Limerick v Kilkenny: Three big match turning points 

Conor Boylan, left, and Cathal O'Neill of Limerick celebrate the All-Ireland final victory at Croke Park. 

A good start is half the battle

Limerick's fast start gave them a vital platform and Kilkenny, for all of the guts and endeavour they showed throughout the rest of the game, never truly recovered from it. Diarmaid Byrnes lofted over Limerick's opener from a second minute free, riding the stiff breeze at his back. Then Gearoid Hegarty seized on a long diagonal ball towards the right of the danger area, beat his man and unleashed a rocket shot to the far corner of the Kilkenny net. Limerick were clearly after a strong start and pushed for goals where possible. Two minutes later, Aaron Gillane found himself bottled up but still in possession of the sliotar so kicked it over the bar. Limerick suddenly led 1-2 to 0-0 and had the ideal platform from which to attack the rest of the game. It was the sort of beginning that Kilkenny badly needed and while they did get it back to level terms briefly on two occasions in the second-half, the early Limerick blitz left clear daylight between the teams for much of the game.