Green Machine rolls on but John Kiely considers new parts for final

One close match and one not-so-close was a reasonable assumption ahead of what Dónal Óg Cusack dubbed a 'hurling nations fiesta weekend', aka the All-Ireland semi-finals.

Though few would have guessed Limerick and Galway would be the tighter contest, the 52,215 at Croke Park - almost 13,000 more than for Kilkenny’s stroll past Clare – certainly got their money’s worth yesterday. Especially after the fa

vourites had eased into an early five-point lead.

Treaty manager John Kiely is now preparing for a fourth All-Ireland final in five years but he looked understandably drained after his champions were given a stern test by Galway.

The Tribesmen, improved beyond all expectation from an unconvincing win over Cork, led twice in the second half before Limerick finally found a way to spoil their party.

"It was a tough battle," admitted Kiely. "We got off to a good start - probably too good a start if you like, we were in flow very early, but that flow got disrupted obviously.

"Galway got back into the game, settled, started getting some fluency going themselves, and it was nip and tuck. A really tight game, and ultimately it came down to that final quarter, and we won the final quarter. That was the vital part."

Limerick cruised to Liam MacCarthy glory last year. The only time they looked remotely threatened was at half-time in the Munster final against Tipperary, and they won that game by five despite conceding a late goal.

2022 is a different story. Clare ended level with them twice after 70 minutes. Galway could have won if their shooting was more accurate. Either the opposition have raised their game or Limerick are not quite clicking as they can, despite still doing enough to get over the line.

"Every day we go out the kitchen sink