Bruised but buoyed by silverware, Lee insists Limerick will be ready for Cork
HAPPY OUT: Limerick manager Jimmy Lee and Emmett Rigter celebrate after the game. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Limerick manager Jimmy Lee says that his side will be both bruised and boosted for next Saturday’s Munster championship quarter-final clash with Cork, after their greater goalscoring touch got them through their Division Four league final clash with Wexford in Croke Park.
“That 70-plus minutes, whatever it was, was fairly daunting,” was how Lee reflected on a contest where there was never more than a goal between the teams at any stage from start to finish.
“A lot of them were cramping up at stages, so we need to look at where the levels of fitness are. But look, there’s squad depth there, we’ll face Cork with whatever team we can put out and they’ll be happy enough doing it."
Happy enough, because while Limerick secured promotion from Division Four in 2020, there was no league final due to Covid. The last time the Treaty County had this feeling in Croke Park was all the way back in 2013, when they beat Offaly by two points in this fixture.
“It's humungous for the boys inside there, some of them. You look at Killian Ryan, Tommie Childs, Iain Corbett, you know, they were here in ’22 (Division Three League final),” Lee said.
“But to win silverware is momentous for them, I am absolutely thrilled for them. Paul Maher is there as well, Danny (Neville), Nasher (Peter Nash). It's massive for these lads, and the youngsters as well.
“Winning silverware, it builds characters, do you know what I mean?”
There was no mistaking who was the big character on the field, the man that made the difference. On a day when goals were crucial, when Wexford fought back to draw level three times, Tommie Childs came up with two huge plays to set up goals for Darragh Ó Siochrú and Peter Nash, then he burst through to fire in the decisive winner himself after 62 minutes. Wexford had their chances to respond in kind, but they couldn’t find the target.
Shane Pettit crashed one shot off the post in the first half and had his effort on the rebound blocked by Colm McSweeney. Seán Ryan came off the bench and was adamant that he was fouled as he blazed wide from close range with one effort, while he also did well to get a fist to a mishit Kevin O’Grady shot, only to see the ball fly a few feet the wrong side of the post.
“Everybody will say once you're creating eventually they'll come, but it was disappointing in that we didn't convert any of them,” lamented Wexford boss John Hegarty.
“Equally on the other side, the Limerick goals came at really opportune times for them and it seemed like every time we pegged them back, they got a goal and that kept giving them a breathing space that maybe the general play didn't reflect.”
And in a nutshell, that was it. Wexford had the better of things from open play, but while their half-back line of Eoin Porter, Eoghan Nolan and Martin O’Connor was excellent, scoring 0-5 and setting up more scores, they were anaemic up front.
Niall Hughes and Liam Coleman won a lot of ball in the middle and Páiric Hughes kicked two fine points in his role as a hard-running wing forward, but the other starting forwards scored one from play between them.
Limerick’s James Naughton, scorer of an all-time league record tally of 4-12 last week, was also subdued, but the Munster men had more to call on. Ó Siochrú was sharp and involved outside of his goal, Emmet Rigter did plenty of sweeping but also came forward to kick two, and above all, they had Childs. Always involved, always abrasive, and always there to put Limerick back on the right track when the need was greatest.
Even so, Wexford had one final push. Páiric Hughes and Rigter traded points, then Niall Hughes fired over his second after a quick free, leaving Wexford with one last play, after the hooter sounded, to try and find a two-pointer.
They won the ball and probed over and back, but Limerick held firm and left Niall Hughes with no option to go with a difficult, low -ercentage shot which he duly pushed wide and left.
“My heart could have told you if that one went over, I’d have been seeking the defibrillator!” Lee joked.
“To be fair, the boys worked hard, they kept pushing them out beyond that arc and keeping them further out from goals. When they pulled the trigger, you could see from where we were standing that it was going wide so relief is what I would say at that stage.”
Now to see if the bodies, and the manager’s heart, can turn around in time for Cork’s visit to the Gaelic Grounds.
D Ó Siochrú (1-1), T Childs (1-1), J Naughton (0-4, 0-3f), P Nash (1-0), E Rigter (0-2), P Maher (0-1), T McCarthy (0-1), D Neville (0-1).
M Rossiter (0-4f), D Brooks (0-3, 1 45, 1tpf), E Porter (0-2), P Hughes (0-2),N Hughes (0-2), E Nolan (0-2, 1tp), M O’Connor (0-1), K O’Grady (0-1), G Cullen (0-1).
J Ryan; C Woulfe, C McSweeney, F Cotter; M McCarthy, I Corbett, T McCarthy; D O'Hagan, T Childs; K Ryan, P Maher, C Fahy; Darragh Ó Siochrú, E Rigter, J Naughton.
R Childs for McCarthy (29), P Nash for O'Hagan (43), D Neville for Ó Siochrú (53), A Meade for Fahy (60), D Buckley for McCarthy (60).
D Brooks; L O'Connor, G Sheehan, M Furlong; M O'Connor, E Nolan, E Porter; Liam Coleman, N Hughes; P Hughes, S Pettit, T Byrne; K O'Grady, M Rossiter, C Hughes.
S Ryan for Byrne (half-time), B Brosnan for C Hughes (half-time), G Cullen for Pettit (46), D Furlong for O'Connor (49)
Seamus Mulhare (Laois)
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
