Limerick dig deep to keep run going

Limerick 3-23 Clare 2-22: This explains all the fuss about making the play-offs of the hurling league. Competitive games, they said. What every hurler wants at this stage of the season.

Sure enough this one was so competitive that extra-time was needed to separate Limerick from Clare; the former were just about deserving winners after the 90 minutes.

Yet Limerick's obvious satisfaction at making their first league final since 1997 - when they beat Galway - contrasted directly with Clare's disappointment, as Clare threw away an eight-point advantage in the final 12 minutes. There were lots of reasons for that, the best one probably being the old cliche about winning being a habit.

Limerick, apparently, have gone 15 games unbeaten since the start of the season, including challenges, and that's probably what drove them across the finish line here. They outscored Clare 1-6 to 0-1 in those final 12 minutes, including a second goal for full forward Mark Keane.

Suddenly that winning attitude took over. Great comeback then, for a great victory A final 65-metre free from Keane forced extra-time, and although he then left the field with a leg injury, the momentum was with Limerick. They were never behind from then on, with four of their substitutes adding to their total, including 0-2 from the impressive Denis Moloney.

The only possible downside to Limerick's best run of results in over a decade is that their championship date with Tipperary on May 14th is looming. So they'll play Kilkenny in the final next Sunday, leaving just two weeks to face off with the wounded Tipperary.

"I don't think that's a problem," said their manager Joe McKenna. "We'll have to be careful during the week now, and maybe monitor the players a little more. But we're a fit, hungry team. With plenty of character as well. I mean this team has no hurling done over the last five years. They haven't been involved in the latter stages of any competition. So we'd be in fair shape overall."

Confidence is definitely running high. Limerick did drift out of the game when Clare went on a scoring spree midway through the second half, but now that they're in the final they'll be going all out for the victory.

"That was a massive win for us," said midfielder Donie Ryan, one of their many heroes in the closing stages. "We've a lot of stamina work done, and at the same time we're hurling well. And we're hard to beat at the moment. We'll give it a fair old go next Sunday, but that's only the final stepping-stone. May 14th is D-Day. We have to deliver on that day and that's it."

Limerick's self-belief will be heightened by the knowledge that they dropped off the pace at stages (and hit 16 wides), and if they do deliver for the full 70 minutes few teams will stop them.

Brian Begley ended with 1-0, but his influence ran much deeper. His battle with Brian Lohan was an intriguing sideshow, and produced the penalty for Mark Keane after two minutes, and then his goal on 13 minutes, when he caught a sideline from Ryan over Lohan's head.

Tony Carmody didn't start for Clare because of a leg injury, yet they still finished the first half the more impressive. Led by Diarmuid McMahon's 1-3 they were up three points at the break, with Brian Murray's handling error gifting them the goal.

Derek Quinn was also doing well with the placed ball while Tony Griffin popped up for 0-2.

Limerick closed it up again to a one-point game before Clare appeared to move into a winning position. Niall Gilligan's messy goal on 48 minutes, again badly handled by the Limerick defence, was followed by successive scores from Barry Nugent, Quinn and Fergal Lynch to leave leave Clare 2-17 to 2-9 in front.

Yet that scene all changed again, with Keane's 20-metre free finding the net to revive Limerick once more. At the end of normal-time Clare were the ones battling for survival, and once extra-time started there was no stopping Limerick.

"Yeah, it looked as though we were cruising, but we just didn't close out the deal," said Clare manager Anthony Daly. "We're having problems with that, so somewhere over the next five weeks we'll have to get ourselves around that problem. Cork would be way ahead of us on that performance.

"But we said at half-time that Limerick weren't going to die no matter how far ahead we got. They proved that. No one has beaten them yet. Still, it's only a league semi-final final. You have to weigh it up."

LIMERICK: B Murray; D Reale, TJ Ryan, M Foley; O Moran, B Geary, D O'Grady; P O'Grady, D Ryan (0-1); M O'Brien (0-1), S Lucey (0-1), C Fitzgerald (0-2); A O'Shaughnessy (0-3), B Begley (1-0), M Keane (2-10, 1-5 frees, two 65s, one penalty). Subs: D Moloney (0-2) for P O'Grady (half-time), S Hickey for O'Brien (52 mins), B Foley (0-1, free) for O Moran (57 mins), N Moran (0-1) for Fitzgerald (61 mins); P Kirby (0-1) for Keane (at extra-time, inj), P O'Grady for D O'Grady (82 mins).

CLARE: D Fitzgerald; F Lohan, B Lohan, G O'Grady; A Markham, S McMahon (0-2, one free, one 65), G Quinn; B O'Connell, C Lynch; D McMahon (1-3), N Gilligan (1-4, two frees), F Lynch (0-3); B Nugent (0-3), T Griffin (0-2), D Quinn (0-4, four frees). Subs: P Vaughan for Markhan (27 mins), J Clancy (0-1) for D Quinn (65 mins), C Harrison for Lohan (at half time), D O'Rourke (0-1) for F Lynch (78 mins).

Referee: B Gavin (Offaly).