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Irish Times
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Tactical Analysis: Dublin's work rate and goals key in Limerick upset
In a seismic shock at Croke Park, Dublin stunned Limerick with a 2-24 to 0-28 victory in their All-Ireland quarter-final. The game's major turning point came early: Chris Crummey's 14th-minute red card for a high challenge on Gearóid Hegarty. Remarkably, it was Dublin, not Limerick, who responded more effectively, outscoring the Shannonsiders 0-10 to 0-5 during the 20-minute period that followed. Dublin's strong start Limerick's turnovers were scattered across midfield and defence, often from contested puckouts and failed clearances. Their lack of turnovers in attacking zones reflects their struggle to move the ball through the thirds. Throw-ins, blocks and hooks further highlight a loss of rhythm, particularly after Crummey's red card when Dublin raised their intensity. READ MORE Dublin, despite being a man down, had a tighter cluster of turnovers in the middle third. Their work rate meant they often immediately contested for second possession, and several of these instances led to point-scoring turnovers. Their higher press forced Limerick into uncharacteristic errors, with the central channel particularly disrupted by Dublin's compact shape and aggression in the tackle. Dublin won more turnovers in central areas than Limerick in the first half Dublin dominated their puckouts, winning clean possession in the middle third and recovering breaks with impressive organisation. With 14 men, they still broke even on long puckouts, targeting Barry Nash's flank effectively. Limerick offered little disruption, winning only a few clean or broken balls. After Crummey's red card, Limerick stuck with a zonal setup instead of using a sweeper, which proved costly. Even after losing a man, Dublin's puckout strategy, first touch, and intensity were vastly superior. Limerick's zonal defence failed to press up on Dublin's middle-third pockets, allowing the Dubs to build up with confidence and get their shots off. In total Dublin had 27 shots in the first half, scoring 15, a 55% efficiency in front of goal. Dublin's shot efficiency wasn't fantastic but their successful puckout strategy helped them to create plenty of chances Below we see Conor Burke (0-5), who was allowed to move forward at will in both halves and score from long range. Conor Burke got five points, this one under very little pressure Uncharacteristic errors In contrast, Limerick looked flat and tentative, lacking their trademark physical dominance and failing to deliver accurate ball to their half forwards. In the picture below, we see Sean Finn overhit a pass to Tom Morrissey, which was symptomatic of their overall performance. Sean Finn had time to look up and pick his pass In the next screen shot, the ball is now caught by Conor McHugh and the turnover leads to another scoring opportunity for Dublin. But Finn's delivery was poor, flying over Tom Morrissey's head Despite being down to 14 men after the 14th minute, Dublin executed an intelligent puckout strategy, ensuring they retained momentum. Their shot selection and puckout retention underpinned their half-time lead and laid the foundation for victory. The red card actually marked the start of Dublin's most productive phase. In the 10-minute spell that followed, Dublin outscored Limerick by 7 points to 3, flipping the momentum of the game entirely. Limerick's lost a lot of their puckouts that went long, while Dublin's defence helped keep the score down with hooks and blocks Dublin goals wrestle back control Limerick briefly took the lead on 51 minutes (0-19 to 0-18) after a four-point run in which Aidan O'Connor and Adam English impressed. However, two goals from John Hetherton and Cian O'Sullivan in quick succession exploited Limerick's defensive vulnerability, and swung momentum back to Dublin. Hetherton created chaos inside and was an important outlet for the Dublin attack. John Hetherton's wonderful goal put Dublin back in front after a push by Limerick Tactically, Limerick never exploited their numerical advantage. They often allowed Dublin to play through the press, especially on puckouts, and failed to sustain pressure. While their shooting efficiency improved in the second half, they ultimately came up short — two points off their usual 30-point target. Dublin's win was built on composure, resilience, and leadership from Burke and Seán Currie. Despite the extra man, Limerick left space for Dublin on puckouts. Ronan Hayes found room here, leading to the second goal. A late Limerick surge closed the gap, but Currie's long-range frees and solid defending secured the result. Dublin's varied and effective second-half puckouts, supported by a strong midfield press, maintained their rhythm and denied Limerick momentum. Meanwhile, the shot map (left panel) illustrates Dublin's high shot volume and variation, including two well-taken goals. While not all were chances were converted, their relentless threat stretched Limerick's defence and forced them to commit numbers backward, limiting their transitional play. Dublin continued to pass up chances going forward, but the goals and their excellent puckouts carried them to victory Brennan's save defined Limerick's second half Seán Brennan made a brilliant save from Aaron Gillane with 10 minutes to go to help Dublin stay in front In the second half, Dublin dropped off Limerick's puckouts (green nodes below), but their defensive structure blocked goal routes. Limerick were forced into tighter angles (white nodes), and when they did break through, Dublin's 1v1 defending stood strong — with key interventions from Bellew, Smyth, and Hayes. The black nodes (blocks/hooks) reflect Dublin's resilience in shutting down a tired Limerick. Limerick went short from their puckouts as Dublin stepped off, while Dublin's defence made key blocks close to goal Despite their improved second half, Limerick failed to capitalise on Dublin's red card. Their passive zonal defence persisted, and Declan Hannon's impact was limited when introduced. Dublin's goals proved decisive in a win built as much on character as their sensible tactical approach. Jeffrey Lynskey managed Galway to three All-Ireland minor hurling titles. He is also a former Galway under-20 manager and is currently an MSc student in Sports Performance Analysis at Setu Carlow.
Irish Times
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Nicky English: Limerick showed All-Ireland intent in shaking Cork to their core
I believed going into this weekend that we would be watching the best two teams in the championship playing in Limerick. The scary thing, especially for Cork , is that may still be true but it's a long drop from first to second. Limerick were savage on the day. You could probably put a best 15 from all of the other teams together and they wouldn't have been beaten here. That's as impressive as I've seen them in a couple of years – since the Munster finals in 2019 and 2021 and the '21 All-Ireland. It was that good. [ Limerick show they haven't gone away by dismantling Cork Opens in new window ] The question before the championship was would John Kiely have all of his players healthy and ready to go? He did on Sunday. Will they be all healthy in eight weeks' time? Who knows, but on this evidence, at their best they are untouchable. Ominously, Will O'Donoghue and Gearóid Hegarty are still improving as well, getting closer to their best. Nickie Quaid was a likely non-starter in the championship – the Munster Championship, anyway – or so we thought. READ MORE Yet there he was, making outstanding puck-out decisions, and when Cork needed goals to stay in it in the first half, he saves from Patrick Hogan. The ball is worked up the field smartly to Hegarty, who scores a point at the other end. Cork's Shane Barrett and Limerick's Tom Morrissey. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho In general, the improvement they showed against Waterford was not only maintained but the rate of improvement was as well. The first point that Tom Morrissey got came from a very snappily hit pass from Cian Lynch, which Morrissey took on the full and went on to score. It was like a declaration of intent and showed straight away that Limerick were really on their game. I think it was a more important match for them than it was for Cork. Limerick lost the five-in-a-row last year when Cork beat them in the All-Ireland semi-final. I've heard O'Donoghue saying they just get over it and focus on the future, but obviously something like that hits deep and hard because they were probably the best team in last year's championship. They played well enough to beat Cork but yet didn't manage to. Maybe it was the stress of the drive for five but they also had key injuries. Barry Nash, another who was outstanding this weekend, missed that semi-final. Their depth is now enviable. Cathal O'Neill is a replacement because Tom Morrissey has improved and is capable of scoring five points in a match and because Adam English has been outstanding. O'Neill would be starting for any other team. Adam English celebrates after scoring Limerick's second goal. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho Kyle Hayes was named Man of the Match, and rightly so, but English for me was a close second. He scored a goal and a couple of points, but overall his touch was so silky and his footwork so neat. He also got on a load of ball and delivered it brilliantly in front of him. You'd love to be a corner forward with that quality of supply. Aaron Gillane was on it from an early stage with his goal and ran amok. We've questioned the Cork full-back line in the past having previously been in trouble against both Limerick and Clare, and they were again under all kinds of pressure here with little option but to foul. The Limerick defence, particularly with Hayes in front of the full-back line, were just winning every high ball that was incoming. By the time English scored the second goal, they were out of sight. Will Cork get over it? It's a long way from the confidence of winning the league, so it's not going to be easy. A saving grace is that they're back on the bike very quickly against Waterford, who have their own issues and are probably an ideal match for Pat Ryan's men to start the recovery process. The problem with that is there's a very ominous prize for winning, playing Limerick again in a couple of weeks in the Munster final. If Limerick repeat what they did this weekend, there's nobody who will come near them. The All-Ireland is eight weeks away but this was a massive statement.
