Limerick 1-18; Waterford 0-19
As tests to the Limerick era domination goes, this was about the closest they have faced, considering that they had to withstand a late Deise rally with only 14 men following the controversial sending off of Gearoid Hegarty with 15 minutes to go.
This was a rousing encounter at Semple Stadium on Sunday lacking only the fact that it wasn’t the sudden death of traditional Munster hurling fare of the Mackey and Ring eras of old.
It was tough, it was rough and at times it threatened to spill over into something very unpleasant. However credit to all sides for keeping a lid on the absolute fire they had in their bellies so that the event didn’t turn into a nasty conflagration to besmirch the great old game.
Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald will have sleepless nights this week asking himself how his charges failed to land the winning combination when they had their esteemed opponents on the ropes?
The squandermania which hit his side all through the game but particularly in that last quarter when they had the numerical advantage left him shaking his head time and again as players who could normally find the target with their eyes wide shut pulled their shots wide of the mark.
They now head down to face Cork on Sunday knowing that another defeat will almost definitely deflate their season which was already hurt by yet another leg injury to the influential Tadhg De Burca in the first 25 minutes.
And so John Kiely’s men march on, with the odd limp here and there in his army which prior to Sunday looked simply unbeatable. Fitzgerald concocted a plan to force his opponents to play down flanks which suited Waterford more than the winners and even with a full complement of 15, the Treaty boys were often on the back foot.
Fitzie had said pre-match that it was vital for his boys to be still in the game after 20-25 minutes yet ironically it was in this time that the game was won and lost.
His side entered the fray tentative in their touch and application and there is no better squad to take advantage of such an attitude as Limerick.
Full-forward Seamus Flanagan scored a goal in the 21st minute which was gifted by poor play in the fullback line and Aaron Gillane was causing all sorts of trouble and could have put the game beyond the Deise in the second half had Billy Nolan not got down brilliantly to save his penalty.
Flanagan almost had another goal but for an excellent Mark Fitzgerald hook, and with Kyle Hayes and Tom Morrissey foraging and the latter landing a long distance score, there seemed to be only one outcome at that stage.
Slowly the Waterford boys found their footing and Colin Dunford excellent strength under the high ball allowed Stephen Bennett get the first of his dozen points, 11 from placed balls.
Former Hurler of the Year Hegarty replied with a great point but he was a marked man and had little impression on the game before his early departure.
When Peter Casey shot over his first and Limerick’s fifth point, the holders forward line, with the exception of the strangely quiet Cian Lynch, were winning all the duels.
The fact that the wide disease began to spread with Calum Lyons and Conor Prunty off the mark meant Limerick were still comfortable despite losing their grips on possession and they had Nicky Quaid also to thank for keeping their margin of lead with a great save from Jack Prendergast.
Dessie Hutchinson’s point fanned the flames among his teammates but a monster free from the unflappable Diarmuid Byrnes gave the Treaty further room before Peter Casey expertly landed his second score.
Flanagan’s best moments came with the skill of his over the shoulder point and his energetic pursuit of a defensive mix-up to raise a green flag and put Limerick in prime position to kick on.
That they didn’t is due to Waterford’s fitness and never-say-die spirit which saw them rage into the game as if they would rather die with their boots on than accept Limerick’s right to trample all over them.
Bennett got them ticking over with a point to reduce the 1-8 to 0-3 scoreline and with Declan Barron and De Burca now off, both sides were forced to reshuffle with Mike Casey in for the Limerick skipper and Tom Barron on for the luckless De Burca.
Bennett continued to find the target and at the other end Nolan blocked a Hegarty shot forcing him to opt for a minor score instead with the rebound.
As the temperature rose and with Flanagan lucky not to see red for a high tackle, Waterford raised the anti even further with Bennett lashing over point number eight while brothers Tom and Jamie Barron combined for an uplifting point to make it 1-11 to 0-10 at half-time.
