Limerick manager John Kiely has said that the Treaty side's appetite is only growing stronger after they added to their bulging trophy cabinet with a comprehensive Allianz Hurling League win over Kilkenny at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Goals in either half from Barry Nash and Aaron Gillane earned a first league title for Limerick since 2020, and the manner of their victory bodes well for the championship season where they will try and lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the fifth time in six seasons.
"Let’s be honest about it, we worked hard in this league, we took it as seriously as we possibly could," Kiely told RTÉ after the win.
"We went after it and we put ourselves in this position today to have a chance of winning it.
"I'm delighted with that. It augers well in terms of the players’ attitude, their appetite for work, their appetite to play.
"It's helped us to make the squad even more competitive, it has helped us to get players who were out injured back on the field.
"There’s loads of positives there for us but the big game is now on the 23rd [April, against Waterford]."
Even with that 11-point winning cushion on Sunday, Kiely was content rather than overjoyed with what he witnessed from his players.
"There were aspects of our play that we would be very, very happy with, we controlled the game for good periods of the game," he said.
"Our use of the ball was good, we had plenty of scoring chances, obviously the 20 wides will be something we’d be disappointed with. Our decision making around some of those shots was disappointing.
"Overall happy with the performance but a significant improvement will be required."
Limerick didn’t score from play in the first 15 minutes and for Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng, that’s when they really needed to make their good start count more on the scoreboard.
"Obviously disappointed we didn’t win the game, that was our aim today," he said.
"I thought we started the game reasonably well, probably should have got a couple more scores on the board.
"The [Limerick] goal before [half-time]….probably as the first half went on, it probably changed things a little bit. I thought we were well in the game at that stage.
"We had a few half chances ourselves in the second half but no complaints, we were playing second fiddle at that stage."
Kilkenny were the last side to solve the Limerick riddle in championship hurling when Lyng’s predecessor Brian Cody guided the Cats to a one-point win in the 2019 All-Ireland semi-final.
For the new manager, efficiency remains the key ingredient to lowering the Limerick colours.
"We had a few half chances ourselves in the second half but no complaints, we were playing second fiddle at that stage."
"They’re a serious team and I think when you’re playing them you have to take all chances you get and you have to keep that intensity up right throughout the game.
"I thought we probably made life hard on ourselves there again today and we have to keep working at that and getting more comfortable at that.
"It’s not going to happen overnight. Attitude is always good, right throughout the league, and that’s been important.
"The next few weeks are really important for us. We have to dust ourselves down and we have to get ready for championship and look for those improvements."
