Was Kyle Hayes lucky to avoid a red card?
Kyle Hayes was already on a yellow card in the second half when he swiped his hurl back off the ball and connected with the helmet of Brian Concannon.
Referee Seán Stack did not produce a card for the incident, and the Limerick half-back remained on the field.
“From my viewpoint, he was simply putting his arm out to indicate the line-ball was gone to Limerick,” Treaty manager John Kiely told TG4 at full-time when asked about the episode.
“That was my interpretation of it. I haven’t seen the clip back. I’ll have to wait and see.”
Regardless of whether or not it was intentional, the Kildimo-Pallaskenry man can count himself lucky to have avoided a dismissal for the strike.
“You just have to think that Sean Stack or the linesman didn’t see this,” commented Jackie Tyrell on Allianz League Sunday.
“If they see this, this is a red card every day of the week. He’s on a yellow card, he slaps back with the hurl, straight into the face. I’m not sure what Sean Stack said to him, because he had the notebook and he took no action. For me, straight red.”
Clare bounce back
The Banner County were desperately disappointing two weeks ago against Limerick, with the flattering full-time margin in the TUS Gaelic Grounds widely deemed to have been a six-point hammering.
Brian Lohan certainly got the desired response from his charges on Sunday afternoon.
Clare put their hosts to the sword at Chadwicks Wexford Park, with six green flags raised in a 22-point victory over the Model County. Aidan McCarthy top-scored with 1-10, while David Reidy (2-1), Tony Kelly (1-2), Peter Duggan (1-1) and Mark Rodgers (1-0) also found the net.
A 6-25 to 1-18 hammering of the Yellowbellies gets the Munster side back on track, as they look ahead to the visits of Galway and Cork to Ennis as they close out the Division 1A campaign.
Clare are perhaps amongst a cohort who are apathetic at best about the prospect of reaching a Division 1 final. But there were signs this weekend that the Treaty defeat was a blip, and they remain on an upward trajectory in their bid to crescendo for the summer.
Can Antrim close the gap?
Sunday was another near miss for Darren Gleeson’s charges, as they asked questions of one of the big guns but ultimately came up short.
In this latest episode in the genre, the Saffrons led Waterford 0-11 to 0-9 at the break despite losing Eoghan Campbell to a red card.
The teams were level with 10 minutes left on the clock, but Davy Fitzgerald’s side eventually shrugged off their visitors.
Having come close to Kilkenny and Dublin in recent weeks, Sunday’s fruitless foray to Fraher Field goes down as another near miss.
Antrim are finding it difficult to find the final few percentages, and until they do, it is difficult to fathom the prospect of them claiming a scalp in the Leinster Championship.
The next order of business, however, is to avoid a relegation play-off with Laois travelling to Corrigan Park in round four.
Normal service resumes for Kilkenny
A home loss to Tipperary will never sit well on Noreside, and the manner in which the Cats were out-played by their old rivals a fortnight ago will have stung.
Although Derek Lyng would have been alarmed by aspects of that display, he knows it is still only February.
Their captain for 2023, Eoin Cody, made his return, while Billy Drennan continued to impress with a tally of 0-11. Martin Keoghan and John Donnelly also contributed as the Cats ran up 0-34 against Laois.
They welcome Dublin to Nowlan Park next, before making the trip to Waterford in the final round of games. Those games will give a more accurate barometer of where Kilkenny are at before the summer.
Offaly beat Kerry but Division 2A still wide open
It is first blood to Offaly in the Division 2A promotion race. The Faithful County travelled to Killarney on Saturday, and David Nally split the posts from a side-line for a late winner.
As they bid to secure a swift return to Division 1, it was a major step for Johnny Kelly’s charges.
Two distinct tiers have been established in the division through the results thus far, with Offaly, Kerry and Kildare the three teams vying for the pair of final spots.
Three into two will not go.
The Lilywhites backed up their wins over Carlow and Down by accounting for Derry on Sunday, but now prepare for the visit of Kerry.
Expect more twists and turns in the coming weeks.
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Originally published at 07.30