TRICK OR TREATY

Limerick keep Waterford at arm's length and move top of table

- PAT NOLAN

LIMERICK moved joint top of the Munster Championship table with Cork as Waterford failed to match their heroics of last Sunday at Walsh Park.

With another capacity crowd at the Waterford city venue as 12,101 packed in, the result was never really in doubt, despite the margin, as Limerick asserted their authority early on and effectively held their opponents at arm's length for the rest of the evening.

With both of their home games now spent, Waterford will need at least one win from their remaining games on the road against Tipperary and Cork if they are to qualify from the round robin phase for the first time, while Limerick are in a healthy position having taken three match points from a possible four as they await Cork and Clare at the Gaelic Grounds.

With stalwarts Seán Finn and Dan Morrissey drafted back into the defence, this was a much more sure-footed display from Limerick at the back, with their goal rarely threatened, while the Waterford attack contributed just 0-6 from play as they didn't reach the same levels as they did when beating All-Ireland champions Clare six days earlier.