Limerick flex their muscles as Clare ensure Wexford share some early-season pain

The Allianz Hurling League’s capacity for endless variety was on display yesterday. Limerick, who last season took a leisurely approach to the whole thing, winning the only match that mattered but nonetheless relocating their best selves for championship, look more interested this time.

Having whacked last year’s admirably persistent neighbours Clare in the previous match, the All-Ireland champions travelled to Galway to take on Henry Shefflin’s side, who had actually won the two most recent league meetings between the sides.

Tom Morrissey was to the fore, as Limerick won by five, condemning their opponents to a second home defeat.

Last year Wexford swept the boards with five out of five in the league stage before becoming unstuck. Any shift in emphasis was purely coincidental to their grim fate when Clare, their cheeks still red from the Limerick indignity, came to town with some key personnel restored and handed Darragh Egan’s admittedly understrength team a 22-point dressing-down.

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Asked had there been an ummm, change of focus this year, Egan said there had been before remembering himself.

“But it’s not an excuse for today. Nothing can excuse conceding 4-17 in the first half and I want to make that very clear. That is just not acceptable. We won five from five in the league, absolutely flying it then got a fair beating against Waterford in the semi-final in Nowlan Park.

“Our focus, yes, we want to be more robust, better equipped for April 22nd this year but we still want to go out and try and win every league game. We gave ourselves no opportunity today at all to win that and while we played better in the second half . . .. we coughed up 1-1 straight away and that killed the momentum again.

“It’s not an excuse for today, every team is working really hard, but unfortunately our panel depth isn’t where we need it to be at present.”

Winning manager Brian Lohan was happy to be on the right side of the ‘were you surprised to win so easily?’ question this week.

“When you see the number of guys that Wexford were missing and the real quality that they were missing as well. It’s probably disappointing for them that they had so many injuries but sometimes that happens.

“We’ve been on the other side of that and at this level with the quality of teams if you’re in any way off, you’re not able to get your top-notch players on the field, you’re going to be under pressure.”

Pressure is building in the Allianz Football League. The bottom of the table is becoming very interesting in both Divisions One and Two. In the top flight, two points covers six teams between third and last place.

Roscommon sustained their first defeat of the campaign in Clones where Jack McCarron top-scored for Monaghan, who have now assembled two wins on the spin. The previous leaders remain in second place behind the now only unbeaten record in the division, Mayo’s after a goal-laden defeat of 2021 All-Ireland champions Tyrone, now propping up the table on two points.

The main action is of course in Division Two where a misstep can have actual consequences for a team’s championship status.

Already looking doomed are Limerick, promoted last year but more than halfway through this season they are becalmed and pointless at the bottom of the table after a ferocious hammering from Cork, who ensured that Clare’s hurlers wouldn’t be the only six-shooters this weekend by pillaging their visitors 6-18 to 0-12.

Clare’s footballers have quite a tale of woe from the past two weekends, having agonisingly lost two good leads going into injury-time, first against Kildare and then on Saturday against Dublin, who looked dazed to have escaped with a one-point win after Cormac Costello came up with late deliverance in Croke Park.

That first match however is what keeps them in the relegation places, locked on two points with Kildare but trailing on the head-to-head.

Louth threw themselves a lifeline with a late rally to beat neighbours Meath, who had defender Harry O’Higgins sent off in the 24th minute. That moves Mickey Harte’s team to four points.

Kildare had another horror show, as leaders Derry came to Newbridge and made off with the spoils on a 14-point margin, 2-15 to 0-7.