Derek Lyng: ‘I can't fault our players. I thought they never gave up’

The Kilkenny boss ended his first season in charge with an All-Ireland final defeat on Sunday.

RESPECT: Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng and Limerick manager John Kiely shake hands after the game. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Derek Lyng’s debut campaign as Kilkenny manager ended with a nine-point All-Ireland final loss against Limerick. The new boss will have learned plenty in 2023, particularly in relation to what exactly the benchmark looks like.

The challenge isn’t just to meet this standard. Kilkenny and all contenders will need to clear it in order to down Limerick. The Leinster champions started brightly and led by three at the turnaround. After an hour the margin was only two. Ultimately, they could not sustain the challenge.

"I thought we were well in the game midway through the second half,” a disappointed Lyng said post-match.

“They got that run and they got magnificent scores. And when you tie down one player, another player turns up. All the time they have quality all over the pitch. They have quality coming on, no more than ourselves.

“We had chances and we needed to be really clinical. But we probably weren't efficient enough with some of the chances that we got. They got some fantastic scores in the second half.

“I felt that maybe a few of the 50-50 calls probably went Limerick's way. And we needed them. We needed everything. We maybe needed one of those frees around that period just to stem the tide.” 

Kilkenny endured a poor shooting display from play throughout the game. Of 24 shots, they scored nine and endured a string of wides, blocks and one off the post. During that spell of total Limerick hurling, their attack really spluttered.

“When they get a run on you, it is very, very difficult to stop it,” said Lyng.

“But I can't fault our players. I thought they never gave up. They kept trying and kept working. The lads who came on tried. We were obviously trying to work a goal near the end and they picked off a few scores, which makes the scoreboard not as flattering to look at. But I can't fault the effort from everybody."

Ultimately, Kilkenny needed every break to go their way. As well as some inaccuracy, David Blanchfield failed to recover and came out of the 26 before throw-in with Walter Walsh starting instead. Lyng said they consulted medical advice and there was a low risk in playing him, but enough to not take it. “Hopefully he will have bigger days.”