Kiely: Four-in-a-row factor won't define Limerick team

Only the Kilkenny class of the noughties and Cork 60 years before them managed to string four in succession.

Sat, 08 Jul, 2023 - 21:30

Eoghan Cormican

The four-in-a-row question was inevitable. More inevitable than even the outcome of the first All-Ireland semi-final after Limerick’s third-quarter suffocation act.

The post-match conversation with John Kiely was seven minutes old when the question was pucked in the Limerick manager’s direction.

Only the Kilkenny class of the noughties and Cork 60 years before them managed to string four in succession. Limerick replicating that feat in two weeks’ time would lift their legacy another level higher from where it currently resides. Wouldn’t you agree, John?

The manager dealt with mention of four-in-a-row as clinically and efficiently as his half-back line took care of Éanna Murphy’s second-half restarts.

“I’ve often said it to the lads, they don’t need any further success to demonstrate to them or me or anybody else that they are a great team,” the Treaty boss began.

“They have been a fantastic bunch of men. They are, and will continue to be, a fantastic bunch of men, no matter what happens.

“That [the four-in-a-row] is something that obviously is a point of focus. But you can’t concentrate on the finishing line. You have to concentrate on the piece of work in front of you. And we’ve done that very successfully right throughout the season.

“That [the four-in-a-row] has been there since the day we left here last year. That was always going to be there as a question: could it be done, or will it be done?

“But all we’re worried about is, can we win the next match? Can we give ourselves the opportunity to win the next match? We’ve managed that well. We’re very experienced, they’re very experienced. We’ve enough to worry about to be honest, besides that.

“When you’re losing the likes of Sean Finn, Declan Hannon, Cian has had injuries – we’ve had a lot to contend with. We’ve had a barrage of really strong challenges coming at us in the Munster Championship. We haven’t had time to look very far down the road at all.”

They had a barrage of issues to deal with in the opening 25 minutes of this All-Ireland semi-final. 1-12 to 1-6 they trailed. Cathal Mannion not where they expected him to be. Brian Concannon not where they expected him to be. Conor Whelan every bit as difficult as they expected him to be.

“Obviously you're going to be concerned at that stage. We were playing second fiddle at that point.

“Galway were setting the terms of the game. They were very strong on their own puckout in particular, but they were getting to the breaking ball as well. They were that bit more efficient.

“We were definitely playing second fiddle at that point, but the response of the boys was good. We managed to close in on their puckout a little bit. We managed to get a few more possessions into our players in the middle third.

“Cian [Lynch], David Reidy, Darragh Donovan, Gearóid, Tom Morrissey, they came into it at that stage. Our half-back line became very solid and stopped the ball going in behind them, it was a good platform for us coming into the last 10 minutes and we closed out the first half very strong.

“I think we didn't realise it at the time, but the game was in a pattern at that stage that we didn't realise it was in. We were in ascendancy, and we stayed there for the rest of the game.”

Contrary to the Limerick team published on Friday morning, it was Will O’Donoghue, and not Kyle Hayes, that filled Declan Hannon’s boots at number six.

Kiely said they publicised Hannon’s semi-final non-involvement three weeks ago so the Limerick captain would be able to walk down to his local shop for a bottle of water without getting hit with 5,000 questions about his injury status and his chances of making the Galway game.

The manager added that his captain “has every chance” of being available for selection for the July 23 decider.

“We didn't want that indecision to be hanging over us. If he was out [for the semi-final], we needed to have a real live replacement. So, in order to give that player the headspace to really take on that [centre-back] mantle, the space needed to be completely cleared and no ambiguity about whether he was in or out; he was out.

“And plus, there is another reason. When you have all that speculation and you have a lad that is trying to go to work and trying to live and get on with his life, he wants to be able to go to the shop, get a bottle of water. Give these boys a bit of breathing space by taking away the ambiguity and let the whole country know you are out and that is it, so nobody has to ask that question 5,000 times in the space of four weeks.

“You were replacing a leader with a leader. And a guy who is very experienced with another very experienced player. William has played six for his club on numerous occasions. You just have to put faith in your gut and in your instinct, and just go with it. And the entire group bought into it straight away.”