Anthony Daly: Powerhouse Limerick ensure the game was played on their terms
Aaron Gillane of Limerick, second from right, kicks his side's first goal of the game. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
As the rain was coming down in squally sheets before the game yesterday, John Mullane and I made our way down to the sideline to do a TV interview.
The monsoon was so heavy and intense that the plan was eventually shelved but as we were waiting in the tunnel for the green or red light, I spotted two drenched figures coming towards us — Tomás Ó Sé and Colm O’Rourke.
“Lads,” I said “ye're heading away before the big one.”
It took Tomás a few seconds to recognise us behind the hats and face-masks. “Dalo, Mul, what’s the craic,” he said. “I’ll send ye a WhatsApp in a few minutes.”
The ball was just being thrown in when the bould Kerry fella sent me a photograph of him sipping a big, warm mug of tea.
Tomás lives a few miles down the road but Colm had to travel back up to Navan. I hope he had a change of clothes in the car. If he didn’t, he could end up with pneumonia.
The two boys were entitled to head away — maybe they had no choice under the new protocols when their duty as football analysts was over — but they missed a first-hand view of a Limerick powerhouse display.
It is difficult to describe just how difficult the conditions were. Driving from the marina down to Páirc Uí Chaoimh beforehand was like a slalom boat trip at a water-park. So, for Limerick to accumulate 3-23 (2-16 from play) from 11 different scorers underlined just how impressive this display was.
Limerick had all the big performers but they also made sure the game was firmly played on their terms. They set down the tactical conditions with how they lined out and then Limerick’s physicality, power, class and flexibility enabled them to override the conditions.
Aaron Gillane was brilliant but he is such a beast under the dropping ball that he facilitates Limerick’s style even more when the rain turned Biblical.
Gillane ended up with two goals (one from a penalty) but he could have raised three green flags only for an incredible Seanie O’Brien intervention as Gillane was about to pull the trigger in the first half.
When I saw Limerick setting up with Kyle Hayes at wing-back, and Cian Lynch at centre-forward, I was frantically trying to understand the rationale of the move, especially when both are so central to Limerick’s system.
As the game developed, the chess moves around the board made more sense; Limerick knew that Alan Flynn was going to pick up Lynch so switching him into that central attacking channel gave Tipp another headache when Lynch was linking the play so intelligently so close to goal.
Maybe Limerick thought in advance that Dan McCormack would be wing-forward, and that Kyle would be ideally suited to coping with his aerial threat, but I think the move also made Declan Hannon feel more comfortable with Kyle beside him. Diarmuid Byrnes was immense on the other wing. So was Will O’Donoghue outside them.
And, similar to last year’s Munster final, Tipp couldn’t penetrate that wall.
When Tipp were seven points down with a few minutes left and Jason Forde was standing over a close-in free, you could hear Liam Sheedy below us telling Forde to hit it over the bar.
Maybe Liam just wanted the deficit reduced to two scores so Tipp might have a Hail Mary chance with two late goals but I’m sure he was already thinking of the qualifiers. Tipp will be ready for this morning’s draw.
They showed their powers of regeneration and rejuvenation after last year’s Munster final hammering but I think they have a few more headaches this time around.
We’ve never seen Paudie Maher hauled off, especially in this kind of a battle. John McGrath and Seamie Callanan were peripheral. Seamie was brilliant for Jake Morris’s goal but that was the only sorcery we saw from him in the match. With the way Sheedy analyses everything, he’ll even be disappointed with that whole sequence of play; after the goal, Tipp switched off on the puckout, allowed Tom Morrissey to win a ball, which was directed into Gillane, who booted it to the net.
Limerick were so slick that, on another day, they could have had six goals.
Gearóid Hegarty was pulled back in the first half when Lynch was deemed to have thrown him a ball. Along with Gillane’s chance, Pat Ryan and David Dempsey also had shots saved by Brian Hogan. If you remove John McGrath’s goal, which was sourced from a ball picked straight off the ground from Noel McGrath, this could have been far uglier for Tipp.
Seamie Flanagan’s goal at the death was the icing on the cake but the score again underlined their strength in depth; what other team could spring four forwards of that quality — Flanagan, Ryan, Dempsey and David Reidy — off the bench?
On paper, Tipp look to have a strong squad but I couldn’t understand why they didn’t start McCormack, particularly when Patrick ‘Bonner’ — who apparently picked up a knock — wasn’t available.
Because to beat Limerick, which Kilkenny proved last year, you’ve got to win the close hand-to-hand combat first before you go shooting.
I’ll be intrigued to see what plan Liam Cahill will come up with to try and take Limerick down in the Munster final. Will he go more direct with Austin Gleeson at full-forward and go after that Limerick full-back line in the air?
Then again, Seamie Callanan is the best full-forward in the country and Limerick completely smothered him.
I wouldn’t write Tipp off yet. Galway look to be a serious force again too.