Bennett, who else, landed another to make it a three-point affair and when Hutchinson landed an angled effort to cut the lead to two, it was very much game on.
Another Bennett free cut the lead to a point and now we waited to see what Limerick had to offer on the back foot.
Flanagan was illegally halted by Fitzgerald as Gillane’s fourth point lifted the siege but when he missed a penalty later, you wondered were the gods conspiring against the champions on this occasion.
When Hegarty got his second yellow for crashing into Conor Gleeson near the sideline, the ball was suddenly in Waterford’s court and the question was - could they kick on and do what no team has done in championship since 2019?
The sight of Austin Gleeson entering the fray was further cause for optimism for the blue and white brigade in the big crowd but Jamie Barron missed an ease chance as Tom Morrissey landed a point that seemed even more for the 14-men in green.
Gleeson kicked a point which was ruled out for a Barron foul on Quaid and when Barry Nash got his customary point following good word by Lynch, the four point advantage looked safe.
Stephen Bennett missed a tap over free which was saved by Quaid and then Gillane pushed the lead out further with another opportunistic score.
Bennett shot his 11th of the day with eight minutes remaining, sub Patrick Fitzgerald brought it back to four, and Hutchinson landed a Dessie special to cut the deficit to three.
Gillane and Gleeson swapped scores so that a goal would have tied the teams going down to the finishing post.
Waterford lashed balls wide for the 11th occasion and they had more chance of popping over three of those than scoring a goal against a water-tight winner’s derfence.
Paudie Fitzgerald made a great block to prevent a goal at the other end while Byrnes and Bennett traded scores
Hutchinson caught the wide bug with a bad miss but sub Gleeson fired over to leave two points between the sides.
.He then set up Patrick Fitzgerald but his shot went wide, signalling the end of the challenge.
Limerick: N Quaid; S Finn, D Morrissey, B Nash (0-1); D Byrnes (0-3, 0-2f), D Hannon, K Haye;; D O’Donovan, W O’Donoghue; G Hegarty (0-2), C Lynch, T Morrissey (0-2); A Gillane (0-7, 0-5f), S Flanagan (1-1), P Casey (0-2) Subs: M Casey for Hannon (14); C O’Neill for Flanagan (59); D Reidy for O’Donoghue (67); C Boylan for P Casey (70).
Waterford: B Nolan; C Gleeson (0-1), C Prunty, M Fitzgerald; C Lyons, T De Burca, J Fagan; D Lyons, J Barron (0-1); N Montgomery, D Hutchinson (0-3), M Kiely; C Dunford, S Bennett (0-12, 0-10f), J Prendergast Subs: T Barron for De Burca (22); A Gleeson (0-01) for Dunford (50); P Fitzgerald for Prendergast (60); P Fitzgerald (0-1) for Montgomery (60)
Tipperary 5-22; Clare 3-23
Don’t write off Liam Cahill’s Tipperary who had their first championship win in almost two years and blitzed their neighbors with five goals in their own backyard of Cusack Park on Sunday.
Despite their superiority in leading at different stages by 10 and nine points, they also had to show their mettle to withstand fierce fight-back attempts by the proud Banner boys to end up winning by five points.
For a team often goal shy in recent seasons, Tipp threatened nearly every time they went forward with Jason Forde and Jake Morris both securing a brace to their name. Morris will hardly ever get an easier goal than when he took advantage of a blunder by debutant goalkeeper Eamonn Foudy, which almost handed him the green flag. That score had the visitors leading 3-7 to 0-7 and looking home and hosed before the break..
Clare have great fighting qualities and talisman Tony Kelly set up inside man Mark Rodgers for a quick pair of strikes in as many minutes to reduce the deficit to four at the interval.
When the returning Aidan McCarthy shot over on the resumption to reduce the lead to three, it looked like a nail-biter for the crowd of over 17,000 but then another blow saw David McInerney's foul on Morris see him get a black card with Forde slamming home the penalty for the Premier to lead by six, 4-13 to 2-13.
