Limerick...2-16 Dublin.....1-13 Limerick's old habits resurfaced at the Gaelic Grounds as they just about saw off the challenge of underdogs Dublin to book their place in the All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals. It took a last-minute goal from Brian Begley to finally break Dublin's resistance. Seeking their first win in the qualifier series, Dublin played with plenty of purpose and might have caused an upset had Limerick goalkeeper Brian Murray not been at his very best. Murray produced three magnificent saves to keep the visitors at bay. Limerick struggled for long spells of the game and their fans in the 4,000 crowd were far from impressed at the interval when they led by just three points, 1-9 to 1-6. They opened brightly with Donie Ryan, Conor Fitzgerald and Barry Foley pointing, before David Curtin got Dublin's first score. Limerick were only three points in front after 20 minutes, 0-6 to 0-3, but looked like pulling away when Begley got in for his first goal after Dublin had failed to deal adequately with Barry Foley's '65'. However, Tommy Naughton's side got themselves back into almost immediately when Peadar Carton set up Kevin Flynn for a goal to leave two points between the teams. Niall Moran replied with a brace of points for Limerick before Curtin slotted over the final score of the half from a free. With Dave Sweeney and last year's minor star John McCaffrey on top at midfield, the Metropolitans continued to make life difficult for Limerick in the second half and the game was still in the melting pot until Begley eased the home fans' worst fears with his late strike. SCORERS - Limerick: B Begley 2-2, A O'Shaughnessy 0-4f, B Foley 0-4 (0-2f), C Fitzgerald, N Moran 0-2 each, D Ryan, P O'Dwyer 0-1 each. Dublin: D Curtin 0-6 (0-4f), L Ryan 0-5, K Flynn 1-0, S Mullen, P O'Driscoll 0-1 each. Limerick: B Murray; D Reale, TJ Ryan, S Hickey; W Walsh, P O'Dwyer, M Foley; B Foley, D O'Grady; N Moran, M O'Brien, C Fitzgerald; D Ryan, B Begley, A O'Shaughnessy. Subs: P O'Grady for D O'Grady 44, E Foley for W Walsh 48, M Keane for Fitzgerald 48. Dublin: G Maguire; G O'Meara, K Ryan, P Brennan; M Carton, R Fallon, T Brady; D Sweeney, J McCaffrey; A Mullen, L Ryan, D Curtin; P Carton, K Flynn, J Kelly. Subs: C Reilly for S Mullen, P O'Driscoll for Carton 53 Referee: M Wadding (Waterford). Tweet

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