Magnificent Limerick ignite in second half to make history  

REUNITED: Limerick players Cian Lynch, left, and Declan Hannon lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

All-Ireland SHC Final

LIMERICK 0-30 KILKENNY 2-15 

A towering second half of precision and power sent Limerick hurtling into the history books as the third county ever to win four consecutive All-Ireland senior hurling titles.

Diarmaid Byrnes and Peter Casey were colossal figures for the reigning champions as they outscored Kilkenny 0-19 to 0-5 after Paddy Deegan’s 42nd minute goal to join Cork 1941-44 and Kilkenny 2006-09 as all-time greats.

Down by three at the break, Limerick were within a point when Deegan busted their goal netting in the 42nd minute. John Kiely had his head in his hands as Eoin Murphy found an unmarked Richie Reid with a quick free. Reid delivered the ball to a similarly untagged Tom Phelan and he sent the ball out to Deegan who finished similar to Cathal Mannion’s bullet 15 days earlier.

Rather than hand Kilkenny the initiative, the score sparked Limerick into life and they sent over the next five points. A TJ Reid free in the 47th minute was but a brief cessation as the team in green struck another five without reply, going ahead in the 51st minute.

Adrian Mullen brought Kilkenny to within two in the 60th minute but Casey was scoring for fun and added three of the next four Limerick points. By the time Kilkenny found their range again, Limerick had hit them for a half a dozen and victory was theirs.

A swirling wind and a wet ball contributed to the attritional, relatively low-scoring aspect of the first half, which Kilkenny won 1-9 to 0-9.

Limerick had begun slightly the brighter but Kilkenny jumped into a two-point lead with a goal in the 10th minute. Conor Fogarty sent in a ball which Mike Casey couldn’t control and Eoin Cody was on hand to take advantage.

Kilkenny retained the lead until the break and led by six points by the sixth minute. Two of Limerick’s half-back line, William O’Donoghue and Byrnes were booked by the 14th minute, and TJ Reid was punishing a combination of sloppiness and indiscipline in Limerick’s half of the field.

At times operating a three-man midfield, Kilkenny were doing well against Nickie Quaid’s restarts which were losing distance against the wind. The Leinster champions were also doing well in breaking up Limerick’s web of short passes.

Trailing by six, Tom Morrissey going down and taking his helmet off didn’t go down well with Kilkenny who sensed a momentum breaker. Indeed, Limerick came back with the next two points, the latter of them from Cian Lynch as he began to work his magic moving to centre-forward.

At the other end, Eoin Cody was continuing to cause trouble. After Martin Keoghan hit the post, the captain was quickest to react but his shot flashed wide. Lynch teed up David Reidy to bring Limerick within a score in the 34th minute and again after Reid’s fourth free assisted Tom Morrissey for a score in the second minute of additional time.

Scorers for Limerick: D. Byrnes (0-8, 7 frees); A. Gillane (3 frees), P. Casey (0-5 each); C. Lynch, G. Hegarty, D. Reidy, C. O’Neill (0-2 each); T. Morrissey, B. Nash, D. O’Donovan, K. Hayes (0-1 each).

Scorers for Kilkenny: T.J. Reid (0-7, 6 frees, 1 65); E. Cody, P. Deegan (1-0 each); T. Phelan (0-3); P. Deegan, E. Murphy (free), R. Reid, J. Donnelly, A. Mullen (0-1 each).

LIMERICK: N. Quaid; M. Casey, D. Morrissey, B. Nash; D. Byrnes, W. O’Donoghue, K. Hayes; D. O’Donovan, C. Lynch (c); G. Hegarty, D. Reidy, T. Morrissey; A. Gillane, S. Flanagan, P. Casey.

Subs: C. O’Neill for T. Morrissey (55); G. Mulcahy for S. Flanagan (62); C. Boylan for G. Hegarty (68); B. Murphy for D. O’Donovan (70+2); A. Costello for M. Casey (70+4).

KILKENNY: E. Murphy; M. Butler, H. Lawlor, T. Walsh; C. Fogarty, R. Reid, P. Deegan; A. Mullen, J. Donnelly; W. Walsh, T.J. Reid, T. Phelan; B. Ryan, M. Keoghan, E. Cody.

Subs: P. Walsh for C. Fogarty (h-t); A. Murphy for W. Walsh (48); C. Kenny for B. Ryan (54); C. Buckley for T. Walsh (64); R. Hogan for C. Buckley (temp 65-68); R. Hogan for J. Donnelly (69).

Referee: J. Keenan (Wicklow)