Munster SHC: Cork secure place in All-Ireland series as Limerick beat Waterford

Limerick 0-30 Waterford 2-14 

Cork have finished in third place in the Munster SHC following wins for Limerick and Clare in Sunday’s final round of fixtures.

Of the nine possible outcomes across the two games – Limerick-Waterford at TUS Gaelic Grounds and Tipperary-Clare at FBD Semple Stadium – seven were sufficient for the Rebels to advance.

A draw at the Ennis Road venue was necessary to squeeze out Pat Ryan’s side and All-Ireland champions Limerick pulled clear in the second half before a crowd of 31,487 to win by ten points.

Clare’s 1-24 to 0-24 triumph in Thurles sees them finish in second. Limerick will meet Clare in the Munster final for the third straight year – the first instance of that since Cork and Tipperary met in the deciders of 1968, 1969 and 1970.

Offaly and Laois meet in the final of the Joe McDonagh Cup on June 8 and Cork will play the winners of that game in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final a week later.

While Limerick led by 0-4 to 0-1 early on with the wind, they were wasteful with other opportunities – they would end with 14 first-half wides in all – and Stephen Bennett’s frees helped Waterford to level.

The visitors then his the front as a Bennett delivery dropped in the Limerick goalmouth and was brilliantly flicked to the net by his brother Shane. Limerick’s response was strong, though, with Kyle Hayes excellent as he landed three points between there and half-time while Tom Morrissey and sub Shane O’Brien, on for the injured Séamus Flanagan, also impacted on the scoreboard.

While Calum Lyons and Kevin Mahon had points for Waterford in the early stages of the second half, Limerick looked set to ease clear with scores from Reidy, Gearóid Hegarty, Gillane (free) and Cathal O’Neill.

They were 0-19 to 1-9 front when Waterford gave themselves a lifeline with a second goal. Kevin Mahony’s low skidding shot was saved by Nickie Quaid but Waterford kept the chance alive and Shane Bennett was once again the player to find the net.

When a Stephen Bennett free was followed by Dessie Hutchinson’s first point of the way, the lead was down to just two, 0-19 to 2-11. Though they kept pace with Limerick for a time after that, they were unable to reduce the deficit any further.

A Gillane free was followed by a third from O’Brien on the hour to put four in it and then Diarmaid Byrnes gave them breathing space with a free from well inside his own half.

From there, they pushed on impressively.

In the Leinster SHC, Kilkenny and Dublin advanced to the final after victories against Wexford and Galway respectively.

Given how tight matters were at the top of the table going into the final round, both games were effectively provincial semi-finals. At Nowlan Park, the Cats’ 1-24 to 2-20 victory against Wexford ensured they finished top of the table, while Dublin overcame a 14-man Galway by 2-27 to 1-24 at Pearse Stadium to finish second.

Having beaten Galway earlier in the campaign, Wexford took third place and a place in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals against the Joe McDonagh Cup runners-up. Antrim’s 4-22 to 2-22 win over Carlow at Corrigan Park kept them in the top tier, relegating the Dolmen County to the McDonagh Cup.

Scorers for Limerick: A Gillane 0-7f, T Morrissey 0-4, K Hayes, S O’Brien 0-3 each, D Reidy, D Byrnes (0-1f), C O’Neill, G Hegarty 0-2 each, C Lynch, A English, B Nash, C Boylan, W O’Donoghue 0-1 each.

Waterford: Shane Bennett 2-0, Stephen Bennett 0-5 (0-4f), C Lyons, D Hutchinson 0-2 (0-1f), J Prendergast, Patrick Fitzgerald, K Mahony, J Barron, P Leavey 0-1 each.

LIMERICK: N Quaid; M Casey, D Morrissey, B Nash; D Byrnes, D Hannon, K Hayes; W O’Donoghue, C O’Neill; G Hegarty, C Lynch, T Morrissey; A Gillane, S Flanagan, D Reidy.

Subs: S O’Brien for Flanagan (21, injured), A English for T Morrissey (55), F O’Connor for Casey (61), C Boylan for Reidy (62), D Ó Dálaigh for Gillane (70).

WATERFORD: S O’Brien; C Prunty, I Daly, I Kenny; M Fitzgerald, T de Búrca, C Lyons; P Leavey, J Barron; Shane Bennett, J Prendergast, N Montgomery; D Hutchinson, Stephen Bennett, K Mahony.

Subs: M Kiely for Montgomery (half-time), Patrick Fitzgerald for Barron (46), Pádraig Fitzgerald for Stephen Bennett (56), K Bennett for Shane Bennett (64), J Fagan for Prendergast (68).

Referee: M Kennedy (Tipperary).