TJ Ryan: Limerick's mentality monsters eke it out - but will see Cork down the road
CATCH YA SOON: Limerick's John Kiely and Cork's Ben O'Connor shake hands after the draining Munster SHC final at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Mental beasts. Mentality monsters.
Limerick once again proved they are virtually unshakable upstairs. Composure and management of the closing stages was once again superb from this group.
In a defender’s Munster final, goals were going to carry additional weight. Brian Hayes’ green flag three minutes into the second half kept Cork three or so in front all the way to the 55th minute.
And while Cork were living off frees as the third quarter gave way to the fourth, the reality was that they were still keeping the scoreboard ticking over, they were keeping themselves in front, and they were keeping Limerick at bay.
Heading down the stretch, it was small pieces decided this Munster final.
One of those pieces was this mental beast in the Limerick head where they managed the play really, really well and created the opportunities to overtake their opponents.
No doubt they’ll be disappointed that Gearóid’s shot, that should have been a score, came back off the post, the same as the later handpass from Peter Casey to Adam English didn’t stick and didn’t result in a score.
But through the unpredictability of those last few minutes and through all of the time they were chasing on the scoreboard, the Limerick players kept their counsel, they kept their structure on the field, and they kept creating the openings. On an occasion such as a Munster final in your opponent's backyard and the difficult conditions of yesterday, that was no straightforward task.
Limerick eked it out and that is what they do. They are a mentality monster.
On a day where Aaron Gillane and Aidan O’Connor did not have their best games, to have the option to push Hego in late on; he is a massive targetman, he was getting out to the corner flag, and he was holding up the play.
It is just a huge piece late in a game when he has his 12 or 13 kilometres done that Limerick can push him in and try and get themselves over the line. They are just unbelievable in the closing stages of these matches.
If I was to pinpoint any other period of the game that was key, it would have to be the 30th to the 37th minute. Limerick were 1-11 to 1-5 down on 30 minutes. To then go in only two down was probably the winning of the game.
The Cork dressing-room would have been disappointed to see the extent to which their lead was cut, whereas the Limerick dressing-room would have known they hadn’t played anywhere near what they’re capable of, and yet they were only two behind. They’d have been saying to themselves, ‘Lads, we haven’t really played yet, we are only two down’. They’d certainly have been the happier.
This was by no means a classic, but where Limerick and Cork are concerned, the degrees of separation were again so miniscule. One of those was Nickie Quaid’s brilliance in keeping Dudsy Healy's first half shot out. He made another fine save from Mark Coleman in the second half, as well.
Nickie turns 37 this Friday. He has been an absolute pillar for this Limerick team. This Munster final certainly won’t go down as the greatest, but for me, Nickie Quaid, at almost 37 years of age, has finally cemented himself as the greatest from a shot-stopping and puckout point of view. He has taken the game to another level.
On the referee watch, James set out his stall early. I thought the opening yellow cards to Seán O’Donoghue and Hego were on the soft side. But he reffed the game that way and didn’t want it getting out of hand.
The crowd got frustrated with him and it felt like there were too many of us talking about James Owens and some of the frees he awarded.
Yes, we are probably picky. We want the blood and thunder, and we want the game to flow, but we are also roaring and screaming for frees, so James never had a chance of keeping all of us happy all the time.
For me, I felt he was too picky at times in that his calls didn’t allow the game to develop. Picky on both sides, I should clarify.
I did think Cork were entitled to one or two more frees there in the second half when Limerick guys looked like they were holding the Cork player and then the ball would go down the other end of the field and it looked like for a very small hand in, he’d give a handy free.
The game never caught fire to the extent these two teams can do, but you don’t want to blame the referee for that. There were mistakes on all sides.
While Cork left empty-handed, structurally, they set up very well. They minded the house much better than they have before. Rob Downey put in a serious shift in terms of minding and driving the team on.
They don’t need telling that the number of shots they got off and a return of only six points from play is poor by their standards.
After the hurt of last year’s Munster final and letting Mick Mackey out of Limerick, to come down to Cork and bring Mick Mackey back up home, that was probably where Limerick got greatest satisfaction.
The good news from a Limerick point of view is that we have back two of the Cups that Cork took last year. But right now, I am in no doubt that these two teams will meet again. There is one more dish for sure. The big one is absolutely coming down the track.
I say that with absolutely no disrespect to the four other teams remaining in the championship, and it would be remiss of me not to tip the hat in Galway’s direction. A good win for them on Saturday evening. An important win for them. Their trajectory is definitely moving upwards.
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