Limerick return to winning ways with precious win over Kilkenny in Allianz Hurling League

LIMERICK bounced back from the loss to Waterford with a much-improved all-round display to defeat Kilkenny 1-26 to 2-16 in their Allianz Hurling League Division 1A clash in front of 8,958 supporters at the TUS Gaelic Grounds on Sunday afternoon.

Aaron Gillane marked his first appearance of the season with a superb goal at a crucial juncture midway through the second half.

Five points from play for Peter Casey and 0-10 for Aidan O’Connor underscored a fruitful afternoon for the Treaty forward line.

The victory got Limerick on the board in Division 1A ahead of the competition’s upcoming two-week break.

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It will hardly be a rest period for John Kiely’s men as 10 of the panel are involved in Friday’s Fitzgibbon Cup final in Croke Park as UL take on local rivals Mary Immaculate College.

Of those heading to GAA HQ, Adam English and Aidan O’Connor were among the top performers in the TUS Gaelic Grounds, unaffected by their intense early-season schedule.

Somewhat incredibly, this was the Cats’ first visit to the TUS Gaelic Grounds in National League hurling in 16 years. That day Kilkenny eased to victory against a strike-affected Limerick side.

The hosts got off to a good start – frees from Diarmaid Byrnes and O’Connor giving John Kiely’s men the early advantage.

O’Connor and Gillane added scores from play as Kilkenny were noticeably slow out of the blocks.

It should have got worse for the visitors – but Gillane’s goal-bound effort after a good team move was blocked by Michael Carey.

This spurred the Cats into life. The visitors hit 1-2 without reply, Mossy Keoghan finished a scrappy goal to level the game after 13 minutes.

The rest of the half was a stop-start affair – lovely scores from Matthew Fitzgerald and Peter Casey the highlights from a Limerick perspective.

While Eoin Cody had an uncharacteristically off day from placed balls, the radar was working from open play. The Ballyhale Shamrocks man notched 0-4 in the first half.

Points late in the half from Adam English, O’Connor and David Rediy ensured Limerick negotiated the Kilkenny purple patch and took a 0-14 to 1-9 lead into the interval.

The home side continued where they left off at the start of the second half, scores from Gearoid Hegarty and Casey’s third keeping the Shannonsiders’ noses in front.

But the sharpshooting of Cody meant Derek Lyng’s charges were always in touch - until midway through the second half.

The big moment came in the 57th minute – English played the ball in after strong play from Cian Lynch. The ball came to Aaron Gillane who steadied himself and blasted into the top corner of the net.

From here, Limerick were able to see out the win, despite a late Eoin Cody goal.

A missed penalty from Byrnes with the last puck of the game a minor blot on the copybook.

As well as valuable league points, game-time for Dan and Tom Morrissey, as well as Cathal O’Neill were marks in the positive column for John Kiely and the management team.

SCORERS: Limerick: Aidan O’Connor 0-10 (7f); Aaron Gillane 1-2; Peter Casey 0-5; Diarmaid Byrnes 0-3 (2f); Matthew Fitzgerald, Adam English, David Reidy, Gearoid Hegarty, Cathal O’Neill, Tom Morrissey 0-1 each. Kilkenny: Eoin Cody 1-6 (f); Mossy Keoghan 1-0; Cian Kenny (2f); Liam Moore 0-2 each; John Donnelly, Timmy Clifford, Darragh Corcoran, Luke Hogan, Jordan Molloy, Paddy Deegan 0-1 each.

LIMERICK: Nickie Quaid; Seán Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash; Diarmaid Byrnes, William O’Donoghue, Matthew Fitzgerald; Adam English, Cian Lynch; Gearóid Hegarty, David Reidy, Aidan O’Connor; Aaron Gillane, Hugh Flanagan, Peter Casey. Subs: Cathal O’Neill for Hugh Flanagan (ht); Dan Morrissey for Sean Finn (40 mins); Darragh O’Donovan for David Reidy (51 mins); Tom Morriessy for Gearoid Hegarty (59 mins); Paddy O’Donovan for Aaron Gillane (69 mins).

KILKENNY: Aidan Tallis; Mikey Butler, Mikey Carey, Rory Garrett; Killian Doyle, Darragh Corcoran, Paddy Deegan; Cian Kenny, Jordan Molloy; Timmy Clifford, Eoin Cody, Luke Connelan; Liam Moore, John Donnelly, Mossy Keoghan. Subs: Luke Hogan for Luke Connellan (46 mins); Stephen Donnelly for John Donnelly (48 mins); Shane Murphy for Killian Doyle (53 mins); Cathal Beirne for Timmy Clifford (57 mins); Fionan Mackessy for Jordan Molloy (63 mins).

REFEREE: Shane Hynes (Galway).