Na Piarsaigh cruise past Ahane in Limerick senior hurling championship

NA PIARSAIGH cruised a comprehensive 2-25 to 1-13 victory against Ahane in round three of the Whitebox Limerick senior hurling championship on Sunday afternoon in Claughaun. It was an impressive display from the Caherdavin men, who dominated possession and dictated the contest. 

Ahane relied heavily on Limerick senior hurler Tom Morrissey, Morrissey finished with 0-11 out off his side's 1-13. Na Piarsaigh had a greater spread of scorers with eight different players getting their name on the socreboard. 

Shane O'Neill's side sit on top of the table in group one of the Limerick SHC on five points. Ahane will need two wins in their final two games and hope that results can go in their favour if they are to reach the knockout stages. 

Na Piarsaigh burst out of the blocks, racking up the first six points with Ronan Lynch converting two frees and a 65, Kevin Downes adding another free, while wing-backs Mike Foley and Tommy Grimes also chipped in. Ahane had to wait 15 minutes for their opener withTom Morrissey opening his side's account. But Lynch and Grimes quickly restored control, moving Na Piarsaigh 0-8 to 0-1 ahead on 19 minutes, before Morrissey struck again to trim the margin to six.

Adrian Breen’s sharp movement began to trouble the Ahane defence, and the lively corner forward clipped over three points, while Kevin Downes added his second free to push the county finalists 0-12 to 0-3 ahead after 25 minutes. Tom Morrissey kept Ahane in touch with some accurate shooting, but late scores from Downes and Daithi Dempsey ensured Na Piarsaigh held a commanding 0-14 to 0-5 lead at half-time

Josh Meskell's side needed a fast start to the second half and they got that through Daniel Minihan and Tom Morrissey as Ahane now trailed 0-14 to 0-7 on 32 minutes. Keith Dempsey then got his first point of the day to open Na Piarsaigh's account in the second half. 

Ahane showed real spirit and, on 38 minutes, John O’Connor’s strike found its way past Shane Dowling. When Morrissey cut the margin to just three points six minutes later, the momentum briefly seemed to shift, with Na Piarsaigh holding a narrow 0-16 to 1-10 lead.

However, Na Piarsaigh hit back with a flurry, as Keith Dempsey, Dylan Lynch and Kevin Downes combined for four quickfire points, stretching the advantage to 0-20 to 1-11 on 52 minutes.

In the remaining eight minutes, the victors showed a clinical edge outscoring their opponents 2-5 to 0-2. Adrian Breen and Dylan Lynch both raised green flags late on as Na Piarsaigh cruised to a fiveteen point victory. Dylan Lynch made a major impact, coming off the bench to score 1-2, while Mike Casey returned to action for the first time this year for his club in the Limerick SHC.

SCORERS:

NA PIARSAIGH: Kevin Downes (0-8, 0-5 frees); Adrian Breen 1-3; Ronan Lynch (0-5, 0-3 frees, 0-2 65); Dylan Lynch 1-2; Keith Dempsey 0-3; Tommy Grimes 0-2; Mike Foley and Daithi Dempsey 0-1 each

AHANE: Tom Morrissey (0-11, 0-8 frees); John O’Connor 1-0; Daniel Minihan and Ronan Fox 0-1 each

Na Piarsaigh: Shane Dowling; Jerome Boylan, Vince Harrington, Ronan Lynch; Mike Foley, Emmett McEvoy, Tommy Grimes; James Finn, William O’Donoghue; JJ Carey, Daithi Dempsey, Keith Dempsey; Kevin Downes, Will Henn, Adrian Breen.

SUBS: Mike Casey for Boylan (40 minutes), Dylan Lynch for Henn (40 minutes), Wayne Kearns for Finn (44 minutes). 

AHANE:Cathal Ryan; Shane O'Grady, Dan Morrissey, Evan O'Leary; Andy Rowsome, Ciaran Barry, Conor Heffernan; Conor Ryan, Dan Minihan; Ronan Fox, Tom Morrissey, John O'Connor; Mark Donnellan, James Rennison, Gavin Rowsome.

SUBS: Conor Bickford for O'Leary (18 minutes, injury), Will McCormack for Rennison (44 minutes).