Not too long after substitute Sean Ryan got in for a fifth goal with his first touch to push the margin to 5-17 to 2-18.
This time it was game over though you had to tip your hat at the character of the home players who fought to the end and were rewarded with a goal from McCarthy.
Tipperary: B Hogan; M Breen, C Barrett, J Ryan; B McGrath (0-1), R Maher, B O’Mara; D McCormack, A Tynan (0-1); S Kennedy (0-1), N McGrath (0-3), G O’Connor (0-2); J Morris (2-4), J McGrath (0-1), J Forde (2-6, 1-0pen, 0-5f, 1-01s/l) Subs: C Stakelum for Tynan (45), M Kehoe (0-1) for J McGrath (58), S Ryan (1-1) for O’Connor (63), C Bowe (0-1) for N McGrath (71), E Heffernan for B. McGrath (73).
Clare: E Foudy; A Hogan, C Cleary, P Flanagan; D McInerney, J Conlon (0-1), D Ryan (0-1); C Malone, R Taylor (0-2); S O’Donnell, A McCarthy (1-13, 0-7f, 0-2 ’65), P Duggan; I Galvin (0-2), To Kelly (0-1), M Rodgers (2-0) Subs: R Hayes for Hogan (44), S Meehan (0-2) for Galvin (51), A Shanagher for Rodgers (62), R Mounsey (0-1) for Taylor (67), J Kirwan for Duggan (71).
Ref: T Walsh (Waterford).
Galway 1-13; Roscommon 1-9
Galway know from the league that they are Hamlet without the prince when Damien Comer got injured.
On Sunday, as he hit 1-4 from play and ran the Rossies rearguard ragged with his ability to win as well as finish possession, Manager Padraic Joyce realizes his team have a chance of going one better this year if he can keep his talisman safe for the duration of the championship.
They should ease through next month’s Connacht final against Sligo after coming through this testing encounter in front of 16,917 spectators at Dr Hyde Park on Sunday.
Galway bossed the opening moiety and were four points ahead at the interval but the Rossies produced an inspirational opening in the third quarter to score a great team goal from Ciaran Murtagh and three points which went unanswered to turn the game around and lead by two.
Davy Burke’s side were certainly asking big questions which in fairness the Tribesmen answered in no uncertain terms with a period of power play by themselves.
It was Comer who helped them wrestle back the initiative by reacting like a viper to a rebound to slam the ball home in the 53rd minute.
That was the important score coming on top of points by Matthew tierney and John Maher. Up to then a fisted point by Ian Burke within seconds of the restart was all Galway had to show in that period of Rossie dominance.
Galway: B Power; J McGrath, S Kelly, J Glynn; D McHugh, J Daly, C Sweeney (0-1); P Conroy, M Tierney (0-2, 0-1m), JMaher (0-2); J Heaney (0-1), P Cooke; I Burke (0-1), D Comer (1-4), S Walsh (0-2f) Subs: R Finnerty for Heaney (61), C McDaid for Cooke (66), D O’Flaherty for Sweeney (70), D Conneely for Burke (70).
Roscommon: C Carroll; C Hussey, C Daly (0-1), D Murray; N Daly, B Stack, E McCormack; E Smith, K Doyle; C Murtagh (1-6, 0-3f), C Lennon, D Ruane; B O'Carroll, D Smith, D Murtagh. Subs: C McKeon (0-2) for D Smith (h-t), C Cox for D Murtagh (47), C Connolly for O’Carroll (60), R Hughes for N Daly (61), D Cregg for Ruane (65).
Ref: D Gough (Meath).
Armagh 1-14; Cavan 0-12
Armagh still sees Sam in the distance down the football highway but for poor old Cavan, it is the Tailteann Cup side-road they will travel on if they are to finish with any championship silverware this season.
This win at Breffni Park on Saturday afternoon was so easy for Armagh that their boss Kieran McGeeney will need to spend most of this week warning his players that Down will present a much different intensity and challenge on Sunday next.
