Limerick 1-11 Kilkenny 0-14: Beating the black and amber would have been a heartening day for Limerick hurling but not losing this match was the most important thing. To that end, local hurling people in the 5,700 crowd streamed out of the Mackey stand in relatively optimistic humour yesterday afternoon, being careful to shield their eyes from the Division Two football match as they left.
Kilkenny were far from at their rapacious best yesterday, with Brian Cody maintaining his policy of giving the cream of emerging county talent a proper chance to impress. Even with a selection of household names and summer certainties in convalescence, they are a tough proposition. And although Limerick had a chance of producing a dramatic win, they could equally have ended with nothing.
"Sure you have to be happy. Could have won it, could have lost it," was the pragmatic view of selector Liam Lenihan.
Limerick's solid progress in this league means they are fairly certain to make it to the knockout stages and it restores an element of surprise to the Munster championship. They look like a team that believes it can make a bit of a charge. They have a brave and tidy corner back in Damien Reale and in the other corner, Mark Foley won a couple of monster balls when the match was on the line, although it remains unclear whether the Adare veteran will be left in the company of lightning corner forwards come the summer. Brian Geary had a strong first half at centre back but tired as the game went on and up front, the Limerick forwards worked like demons.
Mike O'Brien had a fine duel with Tommy Walsh and, while the Tullaroan wonder seems incapable of having a bad game, the Limerick man acquitted himself well. However, he did not score. Only two of the home forwards landed a point from play. Brian Begley's assertive strike after three minutes promised a bright afternoon for the imposing full forward but that was the only score he got out of JJ Delaney. Conor Fitzgerald hit three fine points for Limerick over the course of an impressive afternoon. Mark Keane scored the rest.
"Well, you always worry about scoring," conceded Lenihan. "But Kilkenny don't give you any time to strike. Today we learned that against Kilkenny, you have to play it fast or else they are right up on you. It took us 15 minutes to adapt to that. But it was a good learning curve. We are learning all the time."
Cody is also using this league as an education. His team fired 10 first-half wides and retreated at half-time 1-7 to 0-7 in arrears having led by three points with just five minutes to go. There were times when the Kilkenny back line was threatened by Limerick's ploy of playing high, deep ball for Begley. But Delaney played a tight, clever game on the tall man. It was Keane who won Fitzgerald's high ball that led to the 33rd-minute penalty, which Keane duly fired low to the net.
That concession was a warning sign and early in the second half, Delaney got a hurl to Keane's snapshot to deflect the ball for a 65. And on 60 minutes, Begley flicked a pass for O'Brien who had a one-on-one with McGarry but the forward failed to get any meat behind his ground stroke.
It was the chance of the match and it came during a period when Kilkenny were motoring. Eoin Larkin found his range as the game went on, striking a series of lovely points, the pick of which involved a great, hard-working play from Aidan Fogarty, who won possession and provided an inviting ball for the James Stephens man.
"It was a good contest, both teams were out there to win it and I have no complaints," said Cody afterwards.
"We had a few wides in the first half but I was happy that we were creating chances." Martin Comerford got another run yesterday and Henry Shefflin has resumed light training but as Cody put it, "new and old alike are out there battling for their places".
With Peter Barry's intercounty future still unclear, Brian Hogan got the nod yesterday at centre half. He had a physical hour in the company of Stephen Lucey before John Dalton came in during the last quarter.
Willie O'Dwyer made the most of his late call-up to the first team in place of Eoin Reid, firing two points from play. Michael Rice burst through to deliver the point that put Kilkenny ahead with five minutes remaining. But Fitzgerald stepped up to stroke an equaliser before Keane's hopeful late effort tailed well wide.
LIMERICK: B Murray; D Reale, TJ Ryan, M Foley; O Moran, B Geary, M O'Riordan; P O'Grady (0-1), D O'Grady; M O'Brien, S Lucey, C Fitzgerald (0-3); A O'Shaughnessy, B Begley (0-1), M Keane (1-6, pen, 70, 5 frees). Subs: D Ryan for D O'Grady (46 mins), D Maloney for B Geary (57 mins), N Collins for P O'Grady (66 mins inj.), P Kirby for B Begley (69 mins).
KILKENNY: J McGarry; J Tennyson, JJ Delaney, D Cody; J Tyrell, B Hogan T Walsh; R Mullally, P Cleere; R Power (0-2 frees), D Lyng (0-1), M Rice (0-2); W O'Dwyer (0-2), E Larkin (0-5), A Fogarty (0-2). Subs: M Comerford for D Lyng (48 mins), J Dalton for B Hogan (55 mins).
Referee: B Gavin (Offaly).
