Good afternoon and welcome to the first act of a blockbuster weekend in the All-Ireland senior hurling championship.
Reigning champions Limerick are without captain Declan Hannon, but they’ll be hoping that it will be business as usual as they bid to take the penultimate step on the road to a four-in-a-row.
Galway, who drew a line under their Leinster final heartache with victory over Tipperary a fortnight, will surely have other ideas.
Throw-in at Croke Park is at 6pm. We’ll have the latest team news in a moment.
TEAM NEWS: The big news from Croke Park is that there appear to be no changes to either of the starting XVs named on Friday.
For Limerick, in the absence of Declan Hannon and Sean Finn, that means we’re looking at a half-back line of Diarmuid Byrnes, Kyle Hayes and Gearóid Hegarty.
Limerick
1. Nickie Quaid (Effin)
2. Mike Casey (Na Piarsigh), 3. Dan Morrissey (Ahane), 4. Barry Nash (South Liberties)
5. Diarmuid Byrnes (Patrickswell), 6. Kyle Hayes (Kildimo Pallaskenry), 7. Gearóid Hegarty (St Patricks)
8. Darragh O’Donovan (Doon), 9. William O’Donoghue (Na Piarsaigh)
10. David Reidy (Dromin Athlacca), 11. Cian Lynch (Patrickswell), 12. Tom Morrissey (Ahane)
13. Aaron Gillane (Patrickswell), 14. Seamus Flanagan (Feohanagh Castlemahon), 15. Peter Casey (Na Piarsaigh)
TEAM NEWS: And it’s as you were for Galway, who are unchanged from their win over Tipp in the quarter-finals.
Galway
1. Eanna Murphy (Tommy Larkins)
2. Jack Grealish (Gort), 3. Daithí Burke (Turloughmore), 4. Darren Morrissey (Sarsfields)
5. Padraic Mannion (Ahascragh Fohenagh), 6. Gearoid McInerney (Oranmore-Maree), 7. Joseph Cooney (Sarsfields)
8. Sean Linnane (Turloughmore), 9. Cathal Mannion (Ahascragh Fohenagh)
10. Ronan Glennon (Mullagh), 11. Cianan Fahy (Ardrahan), 12. Kevin Cooney (Sarsfields)
13. Conor Whelan (Kinvara), 14. Brian Concannon (Killimordaly), 15. Evan Niland (Clarinbridge)
Speaking on RTÉ a few moments ago, former Limerick All-Ireland winner Tom Condon — who has been watching the warm-up intently — thinks he has John Kiely’s starting line-up sussed.
Condon says it is shaping up for Will O’Donoghue to drop into the half-back line, Kyle Hayes will start at centre-back as named, Cian Lynch will slot in to midfield, and Gearóid Hegarty will move into the half-forward line.
Let’s see…
The pre-match parade is winding its way around Croke Park, which means it’s just about time for throw-in.
Limerick are the four-point favourites for the game — but who do you think will be left standing at around 7.30pm this evening?
THROW IN: Referee James Owens gets us underway with Galway playing into the Hill 16 end in this first half.
2 mins – Galway 0-1 Limerick 0-0: Kyle Hayes gets his body in the way of Kevin Cooney’s run, which gives Evan Niland the opportunity to convert the game’s first free.
3 mins — Galway 0-1 Limerick 0-1: And Aaron Gillane does likewise at the other end with his first free.
4 mins — Galway 0-2 Limerick 0-1: Brian Concannon registers the first of the day from play.
GOAL FOR LIMERICK! Limerick 1-1 Galway 0-2 (Gillane, 5′)
Limerick draw first blood — and who else but Aaron Gillane? James Owens is playing advantage in midfield, and Tom Morrissey seizes the opportunity to float the ball towards Gillane on the edge of the square.
He catches it over Daithí Burke’s head, turns, and slams it past Eanna Murphy, who had no chance.
Super start for Limerick.
7 mins — Limerick 1-1 Galway 0-4: Two quick frees from Evan Niland, and Galway are back level.
8 mins — Galway 0-5 Limerick 1-1: Conor Whelan opens his account for the day to restore Galway’s lead. Great response since Gillane’s goal.
10 mins — Galway 0-6 Limerick 1-1: Great puckout by Eanna Murphy to pick out Cianan Fahy, and he’s fouled for another Galway free — which Niland converts as per.
11 mins — Galway 0-6 Limerick 1-2: James Owens whistles Galway for killing the ball over on the Cusack Stand sideline, and Gillane converts the free from a testing enough angle.
11 mins – Sean Linnane scuffs a clearance out of defence, and it looks all day as though Cian Lynch will return it for a score to punish it, but his shot drifts wide. Mistakes on both sides there, and that’s Limerick’s third wide of the day so far.
12 mins – Brian Concannon hits Galway’s first wide of the day.
12 mins – Our first HawkEye referral as Tom Morrissey takes aim, but the computer says it’s just drifted wide.
13 mins — Galway 0-6 Limerick 1-3: Peter Casey points and Limerick are level again.
