LIMERICK HAVE TOO MUCH IN THE TANK FOR CLARE
LIMERICK manager John Kiely says his players gave the best performance of his tenure as the Treaty County dominated rivals Clare to win the Munster Senior League at the Gaelic Grounds. Limerick only held a 0-8 to 0-6 lead at halftime but with eight points from Aaron Gillane, and Tom Morrissey’s fourpoint haul, they eased to victory in front of 3,209. ‘We have had a good few weeks. We didn’t go back too early and the boys are fresh,’ said Kiely. ‘We are reaping the rewards of that at the moment. I was happy with that performance. It was probably our best performance since I got involved with the team in the last year and a half. ‘But we have a lot of work to do and there is a lot of talent there. It’s a step in the right direction. It sets us up as good as we would like to be set up before we get into the Allianz League.’ Limerick’s last victory in the Munster Hurling League came in 2015, and they lost two finals since then to Clare and Cork, both by a point. They put that right here, and Clare jointmanager Gerry O’Connor admitted they weren’t ready for the physicality. ‘It’s the middle of the summer or the start of the National League yet. From our perspective Limerick were excellent. Physically they outfought us and I am only looking at it from the sideline,’ said O’Connor. ‘On the puck-out they dominated. Ruck ball they seemed to win a significant amount of ruck ball compared to us. ‘Ultimately we would have to concede that Limerick were bar the better here.’ LIMERICK: N Quaid; T Condon, S Hickey, R English; D Byrnes, D Morrissey, W O’Meara; P Browne, C Lynch; T Morrissey (A La Touche Cosgrave 71), D O’Donovan, B O’Connell (B Murphy 57); A Gillane, S Flanagan, G Hegarty (D Reidy 67). Scorers: A Gillane 0-8 (0-5f), T Morrissey 0-4, P Browne 0-1, S Flanagan 0-1, B O’Connell 0-1, G Hegarty 0-1. CLARE: A Fahy; J Browne, C Cleary, P O’Connor; D Fitzgerald (S Morey 71), D McInerney, D Ryan; R Taylor (D Reidy 47), C Galvin; C Malone, T Kelly, N Deasy (J Conlon 53); S O’Donnell, C O’Connell (J McCarthy 70), P Collins (C McGrath 59). Scorers: C Malone 0-4, C O’Connell 0-2 (0-1f), N Deasy 0-1 (0-1f), P Collins 0-1, T Kelly 0-1, D Reidy 0-1 (0-1f). Referee: Cathal McAllister (Cork).