'No mention of revenge': Na Piarsaigh boss lauds poise in Limerick triumph

Na Piarsaigh defeated Doon by seven points after extra-time to claim the Limerick senior hurling crown. They had lost to Doon in last year's final. 

Na Piarsaigh manager Shane O’Neill said if a team makes revenge their focus, "you'll lose sight of what really the prize is". Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

Na Piarsaigh manager Shane O’Neill said avenging last year’s final defeat to Doon was never a factor in this decider.

Making amends for the defeat and the performance was certainly part of the plan but as goalkeeper Shane Dowling said in the build-up, taking back the cup from their rivals wasn’t a motivation.

“There was no mention of revenge, not once,” said O’Neill. “We had our analysis back in January when we met firstly. And then there was a big break. We went through as we normally would what we can work on, what we didn't do so well. And we said we'd try and implement it throughout the season. And I think it just came to fruition there today.

“But there was no reference of revenge or redemption. Because if you get caught up in that kind of stuff, you'll lose sight of what really the prize is. And what you need to do in the day.” 

O'Neill was delighted his team were able to get the better of Doon in extra-time when they had proven difficult opponents up to that point. “I think overall in extra-time it showed the way we wanted to play in normal time. It's a very difficult system to play against, it takes a while to break it down. I thought we started off very well and in patches we played very, very well.

“But in fairness to Doon they've been magnificent champions and kept coming back at us. But in extra time, no panic. Kept to the script, kept trying to do the right things and eventually showed in the end.” 

Conor Boylan and Keith Dempsey made telling contributions from the bench. The former had only returned from a foot injury a week prior to the final. 

“The Saturday before the county final he makes his first appearance in a long, long time. He impressed us immensely, very sharp. Obviously looked after himself through the injury, worked very hard to get back and he was immense.

“Keith is a class player altogether. He was very unlucky, he was probably our best player for a long, long time throughout the year. Then he had an ankle injury that went on a lot longer than we expected. We thought two weeks, it was five.

“I think he missed six weeks of training so he's just been coming back but a great guy to bring on, he's so composed and has great hands and a fabulous hurler.”