Limerick much too strong for Kilkenny in Allianz Hurling League

Kilkenny suffered their first loss of this year's Allianz League Division 1A campaign when going down to Limerick at the TUS Gaelic Grounds earlier this afternoon.

Despite Eoin Cody and Mossy Keoghan netting goals in each half, the Cats were second best for much of the contest with Aidan O'Connor notching 10 points in total and Peter Casey putting in a man of the match display for the winners.

Aaron Gillane put the seal on the win for the Shannonsiders with a well taken goal in the 58th minute and while Derek Lyng's men went down by seven in the end, there was still a few positives with Rory Garrett and Liam Moore among the impressive newcomers.

In many ways, the Cats lost the game in the opening 10 minutes as Limerick raced into a 0-5 to 0-0 lead through points from Aidan O'Connor, Diarmaid Byrnes and Aaron Gillane.

Kilkenny eventually got off the mark through a John Donnelly effort in the 13th minute and with Eoin Cody following up with a score before Mossy Keoghan bagged a goal, the sides were all square approaching the halfway mark of the opening period.

Eoin Cody had a massive outing at centre-forward for the Noresiders and he scored three more points before the break with Darragh Corcoran, Cian Kenny and Timmy Clifford also splitting the posts.

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Limerick still maintained the upper hand with Peter Casey, Diarmaid Byrnes, Gearoid Hegarty and Matthew Fitzgerald helping the Munster finalists into a 0-14 to 1-9 advantage at the break.

Kilkenny started the second half brightly through points from Cody and Liam Moore and got back to within a point but Limerick with the help of Tom Morrissey and Cathal O'Neill scoring off the bench maintained the lead on the scoreboard.

The game was then all but settled as a contest when Aaron Gillane blasted a shot into the roof of the net at the Ennis Road side of the Limerick City venue to give the hosts a sizeable advantage going down the straight.

Eoin Cody replied with a consolation goal himself in the last few minutes but the damage was done as Limerick came away with full points come the final whistle.

Teams and Scorers

Limerick: Aidan O'Connor (0-10, 7fs); Aaron Gillane (1-2); Peter Casey (0-5); Diarmaid Byrnes (0-3, 2fs); Gearoid Hegarty, David Reidy, Adam English, Matthew Fitzgerald, Tom Morrissey, Cathal O'Neill (0-1 each)

Kilkenny: Eoin Cody (1-6, 1f); Mossy Keoghan (1-0); Cian Kenny (0-2, 2fs); Liam Moore (0-2); John Donnelly, Timmy Clifford, Jordan Molloy, Paddy Deegan, Darragh Corcoran, Luke Hogan (0-1 each)

Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash; Diarmaid Byrnes, Will O'Donoghue, Matthew Fitzgerald; Adam English, Cian Lynch; Gearoid Hegarty, David Reidy, Aidan O'Connor; Aaron Gillane, Hugh Flanagan, Peter Casey.

Subs: Cathal O'Neill for Flanagan, h-t; Dan Morrissey for Finn, 40 mins; Darragh O'Donovan for Reidy, 52 mins; Tom Morrissey for Hegarty, 59 mins; Paddy O'Donovan for Gillane, 70 mins.

Kilkenny: Aidan Tallis; Mikey Butler, Mikey Carey, Rory Garrett; Killian Doyle, Darragh Corcoran, Paddy Deegan; Cian Kenny, Jordan Molloy; Timmy Clifford, Eoin Cody, Luke Connellan; Liam Moore, John Donnelly, Mossy Keoghan. 

Subs: Luke Hogan for Connellan, 47 mins; Stephen Donnelly for J.Donnelly, 48 mins; Shane Murphy for Doyle, 55 mins; Cathal Beirne for Clifford, 58 mins; Fionan Mackessy for Molloy, 64 mins.

Referee; Shane Hynes (Galway)