GOAL FOR GALWAY! Galway 1-6 Limerick 1-3 (C Mannion, 15′)
That is a beautiful goal, made by Kevin Cooney and finished by Cathal Mannion.
It’s a super take by Cooney, who then plays a lovely reverse pass, splitting two Limerick defenders and finding Mannion as he runs in behind. The angle isn’t in his favour, but he picks his spot and fires it across Nickie Quaid so it nestles in the far corner.
17 mins — Galway 1-7 Limerick 1-4: Gearóid Hegarty points for Limerick, but Galway respond quickly through Brian Concannon, who fields it in midfield, slips around a couple of tackles, and splits the posts.
18 mins — Galway 1-8 Limerick 1-4: Barry Nash is whistled for a foul on Conor Whelan, and Niland knocks over the free.
19 mins — Galway 1-8 Limerick 1-5: Will O’Donoghue knocks the ball loose in midfield to win back possession for Limerick, and they move it to Morrissey who points off his left.
20 mins — Galway 1-9 Limerick 1-6: Cathal Mannion picks out Conor Whelan, and Whelan takes care of the rest.
Nickie Quaid is keen to keep things moving with a quick puckout, and finds Hayes in space who points.
22 mins — Galway 1-10 Limerick 1-6: Evan Niland is only a yard and a bit inside the Limerick half with his latest free, but he converts to make it a perfect six from six so far with the dead ball.
23 mins — Galway 1-11 Limerick 1-6: Quick thinking and good execution from Galway and Cathal Mannion. He plays a quick one-two with Evan Niland from a sideline cut, and when its returned to Mannion, he points to push Galway into a five-point lead.
25 mins – Kyle Hayes is shown the first yellow card of the afternoon for a loose pull across Brian Concannon.
25 mins — Galway 1-12 Limerick 1-6: Niland points the resulting free; Galway lead by six.
26 mins – A short break in play here to allow Limerick keeper Nickie Quaid to receive some medical attention. He appears to be fine to continue.
27 mins – Brian Concannon has dropped out deep, and he picks out Conor Whelan on the opposite flank with a fine ball. Whelan’s shot is just wide though.
27 mins – Seamus Flanagan shapes to pull the trigger, but Padraic Mannion is there in the nick of time to get a hook in.
28 mins – Barry Nash tries his luck from distance, but it looks left all the way off his hurl and stays left. That’s seven wides now for Limerick.
30 mins — Galway 1-12 Limerick 1-7: Diarmaid Byrnes stands over a long-range free and points to give Limerick the first score in 10 minutes or so.
31 mins — Galway 1-12 Limerick 1-8: Big stop at one end as Mike Casey stretches a hurl to deny Brian Concannon a certain goal. At the other end, Darragh O’Donovan brings Limerick back within four.
32 mins — Galway 1-13 Limerick 1-9: Brian Concannon and Cian Lynch trade points.
33 mins — Galway 1-13 Limerick 1-10: Darragh O’Donovan finds Aaron Gillane with a searching ball into the corner, and he wriggles free of the attention of Gearoid McInerney to point.
34 mins — Galway 1-13 Limerick 1-11: Another for Limerick – Seamus Flanagan this time. Limerick’s purple patch is arriving at the perfect time before the break.
35+2 mins — Galway 1-13 Limerick 1-12: Ronan Glennon comes through the back of David Reidy, in the opinion of referee James Owens, and that gives Diarmaid Byrnes another long-range free. He’s inside his own half but he makes no mistake.
HALF TIME: Galway 1-13 Limerick 1-12
What a frantic first half of hurling — end-to-end stuff throughout, and in the end, it’s Galway who go in a point up at the break, though they’ll surely wonder if it could be more than that.
They pulled Conor Whelan back out the field for a few minutes approaching half time, leaving Brian Concannon inside by himself, and Limerick managed to get on top and whittle away the lead that Galway had deservedly built up.
It’s all set for a grandstand second half. We’ll be back in a few.
SECOND HALF: We’re back underway.
36 mins — Galway 1-13 Limerick 1-13: And within 20 seconds or so, Limerick are level through Seamus Flanagan.
36 mins — Galway 1-14 Limerick 1-13: With two Limerick defenders closing him down, Conor Whelan gets his shot away and points.
37 mins — Galway 1-14 Limerick 1-14: Limerick are level again, thanks to another Diarmaid Byrnes free.
40 mins – Yellows apiece for Jack Grealish and Seamus Flanagan, but the end result is a Limerick free for an initial high tackle by Grealish.
41 mins — Limerick 1-15 Galway 1-14: Aaron Gillane needs an assist from HawkEye on the resulting free, but it’s a Tá — and Limerick lead for the first time since the seventh minute.
43 minutes – Diarmaid Byrnes is off target with his latest long-range free, and from the resulting puck out, Sean Linnane breaks it to Cathal Mannion… but it’s wide from him too.
44 mins — Limerick 1-16 Galway 1-14: Tom Morrissey runs a beautiful loop off the shoulder of Seamus Flanagan. Flanagan pops it to him, and Morrissey — running out of space on the Cusack Stand side — sends over a beautiful score.
