IT WAS with consummate ease that Limerick accounted for Cork in Sunday’s Munster Senior Hurling Championship at boiling Gaelic Grounds.
Long, long before polished public address announcer Paul Foley requested stewards “to their end-of-match positions”, John Kiely’s boys were home-and-hosed.
Ahead by a whopping 15 points at the break, 2-18 to 0-9, the defending champions kept the visitors at bay all through the closing-half also to emerge handsome victors (3-26 to 1-16).
It was one of the most satisfying performances delivered by the team for Kiely.
The defence were supreme, with Kyle Hayes awesome at centre-back.
Adam English (1-2) starred around midfield, while all forwards were on the score sheet early on, with Aaron Gillane emerging with a cracking 1-7.
Worryingly brilliant full-back Dan Morrissey retired with a facial knock and gingerly departed to the sanctuary of the dressing-room in the closing stages.
Kiely was obviously pleased to have bested Cork, a side that ended Limerick’s dream of Five-in-a-Row All-Ireland bid last Summer.
“You’re at home in the Gaelic Grounds in the Championship and you only have two games here so we have to deliver on days like today,” Kiely said.
“You have to deliver – you just have to. There’s no out on it.”
Kiely was naturally chuffed with his side’s runaway win over Cork, an outcome that practically secures yet another provincial final appearance for the holders.
“Delighted with our win and the performance first and foremost,” the winning manager told RTÉ Sport after the 3-26 to 1-16 victory at a melting Gaelic Grounds.
“The lads worked really hard. We hadn’t a great league from a consistency point of view. We had a lot of injuries, but we saw it as an advantage, because it meant we had to delve into the group as a whole.
“Some of our players came out of the league with very little game time but we had a great camp (in Portugal) and everything started to fall into place very quickly.”
He added: “We’ve had a great 10 weeks. Lads have worked really hard. They’re very fresh. They just have that appetite and enthusiasm for the game back again. That’s all I want for these guys is to enjoy their hurling and enjoy days like today.”
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Seán Finn, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey (0-1); Diarmaid Byrnes (0-1), Kyle Hayes, Barry Nash; Adam English (1-2), William O’Donoghue; Gearóid Hegarty (0-3), Cian Lynch (0-1), captain, Tom Morrissey (0-5); Aaron Gillane (1-7), Shane O’Brien (0-1), David Reidy (0-1).
Substitutes: Darragh O’Donovan, Seamus Flanagan, Cathal O’Neill (0-2), Peter Casey (0-2), Colin Coughlan, Aidan O’Connor, Barry Murphy.
On the football front, Limerick made it two wins from as many starts in the Tailteann Cup with a snug 1-18 to 1-10 defeat of Antrim at Corrigan Park, Belfast.
Ahead 0-8 to 0-5 at the interval, the visitors made safe the outcome with a closing-half goal from Iain Corbett (penalty), along with some big scores from Danny Neville, James Naughton and Tadhg Ó Siochrú.
Limerick are now assured of a home preliminary quarter-final on June 7/8.
