Allianz NHL Final- Main Talking Points

MAIN MAN
Barry Nash (Limerick)
It was an afternoon where very little went right from a Kilkenny point of view and while Tommy Walsh, Huw Lawlor, Richie Reid and Adrian Mullen put in some decent displays, it wasn’t nearly enough as Limerick dominated the majority of the contest. Barry Nash continued his remarkable run of form since moving into the full back line and he was certainly the best player on the field as John Kiely’s men ran riot at stages.

TURNING POINT
Nash’s first half goal changed the entire tone of the contest. While Kilkenny only led by a point at the time, the Cats did start well and they were competing strongly in many areas of the field. Nash’s goal which beat Eoin Murphy at his near post gave the Limerick dominated crowd the ammunition to get behind their team and it was one way traffic from that point on.

TALKING POINT
Despite the defeat, it’s still been a productive league for Derek Lyng but those positives now seem a long way away and the way they succumbed to the defending All-Ireland champions was the biggest worry of all. Despite being without the likes of Declan Hannon, Will O’Donoghue and Kyle Hayes Limerick were still in a different league and they won while pulling up in some ways.

WHAT NOW?
Kilkenny don’t have long to feel sorry for themselves as they face Westmeath in their Leinster Championship opener on Saturday week while Limerick meet Waterford at Semple Stadium in the Munster Hurling Championship 24 hours later.

Attendance
17, 243