The finishers will decide the outcome of Saturday's clash between Limerick and Galway

THERE has never been much to divide Limerick and Galway senior hurlers over the years. But close as the games between the sides have been, fortunes have changed in recent years.

Winning the All-Ireland finals of 1924 and 1980 and the semi-final of 1981 after a replay, the Tribesmen held the upper hand in the clashes that mattered in the early days of their rivalry. But that all changed once the John Kiely era erupted in 2018.

In fact, it wasn't even an All-Ireland final championship meeting at Croke Park in 2018 that turned the tide. In March of that year, Limerick finally escaped eight frustrating seasons in the second level of the National League by travelling to Pearse Stadium in Salthill and coming away with a one-point victory over the then-reigning All-Ireland title-holders.

Five months later with Joe Canning's last gasp free for an equaliser being blocked just under the crossbar, Limerick dethroned the Tribesmen by a single point to raise the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the first time in 45 years.

Their next meeting was in the 2020 COVID All-Ireland semi-final played in November in an empty Croke Park where the Shannonsiders’ won by three points before regaining their crown twelve days before Christmas against Waterford.

The margin was the same in last year's All-Ireland semi-final as Limerick went on to put a threepeat of titles together. Recent form would therefore point to the champions emerging victorious this weekend. But the return of the Round Robin provincial championships has lengthened the season's journey, thereby making it more difficult to pace its trajectory.

Every opponent knows the champions have to be knocked before they can entertain dreams of outright success, leaving Limerick facing peak performances on every step of their journey.

This Saturday will be no different. Galway looked as if they might be dropping off the pace two years ago when they failed to even make it to the Leinster final but they've come back with a bang in 2023, edged out by Kilkenny in the Leinster final despite dominating the game and then choking the life out of Tipperary in the All-Ireland quarter-final at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

And over Limerick's six golden seasons, they have been more consistent in pushing the champions to the limit than any other opposition.

So how might they about it this time? Up front, they have one of the contenders for marksman of the season.
Conor Whelan has been causing havoc in every defence he has faced right throughout the championship and, in their dour clash with Tipperary, proved to be the difference in being the only forward keeping the scoreboard ticking over from play.

Limerick don't usually set themselves up to counter individual threats but, with regular centre-back and captain Declan Hannon out injured, filling the hole in the heart of their defence may mean either Kyle Hayes, Dan Morrissey or William O'Donoghue sacrificing the usual role they perform for the team.

Up at the other end of the field, Aaron Gillane has been reborn and the Connachtmen's backroom team need a strategy to prevent the Patrickswell clubman repeating his demolition of the Clare rearguard that he produced in the Munster final at the TUS Gaelic grounds last month.

And unlike Whelan, he has enjoyed a more productive supporting cast so far. While they haven't all turned it on together, Tom Morrissey, Séamus Flanagan or Gearóid Hegarty are all capable of opening a second front on the goalposts.

Both sides have had their problems further back, particularly Limerick who have lost not just Adare's Declan Hannon but the anchor of their buildup, Seán Finn.

However, this looks like a clash that will be decided by the depth of the finishing and Limerick's wider spread of options up front may prove to be decisive.

The second semi-final in the All-Ireland senior hurling championship takes place at Croke Park on Sunday, 4pm, when Leinster champions Kilkenny lock horns with beaten Munster finalists Clare in another repeat of the 2022 semi-finals.