Limerick control left wing, lackluster league & semi-finals | Talking Points from Treaty hurling win in Galway

Nash, Hayes, Morrissey and Casey was the default down the left in 2021 and on Sunday, they showed just how important they are to the side.

The result was rarely in doubt but Galway did cause some issues for Limerick late on in their National Hurling League meeting over the weekend. In the end, the margin was five points to move Limerick into second in group one of the top tier.

John Kiely started with ten of their All-Ireland winning XV from 2022 and was rewarded by the performances of each as they dominated thier hosts in the first half taking a 0-14 to 0-7 lead into the dressing room.

The Galway comeback came but Limerick stemmed the tide as they continue to close in on a knockout berth. With a two week break to their trip to Mullingar, we look a the talking points from the win in Salthill.

Limerick’s Left Wing

At Limerick’s strongest (or even with some fringe players sprinkled in) every line of the field is littered with All-Star quality. Down the centre, Limerick’s spine contains the likes of Nickie Quaid, Declan Hannon, William O’Donoghue and Cian Lynch. The right side has Sean Finn at the corner with a pair of Hurler of the Years in front of him in Diarmaid Byrnes and Geaoroid Hegarty. But on Sunday afternoon, it was the left wing where Limerick made hay as the quartet down that flank were imperious.

Barry Nash, Kyle Hayes, Tom Morrissey and Peter Casey was the default throughout 2021, arguably the most impressive of Limerick’s previous four All-Ireland wins and for the first time since that comprehensive dismantling of Cork in the decider, they were reunited in Salthill. An injury to Casey on that day saw him miss the entirety of last season while two injuries to Lynch saw Hayes shifted to #11. On Sunday, they showed just how important they are to the side.

For Nash it was a first run out of 2023 with last year’s Hurler of the Year nominee not missing a beat as he was chosen to the Hurling Team of the Week. In front of him, Kyle Hayes was at his best with three long-range scores from wing back. A wild swing in the second half has overshadowed his performance but there is no doubting that he is the best half back in the game alongside Byrnes.

Morrissey was back to his best at wing forward, firing over four from play and adding as many from frees once he took over placed balls where he was unerring. His final score from play was arguably the most important, coming at a time when Limerick finally stemmed the Galway tide late on. Casey hit a couple from play as he looks to have sharpened up again from his first start a fortnight ago which is an ominous sign for the rest.

Galway’s naivety when dealing with the quartet was startling but John Kiely will definitely be happy to see the four operating at such a high level early on in the season. Yet, if the opposition spend too much time on those four, then there are 11 others who cant hurt you, the lingering question when dealing with Limerick is picking your poison.

Free Taking Duties

Talking of Tom Morrissey and the Ahane man once more showed his ability over placed balls as alluded to above. His free taking with his club is a staple of the Limerick SHC but for the general public, the chance to see Morrissey in that scenario has been a rare occurrence. He took over from Aaron Gillane in the 2018 Munster Senior Hurling Championship clash in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and went five from five in that epic draw. On Sunday he nailed each of his four efforts with unerring accuracy.

As a sure fire championship starter, it is a huge positive to have someone dependable like Morrissey in tow. Gillane and Diarmaid Byrnes are obvious first choices over frees but neither has featured this year with the likes of Morrissey, David Reidy and Micheal Houlihan stepping up to the plate. Reidy has been Limerick’s perennial free taker in the league over the years while Houlihan hit eight in the win over Clare and added four more before being substituted against Galway.

In addition to those, Shane O’Brien took over from Houlihan when injured in the championship last year while Darragh O’Donovan was over long range efforts for Doon in the SHC. Peter Casey has hit frees for his county before while Barry Nash is South Liberties first choice.

And the sight of those over frees will be a comforting one for Kiely and co as they prepare for a hectic schedule where an injury could befall anyone.

Limerick within sight of a League semi-final

When asked about Limerick’s goal for the remaining two rounds of the National League, John Kiely remained coy in his answer as he said,

“I haven’t thought of it. We have a two-week break so we will train hard for ten days and see where we are at.”

The Shannonsiders are currently second in Division 1A of the league on four points, level with Clare and two behind Cork who are 100% from their three outings thus far. Limerick followed up their loss to the Rebels in the opening round with a pair of wins and edge Clare following that comprehensive win a fortnight ago. Up next for Limerick is Westmeath who languish in last place with a scoring difference of -42. The form guide would suggest a comfortable win for Limerick in Mullingar that would put them in pole position to qualify for the semi-finals ahead of their final round clash with Wexford in the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

Clare have to play Galway and Cork in their final two outings which could see Limerick qualify with a game to spare should results go in their favour. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see Limerick’s approach in the final pair of games following their Spring form of 2021 and ’22 where they never looked like getting out of the group. They have already matched their tally of wins from the 2021 campaign while they have gone one better than last year with two games to play.

The League semi-finals are less than a month removed from their Munster opener in April while the final is just two weeks before that clash with Waterford. And the Deise are an example of peaking early as they proved last year. However, Limerick won all before them en route to capturing the All-Ireland title in 2020 but showed last year they could do it after faltering through the league.

John Kiely has the squad depth to rest key players coming up to the championship and has shown faith in fringe players thus far in the league which he has been rewarded with. But as the championship closes in, attention will surely shift rapidly and it will be interesting to see the approach then.

Lack Of Intensity

Following the abysmal showing in the early stages of the League in 2022, it has been fantastic to see Limerick in full flight at times during their first three games this Spring. The first half in both Pairc Ui Chaoimh and Salthill as well as the first hour in the TUS Gaelic Grounds against Clare were near championship levels from the All-Ireland champions. The other hour or so of action needs improvement but nonetheless, Limerick are a far different side to the one we saw in last year’s league.

Yet, the overall competition in the league has left a lot to be desired. The clash in Cork had its moments and was the first real run out for both sides following their duel in the Munster Hurling League. Since the atmosphere in both contests has been lacking with the action on the field contributing to that. Limerick utterly dominated a shadow Clare side for the majority of the second-round game and this was continued in Salthill last Sunday for three-quarters of the tie.

Both Clare and Galway offered chances to players to impress but neither Henry Shefflin or Brian Lohan will have learnt much from those as they never took the game to Limerick. And it reflects in the stands with both games lacking in intensity on and off the pitch.

There is little Limerick can do in that regard with the players chosen by John Kiely giving their all but the opposition has left a lot to be desired in successive weeks.