Limerick footballers’ 2026 campaign ends with Tailteann Cup loss to Wicklow:
By John Redington Limerick Leader Sports
LIMERICK’S senior football season came to an abrupt end with defeat to Wicklow in round 2B of the Tailteann Cup in sun-drenched Aughrim this Saturday evening.
The nine-point deficit, inflated by the winners’ unanswered tally of 1-3 in added time, didn’t reflect Lee’s charges keeping themselves in contact almost to the end but they definitely came out second best as the Garden County exacted revenge for their semi-final loss in the same competition last season, as well as being edged out by the same opposition of promotion to the National League Division Three.
Once again, Limerick fell victim to their difficulties in gaining primary possession. With their first four picks for midfield all unavailable due to injury or suspension, they found themselves pinned back into their own half after the break as a succession of kickouts were turned over by man-of-the-match Dean Healy and his physically-commanding colleagues in the midfield diamond.
While Limerick did manage a recovery during the closing minutes to keep the contest alive going into added time, the all-or-nothing effort collapsed on the spaces they were forced to leave undefended at the back.
Limerick got the perfect start when Barry Coleman collected the ball off the throw-in and whacked over a two-pointer from out on the wing but they had just a minute to enjoy their lead when Eoin Murtagh ran onto Pádraig O’Toole lay-off, burst up the centre and blasted past Jeffrey Alfred’s reach.
Danny Neville’s reply had thesides level again before the early pace wound down but, when the hosts stepped on the gas again, Oisín McGraynor sliced through the challenges to shoot just over the crossbar
Limerick’s industry in the middle third allowed them to pick it up again coming up to the quarter mark for Tony McCarthy to twice split the posts and they got full measure for their dominance when James Naughton burst into the square and then converted the penalty after he was hauled down.
However, with the home support voicing their discontent with some of the decisions,Wicklow found a response as Mark Jackson’s two-pointer free halved the deficit and, after drawing level through points from Tom Moran and Eoin Darcy, O’Toole bounced them into the lead as he collected off Healy and shot into the near corner of the net.
With just ten minutes of wind advantage remaining, the visitors steadied themselves with Cillian Fahy’s two-pointer and levelled when he added a single and, with the bit between the teeth, strode into the lead with a Neville two-pointer.
The gap stretched to five when Neville jinked up the centre past the challenge before equisitely dipping the ball over the advancing Jackson and over his goal line. However, the Leinster men had the last word of the opening half when Matt Nolan reduced the deficit to 2-10 to 2-6.
Wicklow immediately set about proving Limerick’s lead wasn’t enough when the supercharged Healy exploded through the challenges from the restart for an instant goal and the rest of the side crowded the kickout, forced the turnover for Jonathan Carlin’s equaliser, followed up with a Healy two-pointer and had turned a four point deficit into a three-point lead inside four minutes with another strike from Carlin.
Even when the initial fury dissipated, the visitors were still struggling for primary possession and fell further behind after an Eoin Darcy free and a Jackson two-pointer free after he had missed two earlier attempts.
A window of recovery opened when Carlin’s dismissal on a second yellow relieved the pressure on the kickout, allowwing Naughton and Eliah Riordan to eat into the gap.
Kevin Quinn’s reply briefly stalled the momentum before it took off again with frees from Naughton and Peter Nash to bring them back to within a goal with three regulation miutes to go.
However, hopes deflated with McGraynor’s reply and, with Wicklow pouncing on the spaces left open in Limerick half of the field, Quinn struck the target again,
Darcy then punished a free for a breach and corner-back Malachy Stone came up to collect the final pass off Quinn’s solo to bury his side’s fourth goal with the last action of the contest.
SCORERS: WICKLOW: Dean Healy 1-2 (1 2x), Mark Jackson 0-4 (2 tpf), Eoin Murtagh, Pádraig O’Toole, Malachy Stone 1-0 each, Eoin Darcy 0-3 (2f), Jonathan Carlin, Oisín McGraynor and Kevin Quinn 0-2 each, Tom Moran and Matt Nolan 0-1 each; LIMERICK: Danny Neville 1-3 (1 2p), James Naughton 1-2 (1-0 penalty, 0-1 free), Cillian Fahy 0-3 (1 2p), Barry Coleman (1 2p) and Tony McCarthy 0-2 each, Eliah Riordan and Peter Nash 0-1 each.
WICKLOW: Mark Jackson; Tom Moran, Matt Nolan, Malachy Stone; Darragh Fee, Eoin Murtagh, Jonathan Carlin; Dean Healy, Jack Hardy; Jack Kirwan, Pádraig O’Toole, Christopher O’Brien; Oisín McGraynor, Mark Kenny, Eoin Darcy. SUBS: Kevin Quinn for Mark Kenny (53 minutes), Gavin Fogarty for Christopher O’Brien (56 minutes), Joe Prendergast for Jack Hardy (61 minutes), Liam O’Neill for Jack Kirwan (65 minutes), Conal Ó Gallachóbhair for Eoin Murtagh (71 minutes).
LIMERICK: Jeffrey Alfred; Seán Kilbridge, Cormac Woulfe, Diarmuid Buckley; Mark McCarthy, Tony McCarthy, Barry Coleman; Colm McSweeney, Eliah Riordan; Rory O’Brien, Danny Neville, Cillian Fahy; Bob Childs, James Naughton, Peter Nash. SUBS: Shane Cross for Rory O’Brien (45 minutes), Tadhg Ó Siochrú for Bob Childs (50 minutes), Darren O’Doherty for Seán Kilbridge (58 minutes), Paul Maher for Barry Coleman (61 minutes), Killian Ryan for Mark McCarthy (65 minutes).
REFEREE: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh).