Limerick suffer defeat away to Waterford in National Hurling League opener

LIMERICK got their 2026 Allianz National Hurling League campaign underway with a defeat in Azzurri Walsh Park – Waterford edging this Round 2 clash of the Munster rivals 1-21 to 0-20 on Sunday afternoon.

It means that only once in the last six seasons have Limerick opened their Allianz Hurling League campaign with a win.

After a humbling round one defeat in Cork, this was a much-improved Waterford outfit from what we saw seven days earlier.

While Limerick performed well in patches, overall, there was an element of early-season cobwebs for John Kiely’s men.

Discipline is one element that will be a key factor in this post-mortem – as Waterford struck 1-12 from frees.

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Limerick played some nice hurling in the opening exchanges, but the concession of frees ensured the hosts kept the scoreboard ticking.

As the visitors settled, Shane O’Brien finished a fine team move involving Gearoid Hegarty and Aidan O’Connor to level at 0-3 apiece.

Reuben Halloran punished any Limerick ill-discipline, slotting over three frees in the first 11 minutes as the hosts tried to make best use of the strong breeze at their backs.

Playing against the elements, Limerick played the ball through the lines well, feeding the dangerous inside forwards. Scores from O’Brien and Donnacha Ó Dálaigh had John Kiely’s men 0-5 to 0-4 ahead at the quarter-hour mark.

Waterford edged two clear for the first time with scores from Charlie Treen and a super long-range Shane Bennett strike.

Limerick upped the tempo, scores from Byrnes, O’Brien and an Aidan O’Connor free, edging them in front. However, a pair of Halloran frees had the Deise 0-10 to 0-9 ahead at the change of ends, the De La Salle man notching seven placed balls in the opening stanza.

Waterford were first to find their feet in a sloppy third quarter and were awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute. As Halloran was running through on goal he was tripped by Matthew Fitzgerald – and referee Colm Lyons awarded a penalty and issued a black card to the Monaleen debutant.

Shane Bennett stepped up and rifled the ball into the top corner.

Scores from Calum Lyons and Charlie Treen had the Deise on a roll, Limerick relying on the free-taking of Aidan O’Connor to stay in touch.

It nearly got from bad to worse for Limerick – a searing run from Lyons led to a shot that forced Nickie Quaid to be at his best to keep it out.

With time beginning to become an issue for Limerick, Gearoid Hegarty got into the game, hitting over two points in the space of a minute to reduce the gap to two points.

Billy Nolan and Diarmaid Byrnes traded long-range frees as the Shannonsiders kept within arm’s length.

However, in nail-biting closing stages, the Deise were able to hold on for a morale-boosting win.

For Limerick, they will look to get their campaign up and running when Kilkenny visit the TUS Gaelic Grounds next Sunday, 3.45pm throw-in

SCORERS: Waterford: Reuben Halloran 0-11 (10f, 1 ‘65); Shane Bennett 1-2 (1-0 pen); Charlie Treen 0-3; Billy Power 0-2 (2f); Brian Lynch, Calum Lyons, Jamie Barron 0-1 each. Limerick: Aidan O’Connor 0-8 (7f); Shane O’Brien 0-4; Diarmaid Byrnes (2f); Gearoid Hegarty 0-3; Cian Lynch, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh 0-1 each.

WATERFORD: Billy Nolan; Mairtin Power, Conor Prunty, Conor Keane; Iarlaith Daly, Mark Fitzgerald, Shane Bennett; Brian Lynch, Darragh Lyons; Calum Lyons, Jamie Barron, Patrick Curran; Reuben Halloran, Michael Kiely, Charlie Treen. Subs: Carthach Daly for Conor Prunty (54 mins); James Power for Patrick Curren (58 mins); Sean Mackey for Charlie Treen (68 mins).

LIMERICK: Nickie Quaid; Matthew Fitzgerald, Sean Finn, Barry Nash; Diarmaid Byrnes, William O’Donoghue, Colin Coughlan; Adam English, Darragh O’Donovan; Gearoid Hegarty, Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey; Donnacha O Dalaigh, Shane O’Brien, Aidan O’Connor. Subs: Ethan Hurley for Darragh O’Donovan (27-30 mins, blood); Ethan Hurley for Adam English (33 mins); Paddy O’Donovan for Tom Morriseey (56 mins); Hugh Flanagan for Donnacha O Daliagh (56 mins); Joe Fitzgerald for Darragh O’Donovan (62 mins); Oisin O’Farrell for Shane O’Brien (62 mins).

REFEREE: Colm Lyons (Cork).