Division One Relegation Section/ Waterford 1-19 Limerick 0-18: Paul Flynn put on a one-man scoring show at the Gaelic Grounds yesterday with a tally of 1-11 that all but ended his own side's relegation fears, and left the Limerick management with plenty to ponder.
His most telling strike came early in the second period, when Limerick were within meaningful range at two points adrift and playing with the strong wind.
Awarded a 21-yard free, in front of goal, Flynn hit the jackpot, driving the ball under the body of goalkeeper Timmy Houlihan.
The pressure was very much back on Limerick and with seven minutes on the clock, and still only four points off the mark (1-16 to 0-15), they had their chance to set up a grandstand finish.
The bustling JP Sheehan was knocked off the ball inside the square. Andrew O'Shaughnessy, who had been introduced as a second-half substitute in an effort to improve on a succession of wides by his colleagues, took responsibility.
O'Shaughnessy, hit by a lack of confidence in recent weeks, did not have his cause helped when denied by goalkeeper Stephen Brenner.
Waterford's response was immediate, a pair of points from Eoin Kelly and Flynn, and with six to spare they were all but home.
Waterford, so comfortable for most of the 70 minutes, removed the influential John Mullane and Tony Browne from the action midway through the second half.
Still Limerick failed to make inroads. Selector Liam Lenihan blamed a string of wides.
"We hit five inside seven minutes when favoured by the wind. That's not good enough. I suppose it could be argued we are still going through the learning process. Waterford were physically too strong for us, and we gave them too much space in which to work the ball. There were a few positives, mainly the performance of the returning Stephen Lucey at corner back."
Waterford County Board secretary Séamus Grant was pleased. "We achieved our goal without ever having to step into top gear. Of course, we would have preferred if we were in there with the big boys rather than the relegation battle, but we will take a lot from this game."
The first half was mainly a point-swapping exercise between Flynn and Limerick's Alan O'Connor and Paul O'Grady. Waterford, behind only once, were uncomfortable at 0-11 to 0-9 at the break, but Flynn's 38th-minute goal settled their nerves.
Flynn continued with his scoring spree, and while Limerick tried to keep in touch with points from Donie Ryan, Conor Fitzgerald and James O'Brien, they never looked like making it three wins on the trot.
WATERFORD: S Brenner; T Feeney, J O'Leary, D Coffey; T Browne (0-2), J Murray, E Murphy; M Walsh (0-1), B Phelan; A Moloney, D Shanahan, E Kelly (0-2); P Flynn (1-11, 1-5 frees), S Prendergast (0-1), J Mullane (0-1). Subs: E McGrath (0-1) for Mullane, D Bennett for Browne.
LIMERICK: T Houlihan; S Lucey, TJ Ryan, M Foley; P O'Dwyer, O Moran, B Geary; D O'Grady, P O'Grady (0-4); A O'Connor (0-4), J O'Brien (0-1), N Moran (0-1); D Ryan (0-4), S O'Connor (0-1), C Fitzgerald (0-3). Subs: JP Sheehan for S O'Connor, A O'Shaughnessy for B Moran.
Referee: P Horan (Offaly).
