Exams may rule O’Shaughnessy out of replay
But Waterford boss Justin McCarthy admits he will be expecting improved performances from some of the more experienced members of the Waterford side.
Meanwhile, there's no certainty that Andrew O'Shaughnessy will line out for Limerick because of his Leaving Certificate commitments.
Keane, delighted with the show of character from his young team, said yesterday he didn't know if the St Colman's star would play. "Obviously Andrew would be anxious to play and the whole county would be anxious that he would. But he will be in the middle of his exams the same as Patrick Kirby we'll have to chat with him to see. That the match is on Saturday will give him time, but it's still a distraction for him."
O'Shaughnessy made a major impact to Sunday's performance, scoring one goal and earning the penalty from which Mark Foley got the team's second goal. And he showed his class with a superb point near the end, from which Limerick led for the first time, in the 59th minute, before full-back TJ Ryan won back the advantage (after an Eoin Kelly equaliser) with a great score from far out on the left wing. That was after he blocked down an attempted clearance by Andy Moloney, who was promptly withdrawn.
"Andrew has an old head,'' said Keane. "He's the closest I have seen to Jimmy Barry-Murphy in temperament. He is cool enough to stand his ground even if the ball isn't coming to him. You won't see him panicking. He's gifted."
Keane was happy enough with the draw, on the basis that they started so badly and were twice four points behind late in the game.
"It showed character on our side. From that point of view the emotions of being relieved to be still there outweigh the emotions of any decisions which the referee made against us. They cancel each other out.
"Obviously we were worried the way the game developed at the start. You'd accept the two early points that Waterford got, but we would have expected an early score to settle ourselves.
"The next thing they got a goal and the second goal rocked us. But we were leaking. John Mullane was wreaking havoc. He was totally on top of his game, how, I don't know after being out of the game for so long. I was pleased and surprised that Steve McDonagh did so well on him when hen he came in.
"The reason we were successful at under-21 level was because we had character. The biggest fear I had going into the game was that we hadn't been tested for that in any of the games in the league. In coming back from the nine points, and also in the second half, we never died. We kept fighting all the time.
"I think that was the biggest plus. We now know that if teams put it up to us, which they will, that we will come back from it.''
Ollie Moran is said to have a great chance of being fit for the replay and there's a possibility, too, that Stephen Lucey also might be fit to play.
Meanwhile, McCarthy revealed he "could never" see his team being beaten. At the same time, he believed in advance they would win.
"You could look at it lots of ways, but we are still there," he said, agreeing there was scope for improvement in his team. "We had lesser players who performed very well and we had more established players who didn't perform the way they should have. I will be looking for an improvement in that area."
The strength of the Limerick challenge hadn't surprised him. From personal experience as a player and coach over three decades he was well aware of what Limerick teams were capable of on a given day. More pertinently, he knew what they were capable of after their league meeting in Kilmallock.
"Sometimes when a team comes up for the first time, they don't see any danger and all of a sudden they go hell for leather.
Limerick were very committed. They knew what they had to beat whereas, maybe, they were a bit of a surprise from our point of view."
*McCarthy, conceding their free-taking hadn't worked to their satisfaction, explained that during the league Dave Bennett had taken the outfield shots and Paul Flynn concentrated on frees close in.
*And, Keane explained that second- half substitute Eoin Foley had taken Limerick's second penalty because he was the team's designated penalty-taker and was on the field at the time. Mark Foley took the first one and scored, whereas the young Patrickswell star had his shot stopped by goalkeeper Stephen Brenner, whose handling of the ball under pressure was exceptional. Foley was only on the field 10 minutes when the penalty was awarded after the outstanding Niall Moran was knocked by Tom Feeney.
*Next Saturday's Munster senior hurling semi-final replay between
Waterford and Limerick at Thurles will not be an all-ticket affair. Tickets will, however, be sold in advance for the new stand, with a special family offer of 17 for adults and 3 for children. The old stand has been priced at 15, on sale on match day, and admission to the terraces will be 10, with a limited number to be sold to the public in advance.
Limerick were angry the starting time at Thurles on Sunday was delayed by 10 minutes and one official claimed it had an unsettling affect on the team in the opening 15 minutes, when they conceded 2-3 to Waterford.
"Had we been told before we left the dressing room it might have helped, but we were actually on the field warming up when the announcement was made and had to return to the dressing room. It was a pity the game was held up to accommodate latecomers. After all, 4.15 was late enough to start the game, never mind a further delay of 10 minutes."
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