No complaints from Limerick boss Kiely who admits fatigue a factor

John Kiely came out of the Limerick dressing room with his hands held up in the metaphorical sense, conceding Clare were the better team.

However, he said his side’s three games in a 14-day spin had been too much for them, even if he didn’t detect tiredness in the build-up .

“I think playing that level of a sport so intensely over a short period of time you really would need to be professional. That is the bottom line. I think next year they’re going to put in a gap weekend for everybody. I’m not using it as an excuse. I don’t want it to be an excuse, it’s not. The bottom line is Clare were better than us, they had energy all over the pitch and they were so efficient in the second half playing against the breeze. It probably suited their style, but we just failed to grab any momentum in that second half. It’s a setback, but I’m sure it’s one we can absorb and can bounce back from,” said Kiely.