Shane Stapleton gives his player ratings for Limerick after their 0-27 to 0-24 All-Ireland semi-final win to Galway.
Shane Stapleton gives his player ratings for Limerick after their 0-27 to 0-24 All-Ireland semi-final win to Galway.
Limerick
Nicky Quaid — 8
Didn’t put a foot wrong, but was never really tested.
Sean Finn — 8
Dealt with Joe Canning and Conor Whelan at different times, and never looked in much bother.
Dan Morrissey — 9
Fantastic performance from Morrissey who is looking every inch the answer minding the square after being moved from wing-back to fill the void left by the injured Mike Casey. Snapped ball, battled well, and never looked stretched.
Barry Nash — 7
Nash had an easy day of it as the spare man.
Diarmaid Byrnes — 8
Didn’t enjoy his time marking Brian Concannon but still tore into the game. Won battles, snapped ball, and knocked over 0-3 (0-1f).
Declan Hannon — 7
Scored a beautiful point before half time after linking up with a couple of teammates, but was rather quiet overall.
Kyle Hayes — 9
Brilliant performance of hurling, direct running, and athleticism. Was man of the match at centre-forward in the All-Ireland SHC final of 2018 at centre-forward, and was as effective at wing-back two years on.
Darragh O’Donovan — 6
O’Donovan was given the nod to start by John Kiely but didn’t quite make the most of it. A couple of wides will have frustrated the Doon man.
William O’Donoghue — 7
Solid and won plenty of ball. Set up a couple of scores too.
Gearoid Hegarty — 9
Tony Kelly finally has a rival for the Hurler of the Year gong. Ran Joseph Cooney ragged in the first half when scoring 0-4, and though Fintan Burke slowed up the St Patrick’s man somewhat, Hegarty continued to put Galway on the back foot on the ground and in the air.
Cian Lynch — 7
Lynch’s positioning at centre-forward presented a stick-or-twist conundrum for Galway, and over the courser of the 70 minutes it took its toll. Lynch scored a couple, assisted for more, and won frees. Yet there’s clearly much more in him.
Tom Morrissey — 9
Five points from play, and even a free at the end to sweeten the deal. Gave Shane Cooney a rough time of it, and showed his class throughout.
Aaron Gillane — 6
Given the good supply of ball going in, Gillane will be disappointed that he returned just 0-1 from play. Taken off late on.
Seamus Flanagan — 7
Hit 0-2 from play, won converted frees, and justified his inclusion from the start.
Graeme Mulcahy — 5
Struggled to get into the game and was taken off.
Subs
Peter Casey for Mulcahy (40) — 7
David Reidy for O’Donovan (52) — 5
Adrian Breen for Flanagan (62) — 6
