LIMERICK……………………………………………………………………………………………………………2-20
KILKENNY…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..0-15
It was all too easy for Limerick as they brushed aside a lacklustre Kilkenny side to clinch the county’s 14th Allianz Hurling League final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday.
Apart from the opening exchanges when Kilkenny looked the sharper in this 2022 All-Ireland final rematch, it was Limerick who dictated the terms of engagement in a disappoin-ting final in front of an attendance of 17,243.
The Shannonsiders sent out a clear message that it is business as usual and they have no plans to relinquish their top rating in the game any time soon.
Limerick, once they found their feet, dominated in most areas of the field and while Kilkenny had a decent spell early in the second half during which first Martin Keoghan and later Billy Ryan forced smart saves from Nickie Quaid, Derek Lyng’s side never really looked as if they were capable of taking the League title to Noreside for a 20th time.
Kilkenny were outfought, outthought and outfoxed in most aspects of the game making it a very uncom-fortable afternoon for the game’s most successful county on Leeside. It is a measure of the newly crowned champions’ mastery that they had eleven points spare on an afternoon when they shot 20 wides. Kilkenny were much more economical missing the target on just eight occasions mainly due to being afforded much less opportunities.
Limerick registered just a single point during the last ten minutes, a period in which the wides tally really mounted up.
John Kiely was forced to make two late changes to the fifteen nominated to start after team captain Declan Hannon due to illness and the towering Kyle Hayes due to injury were unable to start. In came Mike Casey at full back with Dan Morrissey moving to Hannon’s pivotal position at number 6 while Colin Coughlan came in as a direct replacement for Hayes. Other key players William O’Donoghue sat out the final while Tom Morrissey joined the fray in the second half.
The Kilkenny attack was toothless for the most part and came up against a defence that despite the late defections of Hannon and Hayes was rock solid with Mike Casey in sparkling form until his afternoon finished prematurely after picking up a knock. The remainder of the defence were their typical selves, tight, organised and disciplined making the path to Nickie Quaid’s goal a major challenge.
Man of the Match Darragh O’Donovan gave Limerick a decisive edge while up front, the wides tally does not bode well but there were some very encouraging signs of players like Aaron Gillane and Séamus Flanagan well on the road to recapturing top form. The latter notched up three points and was like Gillane directly involve in both goals.
For Kilkenny, manager Derek Lyng in his maiden year and his men got a solitary lesson of what is needed if the Cats are to regain the spot they have occupied for so long at the top of the hurling tree.
“We controlled parts of the game quite well, we had to work hard on their puck out particularly their short puck out was causing us difficulties and that was a bit of work for us to do, I do not know if we ever got it completely under control.
“The wides were disappointing absolutely, whilst we are happy to have created those scoring chances we need to be taking more. Our shooting efficiency has been the lowest it has been all season.
“At the same time we are very happy to be League champions, we went after it, we worked hard throughout the campaign, all I can ask is for the players to work hard and have a good attitude and application to what we are doing with them and I think they have answered all the questions for us so far this season”, was how Limerick boss John Kiely summed it all up.
Adrian Mullen had a Kilkenny point after just 20 seconds and when Billy Drennan free and Richie Reid added further minors, it was looking rosy for Derek Lyng’s side as they careered into an 0-3 to 0-0 lead after six minutes.
Aaron Gillane from a free opened Limerick’s account in the 10th minute and the Patrickswell ace added a further brace from frees to tie up the scores. Points from frees from Billy Drennan sandwiching a point from play from Séamus Flanagan saw the Cats with a slim 0-5 to 0-4 advantage midway through the half.
On 19 minutes Limerick hit the front and were never again led. A long delivery from Séamus Flanagan into the danger area was fielded by Aaron Gillane and sublimely offloaded to Barry Nash and the corner back gave Eoin Murphy no chance with a bullet to the net.
Billy Drennan replied with a point and after Aaron Gillane and Richie Reid traded points, two long range Diarmaid Byrnes’ frees opened up a three points gap 1-7 to 0-7 after 27 minutes.
Adrian Mullen kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Leinster county but his effort was trumped by points from Barry Nash and a Diarmaid Byrnes free.
Paddy Deegan, Colin Coughlan and Eoin Cody added to the respective counties’ tallies before Limerick finished the half on top reeling off three quickfire points from Darragh O’Donovan, Cathal O’Neill and Aaron Gillane for a 1-13 to 0-10 lead at half time.
Adrian Mullen had narrowed the gap within a minute of the restart but points from Aaron Gillane two frees and Séamus Flanagan opened up and eight points gap before three in a row for the vanquished from Paddy Deegan, Billy Drennan Huw Lawlor reduced the margin to five after 52 minutes.
The Kilkenny mini revival was undone in a three minute spell, first Darragh O’Donovan restored a six points lead and on 54 minutes, the door was shut on the Cats’ hopes of making a comeback. A move started by Cian Lynch in midfield and the captain for the day picked out Séamus Flanagan who advanced on goal before timing a precise offload to Aaron Gillane to first time to the net. Flanagan and Diarmaid Byrnes immediately added points and now with 15 minutes remaining, the game was effectively out of Kilkenny’s reach.
The last ten minutes yielded just two points, Diarmaid Byrnes for Limerick in the 61st minute and team captain Eoin Cody a free for Kilkenny in the 72nd minute to bring down the curtain on what was generally a mediocre decider.
Scorers: Limerick: Aaron Gillane 1-7, 5fs; Diarmaid Byrnes 0-5, 3fs; Barry Nash 1-1; Séamus Flanagan 0-3; Darragh O’Donovan 0-2; Colin Coughlan, Cathal O’Neill 0-1 each.
Kilkenny: Billy Drennan 0-5, 5fs; Adrian Mullen 0-3; Richie Reid, Paddy Deegan, Eoin Cody 1f, 0-2 each, Huw Lawlor 0-1.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Seán Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash; Diarmaid Byrnes, Dan Morrissey, Colin Coughlan; Darragh O’Donovan, Barry Murphy; Gearóid Hegarty, Cian Lynch (Captain), Cathal O’Neill; Aaron Gillane, Séamus Flanagan, Peter Casey.
Subs: Tom Morrissey for Barry Murphy (HT), Richie English for Mike Casey (47), Conor Boylan for Cian Lynch (58), Donnacha Ó Dálaigh for Séamus Flanagan (63), Shane O’Brien for Peter Casey (67), Mark Quinlan for Diarmaid Byrnes (71 +1).
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Tommy Walsh, Pádraig Walsh; Richie Reid, Huw Lawlor, David Blanchfield; Conor Fogarty, Paddy Deegan; John Donnelly, Adrian Mullen, Billy Ryan; Billy Drennan, Martin Keoghan, Eoin Cody (Captain).
Subs: Cian Kenny for John Donnelly (HT), Paddy Mullen for Conor Fogarty (47), Timmy Clifford for Adrian Mullen (55), Alan Murphy for Billy Ryan (56), Gearóid Dunne for Billy Drennan (56).
Referee: Paud O’Dwyer (Carlow)