Clinical Kerry run riot against Limerick in the McGrath Cup

JIMMY LEE'S era as Limerick senior football manager has gotten off to a tough start following a 6-18 to 0-11 loss to Kerry in their McGrath Cup tie at Mick Neville Park this Saturday afternoon.

All the damage was done in the first half with Sean O'Shea and Conor Geaney sharing four goals, with Ronan Buckley adding a fifth before the break. Dara Roche added a sixth goal in the second half for Jack O'Connor's men.

Limerick used 26 players during the game with 12 players making their first senior appearances for their county at competitive level.

The score was at 0-3 to 0-2 in Kerry's favour with nine minutes on the clock - Bryan Nix and Sean O'Dea on the scoreboard for Limerick with fine scores.

However, Kerry took firm control when Dara Moynihan and Conor Geaney combined to put O'Shea in for the first goal of the contest with 11 minutes played.

Limerick were architects of their own misfortune moments later when a misplaced pass in defence opened up the door for O'Shea to finish to an empty net for the second goal.

A third three-pointer arrived on 18 minutes when a slick team move sliced open the Limerick defence with Conor Geaney providing the finish.

Kerry were finding gaps every time they attacked in the opening half O'Shea and Dylan Geaney in fine form in front of goal. Conor Geaney was also lethal in front of goal and his second of the game saw his side lead 4-6 to 0-2 ahead after 24 minutes.

Darragh Siocurú stopped the scoring rot for Limerick with a fine point from play that was followed by an excellent effort from Tommy Griffin.

Andrew Meade also got in on the act on his debut but Buckley soon put Limerick on the back foot once more with a fisted finish after Dara Moynihan's smart delivery. That saw Kerry 5-10 to 0-6 up at the break.

Kerry made nine half time changes to Limerick's five but they continued their dominance with Paul Murphy, Buckley and Joe O'Connor landing the first three scores of the second stanza.

Roche added a sixth goal on 50 minutes for the Kingdom as they cruised to victory. Daniel Daly came off the bench for Limerick in the final 20 minutes and landed three points, while Jeffrey Alfred sent over two '45s as Jimmy Lee's experimental side continued to fight until the end.

It was a dominant display by Jack O'Connor's men that eventually saw them win out on a 6-18 to 0-11 scoreline to reach the McGrath Cup final. 

SCORERS - LIMERICK: Tommy Griffin, Darragh Siochrú (0-1 free), Daniel Daly (0-1 free) and Jeffrey Alfred (0-2 '45s) 0-2 each, Bryan Nix, Sean O'Dea and Andrew Meade 0-1 each.

SCORERS - KERRY: Sean O'Shea and Conor Geaney (0-3 frees) 2-3 each, Ronan Buckley 1-1, Dara Roche 1-0, Dylan Geaney 0-4, Dara Roche 1-0, Killian Spillane (0-2 frees) and Keith Evans 0-2 each, Paul Murphy, Joe O'Connor and Stephen O'Brien 0-1 each. 

LIMERICK: Aaron O'Sullivan; Jim Liston, Sean O'Dea, Brian O'Sullivan; Bob Childs, Cillian Fahy, Paul Maher; Emmet Rigter, Tommy Griffin; Andrew Meade, Barry Coleman, Bryan Nix; Darragh Siochrú, John Hayes Eoin Hurley.

SUBS: Jeffrey Alfred for A O'Sullivan (h-t), Tony McCarthy for Liston (h-t), Darren O'Doherty for Fahy (h-t), Tadgh Siochrú for Maher (h-t), Joe Sweeney for Coleman (h-t), Darragh Murray for Hayes (40 mins), Tommie Childs for Hurley (45 mins), Daniel Daly for R Childs (48 mins), Ruadhan O'Connor for Meade (53 mins), Aaron Neville for B O'Sullivan (53 mins), Shane Costello for Nix (53 mins).

KERRY: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Stefan Okunbar, Gavin White; Joe O'Connor, Sean O'Brien; Adrian Spillane, Dylan Geaney, Ronan Buckley; Conor Geaney, Seán O'Shea, Dara Moynihan.

SUBS: Damian Bourke for Casey (h-t), Mike Breen for Ó Beaglaoich (h-t), Joey Nagle for Okunbor (h-t), Paudie O'Leary for White (h-t), Barry Dan O'Sullivan for O'Brien (h-t), Stephen O'Brien for A Spillane (h-t), Killian Spillane for C Geaney (h-t), Dara Roche for O'Shea (h-t), Michael Burns for Moynihan (h-t), Keith Evans for D Geaney (45 mins), Graham O'Sullivan for Murphy (45 mins).

REFEREE: Cormac Dineen (Cork).