Lightning Limerick late show ends Waterford's hurling summer
Waterford forward Kevin Mahony beats Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid with this shot during their Centra Munster Senior Hurling Championship clash played at the TUS Gaelic Grounds on Sunday last. Photos: INPHO/James Lawlor
Waterford’s summer is over in mid-May once more, as a late show from Limerick quickly extinguished any lingering hopes the Déise had of making it out of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship round-robin.
A Kevin Mahony goal on 51 minutes had the Déise in the ascendancy and they led by two points heading into the final 12 minutes of normal time, but Limerick responded emphatically - goals from Peter Casey and Gearoid Hegarty forming part of an unanswered spree of 2-8 to bring the curtain down on Waterford’s 2026.
Going into this clash, a win for Limerick would’ve confirmed elimination for the Déise and reigning All-Ireland champions Tipperary, while a Waterford success was all that would keep the hopes of the aforementioned counties alive.
The reality that Waterford hadn’t beaten the Treaty since 2011 at the provincial level, notwithstanding they could recall former Hurler of the Year winners Aaron Gillane and Cian Lynch to their squad, certainly didn’t ignite hope.
Limerick started like lightning as from the throw-in, Adam English stepped forward and found the target with just six seconds on the clock. Aidan O’Connor swung over for another from the requisite puckout as an early marker was thrown down.
Jack Prendergast picked out Dessie Hutchinson to open Waterford’s account, but as the running game clicked into gear, the outstanding Cathal O’Neill notched his first of a personal highlight reel before Gearoid Hegarty got in on the act. Hegarty then turned provider to English and it was 0-5 to 0-1 with just three minutes played.
Jamie Barron found Calum Lyons to strike a belter from distance, and the Ballyduff Lower man quickly produced another fantastic catch and score either side of an O’Connor strike to galvanise the Déise troops. A quickly-taken free found its way to O’Neill and he continued this form, before Mark Fitzgerald took a short free and let goalkeeper Billy Nolan maraud upfield, and the Roanmore opened out his shoulders with the aid of the breeze to yield the white flag.
O’Neill was again first to a loose ball to give Limerick a four-point lead, before Nolan picked out Kevin Mahony. Shane O’Brien escaped the attentions of Mark Fitzgerald to score his first, but the Waterford response from here was emphatic - reeling off six scores on the spin.
Shane Bennett was given the freedom of the Gaelic Grounds to fire over before Nolan again turned provider to Mahony. An almighty strike from his own half by Jack Fagan brought the gap back to the minimum, before the electric Lyons emerged from a ruck and made it look easy to fire his third score and bring it to 0-9 apiece.
Bennett unleashed another inspirational effort on the left-hand sideline to give Waterford the lead for the first time on 18 minutes, before another from Lyons.
Kyle Hayes responded to stop the rot for the hosts, but a Sean Walsh strike and another fine effort by Bennett made it 0-13 to 0-10. Remarkably, Bennett’s 28th minute free was the first of the afternoon despite being the 24th score, before Aidan O’Connor hit over Limerick’s first dead ball soon after.
Limerick boss John Kiely wasn’t happy with what he saw and called for former Hurler of the Year Cian Lynch after half an hour, and the impact of the Patrickswell man was immediate as the Treaty attempted to cut into the Déise’s advantage.
A quickly worked sideline allowed O’Neill to add to his growing tally, before Lynch found Aaron Gillane - who was being tightly shackled by Paddy Leavey throughout, and Gillane turned provider to O’Neill for the Crecora man to split the posts from the tightest of angles.
Lynch then capitalised on hesitancy in the Déise defence to reduce arrears to one, before affording the opportunity to Shane O’Brien to level the scores for the second occasion approaching the break.
A monstrous free from Bennett proved the last score of the half as Waterford led 0-16 to 0-15 at the interval, but it was an intervention at the other end that proved far more decisive from the Ballysaggart man as he was on hand to brilliantly block on the line as O’Connor looked certain to find the games opening goal in the two additional minutes.
Playing against the breeze in the second period, one couldn’t help but concede that Waterford’s one-point lead wouldn’t be enough to quell Limerick with the aid of the elements that it would have to be a seismic performance to take the points.
