'The hurt is going to be God awful' - no complaints as John Kiely reflects on rare defeat 

The Limerick boss said Cork's greater efficiency may have been the difference in a classic encounter.

MAGNANIMOUS: Limerick manager John Kiely dejected after the game. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

John Kiely has insisted that Limerick's bid for history and the five-in-a-row weighed lightly on the group and didn't contribute to their downfall.

The Limerick manager ultimately attributed their narrow Croke Park defeat to Cork's greater 'efficiency'.

"I don't have the stats to hand but that's my first impression of it," said Kiely, reflecting on a game in which both sides scored 29 times, with Limerick blasting 14 wides to Cork's 10.

Brian Hayes' goal eventually separated the teams and Limerick kicked themselves that Aaron Gillane didn't grab at least one for Limerick.

He had two great chances in the 47th and 71st minutes but slipped on both occasions whilst striking and was thwarted.

"I think we've seen a bit of slipping out there on the surface in the last couple of weeks, in other sports and codes as well," said Kiely. "I don't know, it isn't something that you'd complain about. Sometimes you're just trying to turn so quickly that your foot goes from underneath you."

Those were the moments that ultimately defined the game, and Limerick's season, according to Kiely, not the hype around the five-in-a-row.

"I don't think it had any bearing on us at all to be honest with you," he said. "We felt light about all that all year, we were very committed to going after the 2024 Championship. When you're on the road as long as the lads are, on a winning run like they have been, of course you're going to come up against opportunities for the opposition to beat you.

"Of course you are but we gave ourselves an opportunity to win it too. So it wasn't that we didn't have the opportunity to win the game. If we were beaten by 10 points, we'd say, 'Right, okay, something's wrong here'.

"But we could have won by two or three. But we didn't and, you know, that's just the way it is.

"So no concerns about the weight of that on the group, we had a really enjoyable year together. We were light on ourselves.

"We were determined to enjoy the season and we set out to do it and we did it and I don't think the group had any baggage in that regard coming into today or any other day.

"And I think you could tell that by the performance."

Still, it was a tough one to swallow, a second loss of the season to Cork and this time a fatal one.

"The hurt is going to be God awful," acknowledged Kiely. "I have no doubt but it is what it is. We haven't tasted defeat very often but any time we have, it has tasted very sour.

"So we just have to go through that now, the group will reflect obviously, individually, collectively. There will be a lot of time for that."

Kiely's instinct is that his team of warriors will be energised by the challenge of bouncing back in 2025.

"They shape their world around hurling, where they choose to live, where they choose to work, where they choose to go to college," he said. "They have shaped their world around this group, this team. There's an incredible togetherness and unity within the group and they're going to hurt now, there's no doubt about that."

In an attempt to explain the two-point loss, Kiely circled back to his point about efficiency, particularly around Cork's restarts after Limerick wides.

"If your efficiency is low, you pay for it not just on the scoreboard but on the puck-out subsequent to that wide, you're unstructured in defence and you're far more likely to concede at the back," he said. "I think that's the price ultimately that we probably paid. Deccie Dalton got one or two where he was just standing beside me out on the sideline as the shot was being taken by Limerick. Next thing it goes wide and two seconds later the ball is in Deccie Dalton's hand."

Kiely tipped his hat to a Cork side that have emerged with four points to spare after two huge wins over Limerick.

"They are a very high energy team and they are a quality side," he said. "They have beaten us twice this year so we have to acknowledge what they have done. Yes, there have been spells in both games when we haven't been at our best but they will reflect on spells of the games in both matches where they weren't at their best as well. But ultimately they were more efficient than us today and that was the telling factor."