Gallant Kilkenny fall short as Limerick win another All-Ireland title

Kilkenny's quest for a first All-Ireland hurling title since 2015 came up agonisingly short after Limerick defeated the Cats in a thrilling contest at Croke Park.

It's the Treaty County's third consecutive All-Ireland crown and a fourth victory in five years and John Kiely's men put in a devastating display to overcome Kilkenny by two points (1-31 to 2-26).

Gearoid Hegarty was in sensational form for the winners in scoring 1-6 from play but credit must go to Kilkenny for remaining in the game right till the end with Mossy Keoghan and Billy Ryan netting second half goals.

Like against Cork in 2021, Limerick threatened to run riot when they raced into a 1-2 to 0-0 lead early on with Hegarty scoring a superb goal.

Limerick were much the better side in that opening quarter but Kilkenny stayed in the fight through points from TJ Reid, Eoin Cody and Paddy Deegan.

The absence of the injured Cian Lynch didn't seem to overly affect the winners and they ran through the Kilkenny defence at will during stages of the opening half.

Through to form though Kilkenny battled till the end and they only trailed by four points at the break.

Within three minutes of the resumption, Kilkenny were right back in the game when Billy Ryan found the net on the back of  a storming run from sub Walter Walsh.

Limerick then steadied the ship for a period but Kilkenny struck for another goal in the 46th minute when Mossy Keoghan shot past Nickie Quaid.

Subs John Donnelly and Richie Hogan levelled up matters at different stages for Kilkenny but Limerick showed why they are brilliant champions by scoring five points on the bounce between the 63rd and 71st minutes.

Kilkenny refused to throw in the towel with David Blanchfield, Tommy Walsh and Alan Murphy knocking over late points but the clock ultimately ran out of time as Limerick claimed the win.

Teams and Scorers

Limerick- Gearoid Hegarty (1-6), Aaron Gillane (0-6, 0-4f), Diarmuid Byrnes (0-5, 0-3f, 0-1 65), Kyle Hayes, Tom Morrissey (0-4 each), Seamus Flanagan (0-2), Declan Hannon, Dan Morrissey, Conor Boylan, Cathal O'Neill (0-1 each)

Kilkenny- TJ Reid (0-9, 0-9f), Martin Keoghan (1-1), Billy Ryan (1-0), Adrian Mullen (0-3), Padraig Walsh, Paddy Deegan (0-2 each), Tommy Walsh, Mikey Carey, Richie Reid, Eoin Cody, David Blanchfield, Alan Murphy, Walter Walsh, Richie Hogan, John Donnelly (0-1 each)

Limerick- Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash; Diarmuid Byrnes, Declan Hannon, Dan Morrissey; William O'Donoghue, Darragh O'Donovan; Gearoid Hegarty, Kyle Hayes, Tom Morrissey; Aaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan, Graeme Mulcahy.

Subs: Peter Casey for Mulcahy 48 mins, David Reidy for O'Donovan 51 mins, Conor Boylan for Flanagan 59 mins, Cathal O'Neill for T.Morrissey 63 mins.

Kilkenny- Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh, Mikey Carey, Richie Reid, Paddy Deegan; Cian Kenny, Conor Browne; TJ Reid, Padraig Walsh, Billy Ryan; Adrian Mullen, Martin Keoghan, Eoin Cody.

Subs- Walter Walsh for Kenny h-t, John Donnelly for P.Walsh 46 mins, David Blanchfield for Browne 52 mins, Richie Hogan for Cody 58 mins, Alan Murphy for Deegan 71 mins.

Referee- Colm Lyons (Cork)