Limerick 0-28; Waterford 0-22
They’re not quite the imperious Limerick of the last six years but after running out of gas last year, the green tank at least is full again and John Kiely is driving a better vehicle than what he had at his disposal this time last year.
That said, they still had enough in them to win six successive Munster Senior Hurling Championship titles and at Walsh Park on Saturday, their manner of victory against a buoyed-up home side bolstered by their win over Clare in the previous round, suggested that they could salute a seven up of provincial honors in the coming weeks.
What adds concrete for this prediction on the billboard is the fact that Kiely has got the old guys like Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane refreshed again while the younger set like Shane O’Brien and Adam English are as good if not better than the stalwarts they have replaced.
Two away wins and joint top on three points with Cork is nearly as good a start as the Treaty could have asked for and from the moment Diarmuid Byrnes opened their account with a lone-range missile in the opening minutes, it was the visitors who bossed the show.
They looked like running amok at one stage in the first half but credit the Deise as they fought back to cut the lead to three before a brace on the cusp of the interval gave the visitors a handy five-point advantage going into the second half.
With a full Walsh Park behind them, Waterford fought for every ball as if their lives depended on it and with Stephen Bennett and Jamie Barron leading the charge, the pitch battles were no place for the faint-hearted.
Mark Fitzgerald with Bennett and Barron gave the crowd hope before a smashing shot from two-time hurler of the year and Saturday’s man-of-the-match reminded us of his value when firing on all cylinders.
Waterford’s mettle for the fight was to be commended but in the heel of the hunt, Limerick had too many aces in their pack and while the home side lost nothing except two points in defeat, the reality is that Limerick are a class above.
Limerick: N Quaid; S Finn, D Morrissey, M Casey; D Byrnes (0-1), K Hayes, B Nash (0-1); A English (0-3), W O’Donoghue; G Hegarty (0-1), C Lynch (0-3), T Morrissey (0-3); A Gillane (0-9; 0-6f), S O'Brien (0-4), D Reidy Subs: C Coughlan (0-1) for Byrnes (19); C O’Neill (0-1) for O’Donoghue (49); A O’Connor (0-1) for T Morrissey (58); D O’Donovan for English (65); D O’Dalaigh for S O’Brien (70).
Waterford: B Nolan; I Kenny, C Prunty, I Daly; M Fitzgerald (0-2), T de Burca, P Leavy; D Lyons, J Prendergast (0-1); S Bennett (0-9; 0-5f; 0-2 ‘65), J Barron (0-2); K Mahony (0-1); P Fitzgerald (0-1), D Hutchinson (0-1), P Curran Subs: M Kiely (0-1) for Curran (26); S Bennett (0-1) for Fitzgerald (HT); G Fives for D Lyons (45); P Fitzgerald for K Mahony (49); A Gleeson for Barron (64)
Ref: C Lyons (Cork).
Kerry 4-20; Clare 0-21
This was indeed the proverbial stroll on a sunny Sunday afternoon for Kerry as two early David Clifford goals reduced this Munster Final to a spectacle rather than a contest against Clare in Fitzgerald Stadium.
The Kingdom ace hit 2-5 over the 70 minutes but it was the way he and his fellow green and fold wearers tore Clare apart that was the most impressive part of their play.
Even the normally laconic boss Jack O’Connor was moved to agree that his side were now in an excellent place to make their assault on Sam, following this win and the fight to the final whistle against Cork where they just about prevailed at the semi-final stage.
Kerry’s Micheál Burns scores his side’s third goal. [Inpho/Laszlo Geczo]
Said O’Connor: “We got a great start and we were after that because we felt the pace that we had played at in Division 1 that maybe Clare wouldn't have been used to that in Division 3. To be fair to them, they tightened things up maybe after the first 15 minutes, but overall, delighted. Any game you score four goals, 4-20 is a big score, so happy enough.
“What it means basically is there's three cups up for grabs at the start; the league, the Munster Championship and the All-Ireland. We've won the first two, so we have to turn our attention now to the big one.
“|But there'll be a lot of water under the bridge and a lot of football to be played before we even think about hitting Croke Park.”
The manager said he was delighted to see the competition for places increasing over the league and now into championship fare.
“There is fierce competition. We’re missing the likes of Paudie Clifford, Diarmuid O’Connor, Paul Murphy, lads like that. They'll be raring to go in the next couple of weeks. There’s going to be attrition. We're going to lose players with the nature of the competition. And it's great to have fellas coming in, week on week. Mike Breen came in today after Tadhg Morley did a great job above in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and did excellently for 50 minutes. That is what it's all about, the strength of the panel.”
Kerry should now have something of a cruise in the upcoming Sam Maguire league as they entertain Roscommon at home before facing a rematch with Cork where they will hardly be caught on the hop again.
