John Kiely content his champs have picked up where they left off

WEXFORD 2-11 LIMERICK 1-17

Far more satisfying for Limerick than the two points banked was the manner in which they ground out the county’s first top-flight league win since 2009.

With only two and a half weeks of collective training under the belt since returning from their team holiday in Cancun at the beginning of this month, the Limerick lads were panting heavily at the end of yesterday’s clash.

Under the cosh throughout the closing 11 minutes, their four-point lead was whittled down to the minimum as the clock spilled into the red. What saw the All-Ireland champions through was plain old dogged determination and sheer stubbornness.

Where grit, not guile, was required, John Kiely’s students emptied the tank to achieve a pass mark. That’s as much as you can hope for in late January.

The fluid nature of Limerick’s first-half hurling dissipated as the game wore on and lungs, as well as legs, became increasingly heavy, highlighted by the fact that Gearóid Hegarty’s 71st-minute point was their first score from play in the second period.

For the vast majority of that half, the visitors were reliant on the dead-ball accuracy of Diarmuid Byrnes and a Darragh O’Donovan sideline cut to keep their noses in front.

They still had to stave off two Wexford goal chances in second-half stoppages, the post and Nickie Quaid preserving Limerick’s lead. A Barry Murphy point on 74 minutes, their second from play of the half, saw them home.

In what was the county’s first Division 1 game since 2010 and their first round-robin win in the league’s top tier since 2009, manager John Kiely was more than content at how his players fronted up.

“The most important thing for me was the players and how they would take to the game. We are only back two and a half weeks, we have had Fitzgibbon Cup during that time. It was a bit of a test coming down, but the boys dug in. I’m thrilled with the shift they put in,” said the All-Ireland winning manager.

“You won’t win them all but to come down here and get a win, it is a nice feeling. Right now, attitude is most important.

“Even if you were winning matches, you might be worried if the attitude wasn’t 100%. But I am going home tonight knowing the attitude was fantastic. Lads tore into that game with the same intensity, same hunger and desire that they did with any game last year.”

Starting with 11 of the side that began last August’s All-Ireland final, there were no early signs of rustiness from the Liam MacCarthy Cup holders.

Yes, Cathal Dunbar was put through for a seventh-minute goal for the hosts, but this was cancelled out three minutes later as the Patrickswell pair of Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane combined to see the latter find the net.

Where Wexford again persisted with a sweeper, Limerick’s play was defined by that ferocious work-rate which they tabled throughout 2018. You had Conor Firman, under pressure from Peter Casey and Gillane, forced to overcarry, resulting in a converted Gillane free; Casey disrupted a short puckout and pointed; Seamus Flanagan, though outnumbered two to one, split the posts after dispossessing sweeper Kevin Foley and full-back Liam Ryan.

For all of that, Limerick found themselves 2-3 to 1-5 behind when Jack O’Connor, pouncing on a David Dunne shot which struck the post, goaled on 25 minutes. Mind you, this was to be the last occasion they led and they did not score again from play for another half an hour.

In the play subsequent to Wexford’s second goal, Liam Ryan, after being blocked down by Cian Lynch, shoved the Hurler of the Year into the advertisement boarding in front of the main stand.

Flanagan didn’t take kindly to the treatment of his teammate and quickly became entangled with Ryan. Both men saw red, indicative of an ill-tempered first-half where Lynch and Shaun Murphy were booked for reckless challenges.

From there to the break, Limerick outscored their hosts by 0-5 to 0-1 to lead by 1-10 to 2-4, Gillane and Casey to the fore during this burst.

Liam Óg McGovern registered the first point from play of the second half, on either side, on 56 minutes. Wexford, the wind behind them, were beginning to make belated progress in front of the opposition posts.

Subs Harry Kehoe and Paul Morris, along with Conor McDonald, threw over three in a row to leave one between them — 1-14 to 2-10 — on 66 minutes. The home side had two opportunities to gain parity, but Diarmuid O’Keeffe and Morris were both off target.

Picking up where they left off last August, Limerick held on.

Scorers for Limerick: A Gillane (1-5, 0-3 frees); D Byrnes (0-3 frees), P Casey (0-3 each); C Ryan (0-1 sc), D O’Donovan (0-1 sc), G Hegarty, T Morrissey, S Flanagan, B Murphy (0-1 each).

Scorers for Wexford: J O’Connor (1-5, 0-4 frees, 0-1 ‘65); C Dunbar (1-0); C McDonald (0-2); P Foley (0-1 free), L Óg McGovern, P Morris, H Kehoe (0-1 each).

LIMERICK: N Quaid; T Condon, S Finn, R English; D Byrnes, D Hannon, D Morrissey; C Lynch, C Ryan; G Hegarty, T Morrissey, D Dempsey; A Gillane, S Flanagan, P Casey.

Subs: B Murphy for Dempsey (55 mins); D O’Donovan for C Ryan (58); P Ryan for P Casey (65).

WEXFORD: M Fanning; S Donohoe, L Ryan, C Firman; M O’Hanlon, S Murphy, P Foley; D O’Keeffe, A Nolan; J O’Connor, D Dunne, L Óg McGovern; C Dunbar, C McDonald, K Foley.

Subs: S Reck for Firman (21 mins, inj); P Morris for Dunne (55); D Reck for P Foley, H Kehoe for Nolan (both 63).

Referee: F Horgan (Tipperary).