Adam English: Battle for places driving Limerick on

Limerick currently have 38 players available and John Kiely’s options are plentiful.

Limerick's Adam English celebrates after scoring his side's second goal of the match despite Seán O'Donoghue of Cork. Pic: Tom Maher, Inpho

Adam English has started all three of Limerick’s championship games but with Darragh O’Donovan breathing down his neck he isn’t feeling comfortable.

For the first time this season, the Munster champions reported a clean bill of health coming into Sunday’s game against Cork. Between the matchday panel and training squad members, 38 are currently available and John Kiely’s options are plentiful.

“It’s just so competitive, it’s off the charts,” said English of the battle for starting places. “When you’re going to training, you’re nervous and that’s a great sign of a good team.” 

For the likes of English’s midfield partner William O’Donoghue who maintained Limerick are more motivated by wanting to represent the group as best they can, Sunday wasn’t all about revenge. However, the players couldn’t mask their delight afterwards. It was nice to get one back on Cork after they halted Limerick’s five-in-a-row bid.

“We were hurting from last year, the two losses that we got,” acknowledged Doon man English. “That was in the back of our minds but we just wanted to go out and play well, perform for our own crowd and I think we did that.”

English complimented the Limerick crowd who were in full voice cheering home their team in TUS Gaelic Grounds after they answered Kiely’s rallying cry. “The crowd are a massive boost. People don’t realise it, when the crowd get behind you, the last five minutes, there’s an extra 10% there just to keep going. They were brilliant.” 

Limerick, especially head coach Paul Kinnerk, was a big fan of the four quarters when they were in place during the pandemic championships of 2020 and ’21. It was the approach they took to beating Cork two days ago.

“All we’ve been focused on was quarter one and after quarter one it was quarter two. We don’t look at 70 minutes, it was just quarter by quarter. We broke it down like that.” 

Clare may be out of the championship and barring a landslide defeat to them on Sunday Limerick are in a seventh Munster final. Kiely has already indicated they will be out to win while addressing some of their sloppy play in the third quarter on Sunday.

English insisted: “Listen, at training on Tuesday night we’ll see what we did well, we’ll see what wrongs we had and, listen, we’ll be all guns blazing next week for Clare. That won’t be an easy match either so we’re looking forward to it.”