LIMERICK manager John Kiely has indicated that his All-Ireland winning midfield partnership will be declared fit to line-out in the upcoming National Hurling League Final against Kilkenny over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend.
Darragh O’Donovan (27) of Doon and Na Piarsaigh’s William O’Donoghue (28) are both current injury concerns.
The pair have been together around the middle of the park in Limerick’s annexation of the last three All-Ireland Championships.
In the breakthrough triumph of 2018, O’Donovan was partnered by Patrickswell’s Cian Lynch, now a permanent fixture at centre-forward.
O’Donovan didn’t start in the weekend semi-final defeat of Tipperary, while O’Donoghue limped off towards its end at the Gaelic Grounds.
Limerick booked their place in the league final with victory over Tipp at the Gaelic Grounds. Kiely said he was pleased with most aspects of his team’s performance. “Particularly in the first 15 minutes of the second-half, I felt the response from our lads was really, really strong,” he noted.
“From around that point, we raised our intensity and got to the pitch of the game as we were getting first to the ball, or at least with the player from the opposition. We hadn’t been doing that in the first-half (after which Limerick trailed by four points) but that changed after the break, and to our advantage. We just didn’t have enough possession in that first-half.”
Peter Casey booted home the only goal of the evening in the closing quarter.
Kilkenny, who swept aside Cork at Nowlan Park, will provide final opposition the weekend after next.
