The winner of this Munster SFC quarter-final will face Kerry in the next round.
The sun is shining (kind of), the flags are up, the evenings are getting longer.
That’s the sign of the Gaelic Games Championships starting up again and it begins for the Limerick footballers in Supervalu Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday at 2pm.
Although, he formbook going into this one isn’t good for Jimmy Lee’s side.
Across the Allianz League Division Three and the McGrath Cup in 2024, the Treaty have played nine games, with all nine ending in defeat.
However, their last two losses were only by one point against Wicklow away (0-9 to 0-8) and an Offaly side who are backed by exciting U20 talent from 2021 (1-10 to 0-12).
This could be a sign that Limerick are improving, despite the disappointing results.
They scored 3-68 in the League this season, while conceding 8-91, an average loss of around five points per game, which is respectable considering they lost their first two games by seven and 16 to Antrim and Down.
Goalscoring hasn’t been a strong suit for Lee’s team with only Cathal Downes and Tommy Childs hitting the net from play while Iain Corbett scored a penalty.
Their top scorer in the league was Peter Nash with 0-13 followed by James Naughton with 0-11.
Two incomers in the last few weeks can give Limerick a chance of upsetting the odds.
In goal, Josh Ryan came in against Wicklow and scored 0-4 while only conceding one goal in two games.
Ryan was a lethal forward for Limerick in their promotion campaign in 2022 and was a shining light up front against Kerry that season.
With the evolution of the gaelic football goalkeeper being a topic of discussion recently, Limerick might have unearthed their own version.
It was crucial for the Treaty to get an excelling goalkeeper too following Donal O’Sullivan’s retirement last November.
Danny Neville was another player to come back in towards the end of the league after a time abroad working.
Neville was Limerick’s most dangerous forward against Cork in their 2021 meeting and will hope to cause the Rebels more problems this weekend.
Limerick’s recent results:
- Limerick 0-12 Offaly 1-10
- Limerick 0-8 Wicklow 0-9
- Limerick 0-14 Clare 1-16
- Limerick 1-8 Westmeath 0-14
- Limerick 0-10 Sligo 1-12
This weekend’s opponents Cork had a very up and down league.
Good wins over Meath and Kildare for sure but the Rebels also dropped the ball against Louth and Cavan.
Inconsistent results for John Cleary’s side hint that Limerick still have a small chance of causing the shock of the weekend.
Two forwards the Treaty have to watch though are Chris Og Jones, who was the top scorer from play in Division Two, and Conor Corbett.
Both have been electric for the Rebels and Limerick need to keep close tabs on them.
On paper, Cork are clearly the better side, but this is the same team that lost to Clare at this stage in 2023.
Could lightning strike twice?
Cork’s recent results:
- Cork 2-16 Armagh 2-16
- Cork 1-15 Meath 1-11
- Cork 2-15 Kildare 3-9
- Cork 1-14 Fermanagh 0-16
- Cork 0-16 Cavan 0-17
Tickets are available using this link, Adults and Student/OAP’s are both €15 while U16s go in for free.
The game will not be streamed or shown on TV, beware of any scams. Highlights will be shown on the Sunday Game on RTE2 on Sunday evening.
