Limerick leaders ready to raid Orchard in second phase

FOUR short months ago the Limerick GAA world looked set to implode. The management of the hurling and football camps were a little tense over the dual player issue. Talks of ultimatums filled the news grapevine.

This was not a happy camp.

And now, in the first week of April, Padjoe's magic is beginning to rub off on the hurlers while Liam Kearns and his football squad are coping superbly in the heights of NFL Division One.

The latter will advance in the competition as long as they don't lose to Armagh tomorrow. They are one of six teams challenging for quarter-final places, with a point more than Armagh and Wexford and two in front of Sligo, Meath and Galway. With scoring difference being used to decide placings, anything is possible.

Losing just once and drawing their last two games, against Meath and Sligo, the manager is happy with how they have adapted to this virgin territory.

"The only team that found us out were Galway. We were missing maybe six of our top 15 players and yet we were with them for two-thirds of the game. I felt we might have been a bit naive,'' he comments.

"I'm very happy with the way the League has gone. It's our first time in Division One and we have shown we can hold our own.''

All the more pleasing given the experimentation Kearns has been forced to undertake.

The experienced duo of John Galvin and Jason Stokes missed chunks of the League while Conor Fitzgerald and Brian Begley have been unavailable for the entire campaign.

Despite such torments, the Limerick boss is still smiling.

"We've been able to compete and we're at the top of the division going into the last game. That's the most pleasing aspect for me. We have got a depth in our panel for the first time. It's the strongest panel we have had for five years.''

And they will need every ounce of that strength against an Armagh side who have an impressive record against tomorrow's hosts.

"We have met them three times in the last few years and they hammered us," says the manager. "They're one of the top three or four teams in the country for the last number of years.

"It's a big challenge, but an ideal one for us six weeks before championship. We're delighted to be in this position."

While Armagh's form has been topsy-turvy, Joe Kernan believes that they have had only one "bad day" in this League. That was against Cavan on the weekend Cormac McAnallen was buried. The team and management provided a guard of honour at the funeral and the manager says that the experience affected the players badly.

Now they are back in business.

"We're looking for a result. There's no question that we're not going down to try and win. We certainly are. We want to be in the play-offs, but we recognise Limerick are a big obstacle.''

Any dissatisfaction over the team's lack of consistency is countered by the acceptance that injuries have made it difficult for them.

"Consistency is what you're looking for from your players and it affects us all. You want to perform at a high level. I have seen in patches that the sparkle is there and the young players we took in have done well.

"If we can get all our players back we'll be in a stronger position.''