February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Mike Fitzpatrick
Limerick 4-22, Kilkenny 0-7
Anyone hoping for a surprise result in this senior hurling clash went home disappointed. The Cats of Kilkenny were soundly defeated by the top dogs of Limerick.
Limerick, having already qualified for the playoffs thanks to their unbeaten run of six games, clearly felt the need to finish on top of the table. Kilkenny had, perhaps, hoped that with Limerick merely playing for pride at this stage, that they might have relaxed. That was not the case, with the Greens playing not only their home-based stars such as Tom and Davie Simms, Eamonn Shields and company, but they also brought over inter county top guns such as All Ireland winners Sean Og O’hAilpin and John Brown, as if to hammer the point home that Limerick never let up.
Kilkenny, were never really in the contest, as the scoreline suggests so strongly. Limerick waltzed forward at every opportunity, with their greedy forwards having a field day in front of goal.
With Davie Simms shooting point after point, and the likes of Tadhg O’Donovan and Callaghan McCarthy matching his scoring ratio, it was as if the Limerick lads were sending out a strongly worded message to Tipperary, "You stole our crown, we want it back."
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Tipperary will perhaps have sat up and taken notice of the efficiency with which Kilkenny were disposed of, in a game Limerick did not even have to win, having already qualified for the latter stages of the season. It all bodes well for an exciting climax to the hurling season.
Limerick: Finbarr Flood, John Brown, Tony Byrne, John O’Riordan, Sean Og O’hAilpin, Philip Wickham (0-1), Eamonn Shields, James McSweeney, James Butler (0-2), Davie Simms (0-7), Tommy Simms (0-4), Callaghan McCarthy (2-1), Tadhg O’Callaghan (1-4). Subs: Ray Hourican (1-2), Morgan Burns (0-1)
Kilkenny: James Joyce, Darragh Moore, Mark Kennedy, Brendan Ryan, John Nolan, Eoin Mullally, Vinnie Norton (0-1), Jerome Edge (0-1), Richie Hogan (0-2), Peter Breen, Mark O’Brien, Kevin Corbett (0-2), Paddy Doyle (0-1). Subs: Brian Barcoe, John McDonald.