Christy O'Connor: Limerick again find nuclear button when need greatest

GOAL-GETTER: Aaron Gillane of Limerick celebrates after scoring his side's third goal as Conor Cleary of Clare looks on. Pic: John Sheridan, Sportsfile

AT THE final whistle, the Limerick players, management and backroom team lined up in the middle of the field like two opposing rugby teams walking against each other to acknowledge their efforts after the battle. This was a huge win in the context of where Limerick found themselves midway through the second half but there was no mass explosion or outward show of emotion, just silent satisfaction reflected in clasped hands and warm embraces.

Limerick are too worldly to get carried away with one championship win but why would they show any more emotion than they needed to? Overcoming a nine-point deficit in Ennis added a sugar lump to the taste but it’s not as if Limerick don’t know what that feels like either. In the last big game they had played – last July’s All-Ireland final – Limerick were trailing by five points before outscoring Kilkenny 0-19 to 0-4.

Limerick looked off the pace for 50 minutes but in the first half of last year’s All-Ireland final, Limerick only managed eight shots from play, and 14 in total. But they went into overdrive when they needed to. Sound familiar?

Limerick had 19 shots in the first half ay but they only converted eight. They missed their first four shots of the second half too. Clare were more economical but two lingering questions were always hanging in the air. What if Limerick found their range? What if they scored a goal? Once they did both, everything changed, as everything does in those circumstances.

Limerick know themselves that this was a long way off where they would want, or need, to be to secure the five-in-a-row. They can’t be expected to keep their foot consistently floored to the gas but they have earned that right to be below par when they are still able to win games in that manner.

Momentum can be a weapon but momentum in Limerick’s hands is like a nuclear warhead because of the destruction they can wreak in that mood and flow. And once they got within touching distance of Clare, they know that they are masters at winning tight games.

The way they blew Clare’s nine-point lead to smithereens is instructive through the data; in the first half, they didn’t mine a single score off a Clare puckout while they’d only sourced 0-4 off turnovers. But in that late blast of 3-6, they mined 1-2 off the Clare restart, and 1-3 from turnovers. They made up the remaining 1-1 from their own puckout. Over the afternoon, Limerick sourced 1-6 off their long puckout.

Clare will be sickened to lose in this manner, but there were warning signs there before Limerick turned the screw. When Limerick brought four of their forwards out the field in the second half and Clare were mostly following them on man-marking duties, Clare’s defensive shape and structure was too open.

Clare were able to trust Conor Cleary and Adam Hogan with a two-on-two inside but there was far too much space for Limerick’s runners to exploit outside them. Clare’s half-back line were forced to scramble back too often into that space as opposed to facing the ball. Before Limerick’s first goal, Donnacha Ó Dalaigh should have raised a green flag.

Too many of Clare’s big guns never found the level they needed. A host of Limerick’s big names didn’t either, but they still found enough. Will O’Donoghue, Tom Morrissey and Seamus Flanagan were taken off but Conor Boylan, Ó Dalaigh and Adam English more than made up for that deficit.

Boylan was at the core of the comeback when winning two frees; Ó Dalaigh bagged 1-1 while English was involved in three scores. It took Seán Finn an age to adjust to the pace after such a long injury layoff, but he finished brilliantly. So did Declan Hannon, who also struggled for long stages. Cian Lynch thundered into the game in the middle of the third quarter. Gearóid Hegarty ended with 0-3, could have had six, but had assists for two goals.

Despite only scoring 0-1, Shane O’Donnell was Clare’s most productive forward, setting up 1-3 and also creating another goal chance. From the four high balls Peter Dugan caught in the first half, 0-3 came off that possession. But he was totally underserviced as an out-ball option in the second half.

With such an early season meeting between the two favourites for the All-Ireland, was a match of that anticipated status and quality too much to expect at this point of the season? Not with these two teams. Not with this rivalry. The standard was nowhere near what they’ve recently produced but the drama made up for it.

The start of the match was explosive. In the first seven minutes alone, there were 13 balls played into both full-forward lines, with 0-6 accruing from that possession. Limerick were looking to hit Aaron Gillane at every opportunity early on but the game naturally became more frenetic and hectic around the middle, which stemmed those direct patterns.

Clare were just more efficient for the first three quarters but Limerick were devastating when they really had to be. Nobody summed up their afternoon more than Gillane. Aside from the opening minutes, Gillane had the ball in his hand just once over the next 62 minutes. But he still ended up with a goal and claims to getting a touch on Diarmaid Byrnes’ free that ended in the net.

It’s unlikely Byrnes meant to do what he did but Limerick have earned that right to do it whatever way they want. Questions on how they get the job done is irrelevant. Because they continue to just get it done.