“They’ve improved week on week” | John Kiely pleased with returnees with O’Donoghue & O’Donovan set to be fit for League final

The Na Piarsaigh man clutched his back as he made his way off the field but Kiely wasn’t too worried about an injury he hoped would be “okay after a couple of days.”

Barring a below-par first-half performance where Limerick struggled to deal with a resurgent Tipperary, Saturday’s league semi-final was the ideal preparation for next month’s final and championship kick-off.

The Shannonsiders were 1-28 to 0-25 winners over the Premier County but it could have been more with Limerick easing off the throttle following a spectacular third quarter. Kiely’s men overturned a four-point deficit into a six-point lead as Tipperary struggled in all aspects of the contest.

Arguably the most worrying part of the evening came late on when William O’Donoghue limped off with an injury following a middle-third collision. The Na Piarsaigh man, who was back to his powerful best, clutched his back as he made his way off the field but Kiely wasn’t too worried about an injury he hoped would be “okay after a couple of days.”

“Nothing major, just got a bang, a knee in the back. I think he will be okay after a couple of days hopefully now, I haven’t heard from the boys but hopefully nothing too serious anyways.”

O’Donoghue began the contest without his regular midfield partner with Darragh O’Donovan a late change from the announced team. Into the side came his club mate Barry Murphy who was impressive in a two-point cameo from the centre of the field.

The manager was also able to provide a positive update on O’Donovan who is expected back for the league final against Kilkenny as he described the injury as “very minor.”

“A very minor one he just picked up in training the other night. I’d expect him to train again next week”

Aaron Gillane and Diarmaid Byrnes got more minutes into their legs in the TUS Gaelic Grounds, combining for 0-13 (11 frees) in their third appearance of the year.

Neither has shown any ill effects of their late return to the league with Kiely highlighting the bank of work each have built up in their years in the panel with everyone looking for further improvement in the coming weeks.

“These guys have a lot under a belt over the last seven years so you know it’s becomes quicker to them, it’s not like a younger player coming in that needs to establish themselves with longer periods of time so I think we could see a noticeable up tick over the last three weeks and they’ve improved on week to week so we’ll go back and look for more improvement next week and the week after, that’s what we’re after.”

Improvement was a key thread in Kiely’s post-match comments as they look forward to a third league final under the Galbally native. And if they are to move up a gear from Saturday’s win, especially the second half, then it is very hard to see past the Shannonsiders endeding a three-year wait for Spring honours.

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Accept YouTube Content

GAA coverage on Sporting Limerick is brought to you in association with Noels Menswear, shop online here or visit in Dooradoyle, Limerick City or Newcastle West.