On paper, a four point win over Laois doesn’t look like spectacular form in advance of this Sunday’s National Hurling League quarter final and when set alongside Galway’s draw with Clare in Ennis, Limerick certainly look like they have some ground to make up.
Yet for all that, 11/10 about a home win over the Tribesmen might actually be a decent punt. As we’ve all seen, punters who’ve backed home wins blindly in the league have done particularly well, with thirteen of the fifteen games in 1A going the way of the home side. Paddy Power have no doubt factored that into their calculations, which makes it all the more surprising that Galway have been made favorites this week. Their draw with Clare was impressive, but the Banner County were already through, while their other two road trips to Waterford and Kilkenny ended in defeat. It’s not as if Laois have been poor this year either – they’ve caused problems for every opponent.
Limerick’s footballers are also in action this week and while promotion is no longer on the table due to their reverse at the hands of Fermanagh, John Brudair’s charges still should be very confident regarding their prospects of victory at O’Connor Park in Tullamore. Offaly’s year has gone from bad to worse in a footballing sense and while Limerick know all too well how good Roscommon have been this spring, there’s still no excuse for a 3-19 to 2-4 reverse against them, as Offaly suffered last time out.
Already Offaly manager Emmet McDonnell is under fire and without any real leaders in their side, it’s hard to see who can inspire them to come out of their slump. A win here will almost certainly make Limerick safe from relegation and it’ll be a huge surprise if they don’t produce it.
Last weekend was a wonderful weekend for accumulator punters with Powers as all ten favoured sides in the Premiership picked up victories, leading to utter carnage on Monday morning when all the fiver and tenner punters went in to collect their spoils. In that spirit, we’re going to round up our two Limerick bets into a fourfold by including the footballers of Meath and Monaghan.
Monaghan have been devastating at home all year and should cut through a spluttering Laois team for a short cut, while Meath have improved gradually as the season has progressed and look superior to a Down team that ran aground badly against Galway last week. The accumulator on all four teams – Monaghan, Meath, Limerick footballers and Limerick hurlers – pays out at around 15/2 at Powers current prices. It won’t do as much damage to the bookies as Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City did last week, but it might be enough to finance an enjoyable weekend for readers of this column.
