Horan salutes ‘beauty of the qualifiers’

Limerick manager Maurice Horan thinks his players have performed with greater freedom away from the testing environs of the Munster championship.

The Mayo man looked a content figure following an absorbing Pearse Park tussle with Longford and following last season’s success in the qualifiers he is quietly confident again following the shock loss to Clare in the Munster championship.

“It is the beauty of the qualifiers,” he said. “In the past Limerick have put so much into the Munster championship and that can be tough when you lose.

“This year and last year now, though, we have enjoyed a new lease of life in the qualifiers. The novel pairings help. This was a rare meeting between Limerick and Longford and those kind of things are good for the game.

“Whatever about getting beaten by a really good team that is one thing, but when you lose to a team in and around you in the pecking order like Clare it is tough. We lost to them twice this year, but we have to keep getting on with it. We just have to try to calm things down.”

Despite twisting his knee in the pre-match warm-up Stephen Lucey played through the pain barrier, landing a crucial first half point and he stressed the importance of the small, but faithful group of supporters who travelled to the midlands.

“I am delighted for those that stick with us through thick and thin. We only have a handful of them, I am playing with Limerick since 2000 and no matter where we are playing they are there.

“Overall, though, we hadn’t played well this year in the league or the championship. We worked hard since the Clare game and in these games it really comes down to attitude.”

With Longford carrying the burden of expectancy Limerick’s objective was to deliver a performance, according to Lucey.

“We knew we could play better after the Clare match. Longford have improved immeasurably in the last few years under Glenn Ryan and we knew this would be a tough match. They were very hot favourites and that was right because we had shown no form all year. We just had to deliver a performance and that is what we did.

“It won’t be hard to get back down. We have to forget about this and just focus on next Saturday. It will be easier to prepare because we have finally shown a bit of form and we must continue that.”