Cavan scored 12 times and missed on 15 occasions when they shot for goal - if Manager Mickey Graham has one hope of going on a winning run even in the lower league of competition, then he must adjust the crosshairs on his side’s shooting or they will be back to club action long before we reach high summer.
In a rain-sodden Breffni Park, there was only ever one team in it and Armagh displayed a great range of skill and athleticism, especially in the first half, when succeeding in running their opponents ragged.
It was only when the outcome was a foregone conclusion that Cavan threw of the shackles and had a go. They had four wides when going for goals and had they the same attitude in seeking to gain the front foot for the earlier part of the game, they could have made a much better impression.
Armagh: E Rafferty (0-1, 45); C O’Neill (0-1), A McKay, A Forker; G McCabe (0-1), C Mackin, J Burns; B Crealey (1-0), S McPartlan (0-1); S Campbell, J Hall (0-1), J Duffy; R Grugan (0-1f), A Murnin (0-1), C Turbitt (0-7, 0-2f, 0-1m) Subs: R O’Neill for Hall (44), A Nugent for Murnin (54), S Sheridan for Crealey (58), C Comiskey for Duffy (65), C Higgins for McPartland (69).
Cavan: R Galligan (0-1, 45); K Clarke, P Faulkner, J McLoughlin; C Brady, O Kiernan, G Smith; G McKiernan, J Smith; Conor Brady (0-1), D McVeety, J McCabe; C Madden (0-2), P Lynch (0-4, 0-2m), O Brady (0-1) Subs: N Carolan for McLoughlin (29), Conor Madden for Kiernan (58), C Moynagh for J Smith (63), B Boylan for Ciaran Brady (68)
Ref: P Faloon (Down).
GAA Wrap
In other games, Down had too much guile for troubled Donegal to advance with five points to spare at Pairc Esler on Sunday while in Munster, champions Kerry had 20 points to spare over hapless Tipperary.
In the other semi-final, a ding-dong battle saw Clare overcome Limerick after an absorbing encounter in the GAA Grounds in Limerick to win by four points and ensure their place in the Sam Maguire series by virtue of reaching the provincial final against Kerry.
In Leinster, Dublin destroyed Laois in O’Moore Park by 4-30 to 2-9 with Con O’Callaghan once again their talisman. Meath, under Colm O’Rourke, were shocked in O’Connor Park where Offaly ran up a big 1-8 to 0-2 interval lead and then had enough character to withstand a fight back to win by four points, 1-11 to 0-10.
Mickey Harte’s Louth came back from eight points in arrears at half-time to Dessie Dolan’s Westmeath in Navan to win by two points 2-10 to 1-11 and will also fancy their chances of qualifying for the Sam Maguire main tournament with Offaly standing in their way now of reaching the Leinster final. In the other quarter final, Kildare huffed and puffed but by game’s end had 10 points to spare against Wicklow in Carlow on Sunday.
In hurling, Antrim were unlucky to only draw with Dublin in the Leinster championship while Galway and Kilkenny had too much firepower for Wexford, despite two early goals, and Westmeath respectively.
GAA RESULTS
Leinster SH Championship
Antrim 1-19; Dublin 1-19
Galway 0-24; Wexford 2-12
Kilkenny 0-29; Westmeath 0-7
Leinster SF Championship
Dublin 4-30; Laois 2-9
Offaly 1-11; Meath 0-10
Louth 2-10; Westmeath 1-11
Kildare 1-17; Wicklow 0-10
Connacht SF Championship
Sligo 2-16; New York 0-6
Galway 1-13; Roscommon 1-9
Munster SF Championship
Kerry 0-25; Tipperary 0-5
Clare 1-15; Limerick 0-15
Munster SH Championship
Limerick 1-18; Waterford 0-19
Tipperary 5-22; Clare 2-23
Ulster SF Championship
Armagh 1-14; Cavan 0-12
Down 2-13; Donegal 1-11
