Dublin earn famous win over Limerick to book semi spot

Dublin have pulled off a win for the ages at Croke Park, dumping All-Ireland SHC favourites Limerick out of the Championship with a performance just about nobody predicted.

Two goals midway through the second-half, which arrived within seconds of each other, from substitute John Hetherton and Cian O'Sullivan, put the Dubs in a winning position.

And the 12/1 long shots held on for a famous win, their biggest since the 2013 Championship when they won the Leinster title and went on to contest their last All-Ireland semi-final.

The win was all the more unlikely because Niall Ó Ceallacháin's side lost captain Chris Crummey after just 15 minutes for a high tackle on Gearóid Hegarty that drew a straight red card.

Powerful Hetherton's half-time introduction was certainly significant as he scored a goal and played a big role in the other one.

But Dublin had heroes all around from the field, from Man of the Match Conor Burke, who sniped five points after being recalled to the team, to free-taker Seán Currie who scored nine points to brothers Ronan and Brian Hayes, as well as former football star Conor McHugh.

Dublin will play Cork or Kilkenny in an All-Ireland semi-final but Limerick's season is over, their exit from the Championship one of the great shocks of modern Championship hurling.

The red card looked like a game changer but it ultimately threw Limerick off their stride far more than Dublin.

Limerick were 0-07 to 0-05 ahead when Crummey drove hard across Hegarty and appeared to catch him with an arm across the faceguard.

Hegarty's head certainly shot back as if clear contact had been made and referee Liam Gordon was certain it was a straight red card offence.

Chris Crummey after being shown a red card

At half-time, Dublin manager Ó Ceallacháin argued the toss with Gordon while the teams were heading in and was booked for his protests.

Still, Dublin were in a surprisingly healthy position at that stage, leading by 0-15 to 0-12 despite the reduced personnel.

Dublin scored four of the next five points immediately after the red card, Currie with four of those, including two from frees as Limerick got a little ragged and cynical.

Aidan O'Connor and Aaron Gillane scored two excellent points for Dublin in the first-half. O'Connor used his skill to jink away from the Dublin defence for his score and Gillane snatched an arrowed Cian Lynch pass from the air for his one.

But the genius moments were fleeting from a generational team who struggled to muster the same energy and intensity as 14-man Dublin.

The beaten Munster finalists looked a little weary and fatigued, despite Dublin having played just last weekend, and were glad that the Dubs blasted nine first-half wides and dropped two more attempts short.

Bringing on Hetherton at half-time was a clear move by the Dublin management to offer a new dimension in attack.

The St Vincent's man immediately made his mark, using his hulking frame and aerial prowess to snatch a ball from the air. It came to nothing but it was a forewarning for Limerick.

The Shannonsiders, to their credit, dominated the first 15 minutes of the second-half with Adam English and O'Connor sniping some excellent scores.

They led by a point in the 51st minute, 0-19 to 0-18, but then came those two Dublin goals.

Hetherton displayed his full skill set for the first of them, swivelling after a lay-off by O'Sullivan and blasting to the far top corner of Nickie Quaid's net.

A minute later, Hetherton rose up for a high ball and the ball broke kindly off for him for O'Sullivan to sweep up and slam to the net.

Limerick looked stunned. So did the Dublin supporters who were streaming in early for the Dublin footballers' clash with Cork later on.

Leading now by 2-18 to 0-19, it was Dublin's game to lose. Many probably still thought they would and Limerick certainly threw the kitchen sink at it late on, bringing on Peter Casey and Shane O'Brien to try to wrestle the game back in their direction.

Gillane finished up with nine points and there were late scores from Casey and the industrious English but Dublin picked off enough scores to remain just about in the clear.

There was late drama when, with three in it, Diarmaid Byrnes went for goal with a free but the shot was blocked by a scrum of Dublin defenders and Hetherton, who else, came thundering out with the ball in his hand.

Dublin: Seán Brennan; John Bellew, Paddy Smyth, Conor McHugh; Paddy Doyle, Chris Crummey (0-01), Andrew Dunphy; Conor Burke (0-05), Brian Hayes (0-02); Rian McBride (0-02), Fergal Whitely (0-01), Cian O'Sullivan (1-01); Seán Currie (0-09, 0-05f), Ronan Hayes (0-03), Diarmaid O'Dulaing.

Subs: John Hetherton (1-00) for O Dulaing h/t, Darragh power for Whitely 52, Donal Burke for McBride 64, Colin Currie for Ronan Hayes 69, David Lucey for McHugh 75.

Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey; Diarmaid Byrnes, Kyle Hayes, Barry Nash (0-01); Adam English (0-05), William O'Donoghue; Gearóid Hegarty (0-04), Cian Lynch (0-02), Tom Morrissey (0-02); Aaron Gillane (0-09, 0-06f, 0-01 65), Aidan O'Connor (0-03), David Reidy.

Subs: Cathal O'Neill (0-01) for Tom Morrissey 23-24, blood, Barry Murphy for Casey h/t, O'Neill for Morrissey h/t, Declan Hannon for Nash 51, Peter Casey (0-01) for O'Donoghue 58, Shane O'Brien for O'Connor 64.

Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).

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