Limerick shade ‘gruelling battle’

It was the fifth time of asking but, says hard-working Limerick captain David Breen, this All-Ireland senior hurling championship qualifier, played in chilly Semple Stadium on Saturday evening last, was the most relevant of all.

And Limerick’s win the most pertinent.

“I know the league final was important but championship is everything. We didn’t want to look back on this year’s campaign and have our legacy be that we pushed Tipp close, beat Laois and Antrim easily before bowing out to Clare again. We wanted a lot more than that.”

Twice in the Waterford Crystal tournament Limerick failed to beat their neighbours, drew the first game after extra-time, lost the replay to a late score. Twice in the league they had failed, each time having built up a big lead, leading to questions about Limerick’s fitness.

Rubbish, reckoned Breen. “It was a gruelling battle. Everyone talks about Clare and how fit they are, all the training they’re doing, but looking around in the last 10 minutes they were really out on their feet. So were we, but it was an intense game and all that crap talked about our poor fitness — we’ve been getting stronger and stronger as the year went on. We’re delighted to be in an All-Ireland quarter-final now again, which is where Limerick should be as far as I’m concerned. Limerick is a proud hurling county, an All-Ireland quarter-final is a minimum, now we need to push on.”

All very true but then the very same thing could be said of Clare. They too come from a proud hurling county, they too — on the evidence of this performance — should be thinking in terms of an All-Ireland quarter-final, at least.

But not yet, not this year at any rate. Clare put up a superb challenge to Limerick here, the four teenagers picked by manager Davy Fitzgerald to start what was a crucial game, all proving their worth. Corner-back Seadna Morey held Limerick dangerman Graeme Mulcahy to just two points, midfielder Colm Galvin (his starting championship debut) notched three points from play, Tony Kelly finished with 1-2,while corner-forward Aaron Cunningham looked threatening all through and it took a superb defensive effort from first Tom Condon, then a variety of markers, to curb the very real threat of the youngster.

On another day, what Clare offered would have been enough and certainly 1-20 would have won many a championship game. Not on this day, however, not on a day when veterans such as full-forward Niall Moran and wing-back Wayne McNamara took it on themselves to show Limerick the way.

Moran ended with five superb points from play while McNamara had Limerick’s first goal, in the fourth minute, a rare foray forward setting the men in green on their way to a two-point half-time lead, 2-9 to 0-14, a lead they would protect as though lives depended on it.

“I had noticed from watching them in earlier games that the Clare half-forwards like to drop back a lot,” McNamara explained of his goal; “The best form of defence is attack so I went up with Kelly (Tony, the Clare player he was marking); sometimes it works for you, sometimes it doesn’t — today it did. John (Allen, manager) has been asking for fellas to show leadership all year — you’ve got to be leader, end of story, especially in the big games. I saw the opening, went for it.”

It was a crucial score, especially given that Clare came roaring back at Limerick before the break. “Clare didn’t play as well as they could have in the first half so we knew the second half was going to be a battle,” added Wayne; “It was. We wanted to get the monkey off our backs about losing close games — today we did.”

Yes, but only barely, holding off the challenge of a young but extremely talented and well-coached Clare side which, as time petered out, eventually showed the effects of the effort of beating Dublin last Saturday evening when reduced to 14 men for most of the second half. For this win, Limerick can thank the three-goal return from their attack (tennis champion Seanie Tobin — a forehand smash — and sub Declan Hannon with the other two), the powerful performance of the midfield duo James Ryan and (especially) Paudie O’Brien, plus the efforts of their defensive sextet, not one of whom was found lacking.

Above all, however, Limerick can thank the goalkeeping heroics of Nicky Quaid, son of a most famous father. Not once, not twice, but three times Nicky denied a hungry Clare attack, help also from his inside line, and yet Nicky wasn’t at all happy with his own display. “Not enough saves,” he reckoned, “They got that one goal past us, made it a bit hairy in the final minutes but Shane got the last point again — we weren’t going to let it go then.”

That one goal was Tony Kelly’s third 20m free effort, in the 68th minute, which brought Clare to within a single score (3-16 to 1-19) with just minutes remaining; the ‘Shane’ referred to was teenager Shane Dowling who, along with substitute Declan Hannon (another teenager), man-of-the-match Niall Moran at full-forward and his inside lively accomplices Graeme Mulcahy and Seanie Tobin, tormented the Clare defence all game. All in all, a very worthy win by Limerick; they’ll take some stopping now!

Scorers for Limerick: S Dowling 0-8 (8f); N Moran 0-5; S Tobin 1-1; W McNamara 1-0; D Hannon 1-0; G Mulcahy 0-2; K Downes, G O’Mahony (f), 0-1 each.

Scorers for Clare: C McGrath 0-6 (4f); T Kelly 1-2 (1-1f); N O’Connell 0-4 (3f, 1 65); C Galvin 0-3; J Conlon 0-2; B Bugler, P Donnellan, A Cunningham, 0-1 each.

Subs for Limerick: D Hannon (Geary 29); K Downes (Tobin 59); S O’Neill (Condon inj. 59); T Ryan (Mulcahy inj. 70).

Subs for Clare: L Markham (Collins 50); C Ryan (Cunningham 63); J Clancy (Honan 64).

Referee: B Gavin (Offaly).