.
All-Ireland winners in 2016, Na Piarsaigh made it all the way to a replayed final against Cuala last year.
In the end, the Dublin champions proved too good and sealed a second title in succession. However, with Mattie Kenny's men falling short in their county semi-final, Na Piarsaigh will be confident that they can take their place in Croke Park on St. Patrick's Day.
With a range of inter-county players amongst their ranks, it could be the perfect few months for these club hurlers already in possession of an All-Ireland winners medal with Limerick.
First up however is a Munster semi-final next weekend against Tipperary's Clonoulty-Rossmore in the Gaelic Grounds.
