Serious Casey injury clouds Limerick demolition of Tipperary
Limerick’s Kyle Hayes with Willie Connors and Craig Morgan of Tipperary Pic ©INPHO/James Crombie
A suspected broken leg for Peter Casey cast a pall over an otherwise satisfying day for Limerick as they maintained their 100% start to the Munster SHC in TUS Gaelic Grounds.
Casey injured himself after scoring a 53rd-minute goal to send Limerick into a 15-point lead. Against a strong breeze, it was a score that completed another third quarter demolition of Tipperary as they improved their half-time lead from five points (0-12 to 0-7) to 2-22 to 0-12.
Tipperary were embarrassingly second best and the break in play for Casey’s medical treatment prompted several of their supporters in the 33,475 crowd to make for the exits.
Tipperary were within four points up to the 44th minute when Aaron Gillane pounced on a Diarmaid Byrnes ball that was broken down and rifled to the net. The visitors’ spirit was broken and Limerick posted seven of the next nine points before Casey’s bittersweet score. Limerick’s bench laid on the pain with Adam English helping himself to four points.
The pre-match rain appeared to dampen the fare as much as the sod, which was opened for the first time since hosting the deluge-affected Munster senior club final in December.
Facing the wind and Limerick’s totemic middle third figures, Tipperary looked cumbersome as they tried to run the ball out from the back. Limerick weren’t humming with their webbing of passes either although Will O’Donoghue and Tom Morrissey were putting in better shifts than the previous Sunday.
Seven minutes in, Kyle Hayes was unfairly blown for touching the ball on the ground as he forced a goal opening for Peter Casey, although the Limerick wing-back followed it up with a point shortly afterwards.
Tipperary, meanwhile, were again off the boil with their scoring attempts. Jason Forde struck three wides by the break, two of them from 65s, while Jake Morris was blocked down on three occasion.
An interception on Cian Lynch by Eoghan Connolly in the Limerick half in the 22nd minute carved a goal opportunity for Seán Hayes after Alan Tynan gave him the platform, but Nickie Quaid was level to it.
Forde sent over a third free to tie the game for a fifth time but the next six points came at the other end. Three Aaron Gillane frees followed by a Gillane effort from play after Will O’Donoghue snaffled a Craig Morgan pass, a Diarmaid Byrnes free from an outrageous distance even for him and Peter Casey gave Limerick a most comfortable cushion.
Forde finished off the half with a fourth free but neither Tipperary nor the elements were going to stop Limerick.
A. Gillane (1-8, 0-6 frees); P. Casey (1-2); A. English (0-4); T. Morrissey, C. O’Neill (0-3 each); D. Reidy, D. Byrnes (frees) (0-2 each); K. Hayes, W. O’Donoghue, D. Ó Dalaigh (0-1 each).
J. Forde (0-9, 8 frees); M. Kehoe, G. O’Connor (1 free) (0-2 each); E. Connolly, A. Tynan, P. Maher, N. McGrath, J. Ryan (0-1 each).
: N. Quaid; S. Finn, D. Morrissey, B. Nash; D. Byrnes, D. Hannon (c), K. Hayes; W. O’Donoghue, C. Lynch; G. Hegarty, C. O’Neill, T. Morrissey; A. Gillane, P. Casey, D. Reidy.
D. Ó Dalaigh for G. Hegarty (52); G. Mulcahy for P. Casey (inj 58); A. English for C. Lynch (61); C. Coughlan for K. Hayes (65); C. Boylan for D. Reidy (70).
B. Hogan; J. Ryan, C. Morgan, R. Maher (c); C. Bowe, B. O’Mara, M. Breen; W. Connors, E. Connolly; A. Tynan, G. O’Connor, J. Forde; S. Hayes, J. Morris, M. Kehoe.
N. McGrath for S. Hayes (h-t); P. Maher for M. Kehoe (42); A. Ormond for W. Connors (50); D. Stakelum for J. Morris (59); S. Kenneally for J. Forde (70).
L. Gordon (Galway).
