Kilmallock 1-15
Na Piarsaigh 0-14

Na Piarsaigh's hopes of a first two-in-a-row of Limerick SHC titles were dashed by a determined Kilmallock side at the Gaelic Grounds.

Corner forward Eoin Ryan shot 1-4 (0-4 from frees) as Ger 'Sparrow' O'Loughlin's underdogs prevailed by four points to claim their third county title in five years and their 11th in all, despite having played the entire the second half with 14 men after wing back Liam Walsh was sent off just before the break for an incident involving Kevin Downes.

The holders also finished the game with 14 players after substitute Kevin Ryan was dismissed for a wild pull on his namesake Eoin with 10 minutes remaining.

When these sides met in the first round five months ago, Na Piarsaigh won by 12 points, but Kilmallock were determined not to let that happen again and never looked back after Ryan scored the only goal inside three minutes.

Inspirational captain and wing back Kevin O'Donnell scored 0-3 apiece as the winners eased into a 1-9 to 0-5 lead at the interval.

The city side improved after the restart when points from Shane Dowling, Kevin Downes and Adrian Breen narrowed the gap. But Kilmallock weren't to be denied as they set up a Munster club SHC semi-final showdown with Sarsfields of Cork on November 9.

Kilmallock - B Hennessy; L Hurley, M O'Loughlin, A Costello; L Walsh, P O'Loughlin, K O'Donnell (0-3); B O'Sullivan, J Mulcahy; P O'Brien, G O'Mahony (0-3), R Egan (0-1); G Mulcahy (0-4), K Kennelly, E Ryan (1-4, 0-4f). Sub: R Hanley for K Kennelly.

Na Piarsaigh - P Kennedy; M Casey, K Breen, K Kennedy; C King, D Breen (0-1), R Lynch (0-2, 1sl, 1'65); P Gleeson, A Dempsey (0-1); J O'Brien, K Downes (0-2), A Breen (0-2); D Dempsey (0-1), S Dowling (0-4, 2f), W O'Donoghue (0-1). Subs: K Ryan for J O'Brien, P Casey for P Gleeson, M Foley for A Dempsey.

Referee - J Mullins.

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