A Hutchinson free was cancelled out quickly by an O’Connor 65, before the Ballybrown ace was found in acres by Gillane and levelled again. A free was then brought forward for dissent and O’Connor gladly gave the hosts the advantage for the first time in 33 minutes, but Waterford wasted no time in wrestling it back.
On 51 minutes, Tadhg de Burca burst out of defence and found Hutchinson, and his through ball wasn’t dealt with by substitute Mike Casey, allowing Kevin Mahony to race through one-on-one and the Ballygunner man calmly slotted past Nickie Quaid for his second goal of the season and a shot in the arm once again for his county.
Michael Kiely and Jack Prendergast then combined for the latter to score as Waterford turned the screw, but two well-taken frees from O’Connor and Diarmuid Byrnes kept Waterford on their toes as they led by the minimum again. A great catch and score from Mahony settled them, before substitute Tom Morrissey was on hand to cancel that out.
An inspirational score was needed from Waterford, and there was nothing more fitting than that coming from a sideline cut by Austin Gleeson on 58 minutes. That made it 1-20 to 0-21 in Waterford’s favour. Ten minutes later, Limerick led 2-26 to 1-20.
Another O’Connor free began a burst of 2-8 without response from the provincial heavyweights, and the turning point arrived on 61 minutes.
Peter Casey had been held scoreless throughout but what better time to make your mark. Hegarty turned provider to allow Casey to wriggle in behind, and he kicked the ball into space beyond the onrushing Nolan, before the Na Piarsaigh forward essentially slid the sliotar into the net to spell Déise despair.
That despair was fast compounded as Hegarty plundered a goal of his own seconds later. A ruck ensued in midfield, and O’Connor raced away from Jamie Barron. He popped the pass to his left to Hegarty, and he sliced his strike to the bottom right corner to drive the dagger into Waterford’s hearts.
Akin to how ruthless teams tend to operate, Limerick weren’t done there. Two belters from Darragh O’Donovan, two from lively substitute Morrissey and another from man-of-the-match Lynch stung as Waterford were left chasing shadows. Casey had time to notch a point and the tally suddenly stood at 2-29.
There was still time for a Waterford penalty as Gleeson was held illegally in the square. Shane Bennett’s performance deserved a goal, and the Ballysaggart man drove home to ensure he got one - but it was all in vain.
Seven years of round-robin hurling and seven years of heartache for Waterford. Four good performances, but no wins count for nothing in this results business.
As business continues for Limerick and company, whether they want to be or not, Waterford are on their holidays.
Aidan O’Connor (0-8; 0-3f; 0-1 ‘65); Cathal O’Neill (0-5); Peter Casey and Gearoid Hegarty (1-1 each); Cian Lynch and Tom Morrissey (0-3 each); Adam English, Shane O’Brien and Darragh O’Donovan (0-2 each); Kyle Hayes (0-1); Diarmuid Byrnes (0-1; 0-1f)
Shane Bennett (1-6; 1-0 pen; 0-3f); Kevin Mahony (1-3); Calum Lyons (0-4); Dessie Hutchinson (0-2; 0-1f); Austin Gleeson (0-1; 0-1 sl); Billy Nolan, Jack Fagan, Sean Walsh and Jack Prendergast (0-1 each)
Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Dan Morrissey, Barry Nash; Diarmuid Byrnes, William O’Donoghue, Kyle Hayes; Adam English, Darragh O’Donovan; Gearoid Hegarty, Aidan O’Connor, Cathal O’Neill; Aaron Gillane, Shane O’Brien, Peter Casey.
Cian Lynch for Adam English (30); Mike Casey for Sean Finn (48; inj); Tom Morrissey for Shane O’Brien (52); David Reidy for Aaron Gillane (60); Colin Coughlan for Barry Nash (67)
Billy Nolan; Conor Keane, Mark Fitzgerald, Jack Fagan; Tadhg De Burca, Paddy Leavey, Shane Bennett; Sean Mackey, Reuben Halloran; Calum Lyons, Jamie Barron, Jack Prendergast; Dessie Hutchinson, Sean Walsh, Kevin Mahony.
Michael Kiely for Reuben Halloran (HT); Darragh Lyons for Sean Mackey (43); Austin Gleeson for Sean Walsh (49); Patrick Curran for Calum Lyons (64); James Power for Dessie Hutchinson (67)
James Owens (Wexford)
22,425.
