Limerick made light work of their Munster U-21 hurling quarter final against Clare with a 3-18 to 0-13 win over their hosts in Ennis.
Second half goals from Seamus Flanagan, Conor Boylan and Mark O’Dwyer saw a dominant Limerick side set up a final four clash with Tipperary on June 21st.
Limerick went in only two points ahead at the break despite being on top for most of the opening half hour of the first U-21 championship game of the season.
Limerick have beaten Clare in the U21 Munster Quarter-Final. Check out the full-time highlights here! pic.twitter.com/PV0fCwTaAz
— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 7, 2018
Man of the match Brian Ryan was in fine form with five points in that period, while Boylan, Barry Murphy and Kyle Hayes also impressed for the All-Ireland U-21 reigning champions.
After 11 minutes Limerick led Clare 0-5 to 0-1 with Darren O’Connell also getting on the scoresheet for Pat Donnelly’s side.
The free taking prowess of Aidan McCarthy kept Clare in the contest but Limerick were getting their scores much easier as the half wore on.
Limerick had a six point advantage with five minutes remaining in the half but Clare hit four in a row to go in at the interval two points adrift.
The game changed early in the second half when Clare corner back Conor O’Halloran was shown a red card for a strike on O’Connell.
That gave Limerick all the impetus that was needed and the game was over as a contest once Flanagan netted the first goal.
Paudie Ahern played an inch perfect pass to Murphy with his first touch. The Doon clubman took on the Clare defence before offloading to Flanagan and he made no mistake from close range.
Boylan added a second goal soon after with a clinical low finish following sterling work from Oisin O’Reilly. Monaleen’s Mark O’Dwyer added a third late on to seal off a comfortable win.
Scorers – Limerick: Brian Ryan 0-6, Conor Boylan and Seamus Flanagan 1-2 each, Barry Murphy 0-5 (4f), Mark O’Dwyer 1-1, Darren O’Connell and Paddy O’Loughlin 0-1; Clare: Aidan McCarthy 0-6 (6f), Gary Cooney and Padraic O’Loughlin 0-2 each; Michael Corry, Steven Conway and Sean O’Loughlin 0-1 each.
Limerick: Jamie Power; Brian McPartland, Josh Adams, John Flynn; Daniel Minehan, Kyle Hayes, Tommy Grimes; Paddy O’Loughlin, Mike Mackey; Brian Ryan, Barry Murphy, Conor Boylan; Darren O’Connell, Seamus Flanagan, Oisin O’Reilly; Subs: Paudie Ahern for O’Connell (44 mins), William O’Meara for Minehan (50 mins), Mark O’Dwyer for O’Reilly (54 mins), Michael Houlihan for Ryan (57 mins), Brian Timmons for McPartland (58 mins).
Clare: Killian Nugent; Conor O’Halloran, Ross Hayes, Bradley Higgins; Diarmuid Ryan, Jason McCarthy, Pauric McNamara; Michael Corry, Kieran Galvin; Aidan McCarthy, Gary Cooney, Steven Conway; Joe Carmody, Colin Guilfoyle, Billy Connors; Subs: Padraic O’Loughlin for Carmody (22 mins), Sean O’Loughlin for Conway (30 mins), Liam O’Connor for Corry (h-t), Cathal Darcy for Galvin (39 mins), Michael O’Shea for Connors (51 mins).
Referee: Phillip Kelly (Tipperary)
