In a remarkable round 5 of the Munster SHC, Limerick secured an impressive 0-30 victory over Waterford, who managed to score 2-14. In the face of a spirited challenge by Waterford, Limerick showed their mettle by outpacing them 0-9 to 0-1 in the final 15-minutes, effectively extinguishing Waterford’s chances. This display of endurance resonated with their renown, akin to an unstoppable tank traversing every battlefield.
Although the reigning All-Ireland champions were not at their absolute best, their performance improved as the game progressed. An initially lackluster attack display turned more commanding by the end of the match, echoing their previous formidability.
However, this does not do justice to the palpable pressure in the middle stages of the second half, when Waterford managed to close the gap to a mere two points, keeping the champions on their toes for an extensive period. Despite having the advantage of the wind and gathering momentum with Shane Bennett’s brace of goals, Waterford fell short of truly unsettling Limerick and their formidable supporters, as they were unable to gain the lead.
The first half saw Limerick with the wind in their favour, yet they failed to capitalise effectively. Shooting is one of their chief armories, aiming to fire at least 40 shots per game. However, precision was glaringly absent in the initial half.
Known for their prowess in long-range and acute angle shooting, Limerick’s choice of shots has rarely invited criticism. Yet, due to the tactful wind drifting towards the City End with a slight slant making long shots more challenging, their attempts from distance were found wanting this time around.
Throughout the season, Diarmuid Byrnes wasn’t on his game, missing four out of five shots in the first half. Seamus Flanagan was also out of sync, having three unsuccessful attempts before he had to leave the field due to a hamstring injury. By mid-game, Limerick had tallied 14 points, an unfortunate equal to their number of failed shots, which included a mistimed pass from Aaron Gillane that ended up crossing the endline without even targeting the posts. It’s still up for debate whether that should be considered a plus point or a negative one.
Waterford, on the other hand, remained in contention thanks to their effective shooting against the wind. They only committed their second mistake after 27 minutes, a time by which Limerick had already accumulated a significant 12 inaccuracies.
Stephen Bennett, heading up the attack as centre forward, put distance between himself and Declan Hannon and managed to stay engaged in the game. He scored a decent point and his free-taking was commendable. The only free he didn’t handle perfectly resulted in Waterford’s goal after 16 minutes. Nickie Quaid, prepared and poised on the line, was caught off guard when Shane Barrett masterfully deflected the ball into the net at the last moment.
This took Waterford to a 1-4 to 0-4 lead, but they managed to hold onto it for a mere five minutes. Limerick, though they made a couple of attempts at goals, was repeatedly thwarted by Waterford’s defence. Tadhg De Burca made a crucial tackle on Gearoid Hegarty, which the referee judged as a ball contact, preventing a penalty. Limerick’s plea for a black card penalty was dismissed and, by game’s end, they still hadn’t managed to score.
However, the absence of a goal rarely fazes Limerick. The same was true in this instance.
In Limerick’s team, we had N Quaid, M Casey and D Morrissey. B Nash, scoring one point, D Byrnes with two points out of which one was a free, D Hannon, K Hayes got three points. W O’Donoghue and C Lynch managed to take one point each. C O’Neill and G Hegarty scored two points each. T Morrissey did well with four points and A Gillane topped the charts with seven points including seven frees. Team also had S Flanagan, D Reidy who scored two points.
In the subsequent teams, S O’Brien scored three points for Swapping out with Flanagan, who got injured at the 20-minute mark, A English scored a point as a replacement for T Morrissey. F O’Connor came in for Casey at the 61-minute mark; C Boylan scored a point as a replacement for Reidy at 62-minute interval. D O’Dalaigh came in for Gillane at the 70-minute mark.
In the Waterford team, we had S O’Brien, I Kenny, S Prunty, I Daly, M Fitzgerald, T de Burca, C Lyons who scored two points, and P Leavey who managed a single point. N Montgomery, J Barron scored a point. D Hutchinson scored two points with one being free, J Prendergast and K Mahony both managed to take one point each. Stephen Bennett scored five points with four being frees and Shane Bennett scored two goals.
In the subsequent teams, M Kiely replaced Montgomery during half-time; Patrick Fitzgerald scored a point replacing Barron at the 46-minute mark. Padraig Fitzgerald replaced Stephen Bennett at the 56-minute interval; K Bennett came in for Shane Bennett at 65-minute mark. Lastly, J Fagan replaced Prendergast at the 68-minute mark.
The referee of the match was Michael Kennedy from Tipperary.