Bennis: Limerick ready after learning lessons

YOU know it’s going to be difficult for the Limerick management and players to look in at the Munster hurling final, knowing what it meant to be there last year and believing that they should again be participants again tomorrow.

Richie Bennis admits to a feeling of ‘sorrow,’ expressing his disappointment that his team failed in their semi-final against Clare, but at the same time indicating a confidence about their ability to turn things around, starting with their qualifier game with Offaly in the Gaelic Grounds this evening (7pm).

He has reason to be optimistic, not least the fact that he has Brian Geary back in action and that promising midfielder Wayne McNamara is also fit to start. And, he feels certain that they can put the lessons they learned in defeat against the Banner to good use.

“I thought we’d be ready for Clare, but on the day things did not go right for us. We conceded four bad goals,” he said, stressing that he didn’t want to take from the Clare win.

Without apportioning blame to anybody, least of all goalkeeper Brian Murray, he stated that the goals they conceded weren’t what ‘you would associate’ with inter-county hurling.

Bennis says he’ll be looking for ‘a vast improvement’ and feels that they are in a strong position to deliver.

“When we started back the Monday night after losing to Clare the atmosphere was very poor. We (management) were ‘down’ as much as the players were. But, it picked up again by the end of the week. Then they went back to their clubs for the first round of the championship and we have had them back for the last fortnight. We feel they are back on track.”

Preparations included a challenge game with Dublin. They looked for Cork but they weren’t available and the requirement was to get a game to try out Geary. From that point of view it achieved its main aim, with the big centre-back coming through without any difficulty.

“For the first time since I got involved we have a clean bill of health,’ he added.

Another reason for optimism is the knowledge that they have beaten Offaly three times since he took over (scoring 5-19 against them in the League earlier in the year). Interestingly, he recalled that Offaly were the first team they played after he took over — just over two years ago.

“The Offaly game was up in Tullamore and we were seven points down after only 10 minutes. I remember saying to myself, ‘what am I doing here, but, things took off for us in the second half (winning 2-29 to 2-19) and we have beaten them in two other games since.”

Still, he says that he ‘rates’ Offaly a good side, believing that they will relish playing a Munster team. “They must hate the sight of the black-and-amber at this stage, just like Wexford,” he says. “I’d say Limerick are the draw Offaly would have liked, in preference to Cork!’

Without him saying it straight out, it’s obvious that he’s confident of Limerick being in the draw on Sunday evening — along with Cork in all probability — and then lining up against either Waterford or Galway. On the record, he says he’s ‘not looking beyond’ this evening’s game.