46 mins — Limerick 1-16 Galway 1-15: That’s every bit as good from Galway. Cianan Fahey picks out Kevin Cooney, who soars above Dan Morrissey, plucks it from the sky and points.
GOAL FOR LIMERICK! Limerick 2-16 Galway 1-15 (Gillane, 47′)
Is this the moment on which this All-Ireland semi-final will ultimately hinge? It’s a stroke of good fortune for Limerick — and another slice of untimely luck for Galway and Padraic Mannion.
David Reidy bears down on Eanna Murphy’s goal but rather than take the shot on himself, he flicks it across to Gillane who has the goal at his mercy. His batted effort comes back off the crossbar, but as Mannion tries to scramble it away, it only goes as far as Gillane who doesn’t need the second invitation and makes no mistake.
Limerick lead by four.
50 mins – Tom Morrissey grabs a hold of Padraic Mannion as he looks to burst forward onto a loose ball. Galway free, and a chance for Niland to cut the gap to three.
51 mins — Limerick 2-16 Galway 1-16: Niland duly obliges, and Galway are back within three with 20 minutes to play.
52 mins — Limerick 2-17 Galway 1-16: Kyle Hayes collects the ball at wing-back and embarks on one of his trademark runs, carrying the ball deep into Galway territory before flicking it over the bar for a point.
53 mins — Tom Monaghan is on for Galway, and one of his first acts is to win a free for Niland. It’s directly in front of the posts, and a chance for him to make it nine from nine — but this one is off target, his first miss of the day.
54 mins — Limerick 2-18 Galway 1-16: Gearoid Hegarty puts Limerick five up.
55 mins – Twice in quick succession, Eanna Murphy pucks the ball out into the middle of the field.
Twice it’s won by Tom Morrissey rather than a Galway player.
Twice — fortunately for Galway — Morrissey lets them off the hook and sends the ball wide.
57 mins – Conor Cooney hits the ball inside, but Brian Concannon is there alone and can’t win possession. How many times have we said this before — Limerick are starting to turn the screw.
57 mins — Limerick 2-19 Galway 1-16: Peter Casey points Limerick into a six-point lead.
58 mins — Limerick 2-20 Galway 1-16: And David Reidy makes it seven. Galway are being outthought and outfought, and need to change it up before this game is gone from them entirely.
60 mins – Limerick sub Cathal O’Neill slaps down on Brian Concannon with his hurl, and catches Concannon on the helmet. Yellow card for O’Neill, and a free for Galway.
61 mins — Limerick 2-20 Galway 1-17: Niland converts the free to make it a six-point game.
62 mins – Play is stopped again, and this time it’s Barry Nash who needs treatment after Brian Concannon catches him in the ribs with a loose pull.
63 mins – Cathal Mannion and Darren Morrissey try to engineer a shooting chance from a sideline cut, but Seamus Flanagan steps in to make a fine interception.
65 mins – Conor Cooney has a go from a sideline cut, but it’s always going left and wide. Limerick still lead by six, and time is running out for Galway.
66 mins – Joseph Cooney lets one in long towards the Galway full-forwards, but Mike Casey is there to win it ahead of any maroon jersey.
67 mins – Limerick 2-21 Galway 1-17: Conor Cooney catches Cathal O’Neill with a challenge to the front, and it’s a Limerick free, and a chance to let a few more seconds tick away. Gillane points.
68 mins – Another Eanna Murphy puckout goes astray; that’s an area that Limerick have really dominated in this final quarter.
69 mins — Limerick 2-21 Galway 1-18: Tom Monaghan scores from midfield but it’s goals Galway need now if they are to make this interesting in the final minutes.
70 mins — Limerick 2-22 Galway 1-18: Cathal O’Neill is fouled in the act of shooting, and when it’s brought back for free, Gillane does what he’s done all afternoon.
71 mins — Limerick 2-23 Galway 1-18: Graeme Mulcahy gets in on the act.
70+2 mins — Limerick 2-24 Galway 1-18: Cathal O’Neill scores a fine point; the Limerick subs are in full on exhibition mode now.
70+2 mins – O’Neill has another go, but HawkEye rules that it was just wide.
70+3 mins – We’re into the third of the five additional minutes as Graeme Mulcahy tries for another one, but is denied by Eanna Murphy.
FULL TIME: Limerick 2-24 Galway 1-18
That’s it — Limerick move one step closer to their All-Ireland four-in-a-row, and after riding out an impressive Galway spell in the first half and responding in kind, they quite simply blew Henry Shefflin’s men away in the second half.
Darragh O’Donovan is named RTÉ Player of the Match.
Slice and dice it whatever way you like, but that was hugely impressive by Limerick. They won the second half by a massive 1-12 to 0-5… or rolling it back to the 25th minute, when they trailed Galway by six, by an even more impressive 1-18 to 0-6.
So now all eyes turn to Kilkenny and Clare to see who will have the opportunity to deny Limerick their four-in-a-row in a fortnight’s time.
On the basis of today — and most of the evidence of the past four years — whoever it is will need to be on their A game.
That’s all from us for now, but we’ll have lots more reaction from Croke Park throughout the evening. Thanks for reading.
