Five talking points as Limerick win third game in a row - with visit of Cork up next

LIMERICK sit in second place in the Allianz Hurling League with two rounds to go as the battle for a spot in the final intensifies over the next few weeks.

A 2-19 to 0-17 win over Offaly in Tullamore on Sunday has John Kiely's men on six points in the table. Cork lead the way on eight with Galway, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Waterford all on four. The Deise, however, have played five matches so for them, avoiding relegation is a higher priority with a league final berth looking unlikely.

Three wins on the trot

The eight-point success at Glenisk O'Connor Park secured a third win in succession for Limerick. After an inconsistent 2025, this was a particularly pleasing stat for John Kiely, despite a display that was lacklustre at times.

"Today, we are disappointed with our performance overall, but delighted to get the win, delighted to get the two points, delighted to get our third win in a row," Kiely said after the win in the Midlands. "I don’t believe we have won three in a row for quite some time." In fact, February 2024 was the last time Limerick achieved this.

With all due respect to Offaly, tougher challenges await for Limerick who will nonetheless be pleased with recent results after losing to Waterford in their opening game.

Darragh O'Donovan injury

The injury to Darragh O'Donovan did put a dampener on the win. The Doon midfielder injured an AC joint in his shoulder. The knock will rule him out for the "foreseeable" future, according to Kiely.

READ MORE: Shoulder injury to rule out Limerick midfielder Darragh O'Donovan for 'foreseeable future'

“To be fair to Darragh, he has had a great campaign so far. His energy has been brilliant. He has been back to where he was, possibly at his heights, in performance levels and no doubt he will work really hard over the next few weeks to get back again," Kiely added.

“I know he will do everything in his power to get back right but it’s a sore injury. For this week it is just about letting the pain settle a bit and after that then we will start to give it a bit of rehabbing.”

Direct attack

After just two Limerick attacks the gameplan was there for all to see: Get the ball to Aaron Gillane.

Unusually, the Patrickswell man didn't get on the scoresheet but he made his presence felt early on. But even if he doesn't trouble the umpires, Gillane takes looking after. This created space for the other forwards on a day where Limerick again crossed the 40-shot barrier.

Is Aidan O'Connor's the first-choice free-taker?

In a pretty lethargic first half, Aidan O'Connor was the only player from either side to score more than once from play.

The Ballybrown sharpshooter once again struck 0-10, the same personal tally he had against Kilkenny, and just a week after striking 0-11 against All-Ireland champions Tipperary.

The feeling initially was that O'Connor stayed on the frees as Gillane eased back into competitive hurling after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. However, given the UL attacker's accuracy from placed balls, has he overtaken Gillane as the primary free-taker? One we will be keeping an eye on for the rest of the league campaign.

Cork up next

A bumper crowd is expected in the TUS Gaelic Grounds on as Cork come to town on Saturday night.

With the Rebels defending an unbeaten record, and Limerick bidding to go top of the table, it will be all to play for.

Add to this the fact that the pair meet in Limerick's first Munster SHC game of the year - and may well square off in the league final - and this is set up to be as big an occasion as you could wish for in early March.