Kerry ease past Limerick to set up Rebels rematch 

PASSAGE SECURED: Evan Curry, Limerick, under pressure from Issac Brosnan, Kerry in the Munster Minor football Semi-final. Pic: Brendan Gleeson

Limerick 1-2 Kerry 1-19 

Kerry eased into yet another Munster minor final, swatting aside Limerick in a one-sided contest in Newcastle West. It sets up a rematch with Cork, who the Kingdom were second best to last week.

Limerick would finish with 13 men. Despite have led 1-1 to 0-1 after 21 minutes when Padraic Murphy found the net, John Ryan’s youngsters played second fiddle for remainder of the contest, as Kerry clicked into gear.

There were telling contributions from Paddy Lane and Dara Hogan, the former kicking seven points before being replaced as a precaution in the final quarter. There was also a find contribution from sub Stephen Gannon – who chipped in with five points.

Limerick lost captain Aidan O’Shea to a second yellow card on 38 minutes, but they were already eight behind, as the contest slipped away either side of the interval. The second Limerick red card, shown to sub Rory Mullins, was for an alleged ill-judged comment to referee James Regan.

This contest was opened up with a Limerick score after sixty-seconds, with goalkeeper Sam Guerin nailing a superb ’45 after Limerick kicked long from the throw-in. Limerick failed to build on this, with Guerin just off target with a second effort on 11 minutes.

Kerry were wasteful early on, struggling with the damp and fast Limerick surface. The mist just prior to throw-in failed to help either team in the early exchanges, with plenty of spills making for scrappy fare.

Dara Hogan opened the Kerry tally on 19 minutes but the Treaty replied with what they hoped would be a huge score. Adam Murphy’s delivery was collected by Padraic Murphy, who spun and drilled low beyond Hoare in the Kerry goal.

But any enthusiasm that was given to Limerick by that score was quickly removed when the visitors replied with two quick-fire points. Paddy Lane kicked both, as Wayne Quillinan’s men finally showed their class.

Indeed, they would kick the final five points of the half, to lead 0-6 to 1-1, with Darragh O’Keeffe and another Lane double closing the half.

There was little front-foot football from the home side in the early stages of the second-half, as the winners asserted their dominance. A run of eight points over the next 19 minutes put the result beyond any reasonable doubt.

O’Shea’s red card, for a foul on Daniel Kirby, saw him dismissed. His first yellow came after seven minutes.

From here, Kerry strolled to victory, with Gannon catching the eye with some nice points. He took some simple points as Kerry didn’t hunt a goal. They came close when Ronan Carroll hit the crossbar but found the green flag right before the end.

Dara Hogan cut in from the left-corner before finishing low, right-footed to add to his growing tally. A final score from Gannon, his first from distance, sealed a 17-point margin.

Limerick eventually found their third score with a rare attack, as substitute Eoghan Beston clipped over with a tidy effort. It ends an overall decent campaign for Limerick, who won the Daryl Darcy Cup last week, after wins over Clare, Waterford and Tipperary.

Kerry will know tougher tests lie ahead, namely against their old rivals, Cork.

The mouth-watering clash with the Rebels is set for June 2nd at Austin Stack Park in Tralee.

Scorers for Limerick: P Murphy 1-0; E Beston, S Guerin (’45) 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kerry: P Lane 0-7 (0-2f); D Hogan 1-3; S Gannon 0-5; D O’Keeffe, B Murphy, E Boyle, J Hoare (’45) 0-1 each.

Limerick: S Guerin; C O’Sullivan, C Buckley, C Costelloe; L Óg Glynn, C Woulfe, K O’Kelly; A O’Shea, E Curry; A Lyons, P Phelan, P Murphy; A Murphy, D Hogan, T Glynn.

Subs: E Beston for Hogan (half-time), C Meade for Buckley (inj – 33), R O’Connell for Lyons (36), R O'Connell for Lyons (36), R Mullins for O'Kelly (48), R Allen for Óg Glynn (56).

Kerry: J Hoare; D Mulvihill, B Murphy, I Brosnan; P Moynihan, K O’Shea, G Evans; E Boyle (C), D Kirby; D O’Keeffe, T Kennedy, S Ó Cuinn; A Carey, D Hogan, P Lane.

Subs: S Gannon for Carey (36), J Moynihan for Moynihan (45 mins), R Carroll for Lane (49), C O'Connor for Mulvihill (52 mins), P Walsh for Kennedy (56).

Referee: J Regan (Cork).