A REPEAT of last summer’s epic Munster final is lined up for the TUS Gaelic Grounds on Saturday night when holders Limerick and near neighbours Clare meet in Round Two of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship.
It necessitated extra-time back then for Limerick to complete their memorable Munster four-in-a-row, and another tight encounter between the age-old foes is envisaged at the weekend.
“We played them for nearly 100 minutes in Thurles last year and there wasn’t a puck of a ball between us. Same in Ennis in the league last year,” recalled Limerick manager John Kiely.
Last Sunday last, Limerick squeezed past Waterford in Thurles while Clare were outgunned on their home patch at Ennis by Tipperary.
Realistically, Brian Lohan-managed Clare – whose backroom team includes former Limerick star James Moran of Ahane – need to win to remain serious championship contenders.
Irrespective of their below-par display at Semple Stadium, the five-in-a-row seeking outfit will again enter as clear favourites.
On this continuous tag of being the fancied side, Kiely admitted this week it was difficult for expectation not to affect his players.
“It’s not possible to insulate them from it. Because they live in the real world. They have to go to work every day. They have to meet their relations. They have phones with information on it, so you can’t block them off or hunt them everywhere.”
Kiely will likely announce his starting team on Friday morning, which will include the usual regulars, amongst them Gearóid Hegarty as his sending-off against the Déise was for two yellows.
Captain Declan Hannon has been ruled-out after picking up another unfortunate injury at the weekend and is likely to miss the entire provincial campaign.
There will be familiarity about the Clare side too with Conor Cleary, David McInerney, Shane O’Donnell, Peter Duggan, and Tony Kelly, while Aidan McCarthy (1-13 v Tipp) is an emerging talent in eye-catching form.
It’s a six-day turnaround for both teams and a really fascinating contest is on the cards with Limerick given a tentative nod to prevail ahead of a three-week break to the away fixture with Tipperary (May 21).
The curtain-raiser on Saturday is the Munster Senior Camogie semi-final, also involving Limerick and Clare (throw-in 4.30pm).
