Showing signs of life that will tempt some to imagine the unspoken possibility of ending the county's 44 year wait for an All-Ireland title, Na Piarsaigh today continued what is a cautiously optimistic time for Limerick hurling.
Having seen the county claim an U-21 All-Ireland in September, the advance of Na Piarsaigh into the last four of this year's All-Ireland club hurling championship came in a frantic Munster final against Ballygunner of Waterford today.
It didn't begin well for the club who became Limerick's first to claim an All-Ireland club title in 2016; Conor Power firing home a goal for Ballygunner within the opening 10 minutes.
Cúl ag @ballygunnerHc ! Conor Power tar éis é a fháil #MunsterFinal #Hurling. Tá muid beo ar @TG4TV agus youtube Sport TG4 !! pic.twitter.com/sr5A8h62DW
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) November 19, 2017
Power's goal helped establish a lead that Na Piarsaigh would find it difficult to track back for most of the game.
Trailing 1-04 to 0-06 at half-time, that scoreline stretched out to 1-07 to 0-07 shortly after the second half started.
It took the best efforts of Kevin Downes and David Breen to alleviate this increasing gap - Breen afforded far too much time by the otherwise solid Ballygunner back line.
Cúl ag @NapGAA !! 1-07 acu anois agius 1-07 ag @ballygunnerHc . Tá an cluiche beo ar @TG4TV chomh maith le https://t.co/Sse4X5Ten1 #Hurling pic.twitter.com/Sr9WD8rUAo
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) November 19, 2017
While Breen's goal offered Na Piarsaigh a fresh impetus, things remained incredibly tight throughout. Just as the Limerick club looked set to have secured a hard fought victory, Ballygunner hit back again.
Yikes!! Cúl den scoth ag @ballygunnerHc 2-09 acu 1-13 ag @NapGAA .Muid beo ar @TG4TV agus ar https://t.co/Sse4X5Ten1 ar fud na cruinne pic.twitter.com/bBU62q9yKI
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) November 19, 2017
Yet, their dependability was slipping and Na Piarsaigh cancelled out their goal almost immediately with another of their own.
Cúl faighte ag @NapGAA ! 2-13acu V 2-09 ag @ballygunnerHc #munsterfinal #Hurling. muid beo ar youtube https://t.co/Sse4X5Ten1 agus ar @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/OPi7sc4nVS
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) November 19, 2017
Taking the wind out of Ballygunner's sails completely, a sending-off for the Waterford club was compounded by Breen's second goal of the afternoon.
Although the eight-point winning margin does not tell the story of a match that was nip and tuck throughout, Na Piarsaigh were decisive when it mattered.
They will be confident that a second All-Ireland title in 3 years is well within their reach.
