First-half goals do the trick for gritty Limerick

Limerick 2-14, Kilkenny 0-17

It was forged through a gritty performance over the 70 minutes, with Mark Foley one of their stars at midfield and first-half goals from Andrew O'Shaughnessy and Michael McKenna proving vital in the end.

Kilkenny, surprisingly, never managed to come to grips with the home team's spirited challenge. With Eddie Brennan and the injured DJ Carey notable absentees from the attack, they lacked scoring power in depth with the bulk of their scoring coming from Henry Shefflin and James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick.