Limerick crush Laois to record fourth victory

JOHN FITZGIBBON hit a brilliant 1-14 as Limerick devoured Laois for a fourth Division 1B win of the season.

Despite the victory, Limerick still need to beat Clare next week if they are to claim the only promotion spot available.

Laois will now do well to avoid a relegation play-off and they need a win against Wexford to have any chance of retaining their status.

Declan Hannon was a late withdrawal for Limerick, but his replacement Barry Nash made a real impression with a brilliant 2-2 before his halftime substitution.

Two minutes in he started the scoring with a great point, and three minutes later he beat Eoin Reilly with a low drive.

Two points in a minute from John Fitzgibbon gave the home side a 1-7 to 0-3 lead after 17 minutes, but the stunning eight minutes that followed eradicated any hopes of a Laois comeback.

Six unanswered points in four minutes made it 1-13 to 0-4, and further goals from Nash and Fitzgibbon made it 3-15 to 0-6 at half-time.

Further goals from Graeme Mulcahy, Pat Ryan and Michel Ryan underlined Limerick’s dominance in the second-half, as PJ Scully’s late strike for Laois barely impacted the winning margin.

limerick: B Hennessy; T Condon, R McCarthy, S O’Brien (G Hegarty HT); P O’Brien, D Byrnes (W McNamara 45), S Hickey; P Ryan, P Browne (B O’Connell 59), G O’Mahony, T Morrissey, J Fitzgibbon; G Mulcahy, K O’Brien, B Nash (M Ryan HT).

Scorers: J Fitzgibbon (9f) 1-14; B Nash 2-2; P Browne, T Morrissey 0-4; G Mulcahy 1-1; M Ryan, P Ryan 1-0; K O’Brien 0-2; D Byrnes (1f), G O’Mahony 0-1.

laois: E Reilly; J Phelan (O’Carroll 48), D Maher, C Healy; L Bergin (T Delaney HT), N Foyle (J Walsh HT), R Mullaney; P Purcell (R King HT), C Collier; C Dwyer, S Maher, M Whelan; W Dunphy (C Stapleton 63), W Hyland, PJ Scully.

Scorers: PJ Scully (4f) 1-5; C Dwyer 0-3; R Mullaney, C Collier, S Maher, R King 0-1.

referee: J McGrath (Westmeath).