KIELY LAUDS LIMERICK’S COMPOSURE
LIMERICK manager John Kiely hailed the character of his team as they remained unbeaten in the Munster SHC thanks to Kyle Hayes’s late equaliser at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday evening.
Down to 14 men since the firsthalf sending-off of Aaron Gillane, Limerick made light of the numerical disparity as they reeled in and passed out Cork, outscoring their hosts by 0-9 to 0-3 in a 13-minute period after Patrick Horgan’s goal had put the Rebels 1-15 to 0-15 in front.
While they looked to be flagging as four consecutive Cork points put them in the ascendancy, Limerick levelled through Diarmaid Byrnes in injury time and then Hayes came to the rescue for Limerick after Horgan had put Cork in front again.
A late attempt at a winner by Cork captain Séamus Harnedy was blocked down by Seán Hayes and it finished with honours even.
‘Pride, I suppose, is the probaand bly the most over-riding feeling that I have,’ Kiely said.
‘I’m very proud of our players and the manner in which they saw out the whole game. They showed huge composure and I was very, very proud of them because they just never panicked even though they fell behind a few times.’
Gillane’s sending-off in the 23rd minute, for a strike on Seán O’Donoghue, looked to have turned the momentum the way of Cork. The Rebels’ cornerback was booked after the incident, which Kiely found unusual, especially as no action was taken when Limerick defender Richie English was laid out late in the first half.
‘It seemed a very strange situation for one to get the red card and one to get the yellow. We had a situation at the other end of the field where our player Richie English and I can tell you, I feel like issuing a photograph of the state of his rib cage after what was done.
‘It was worse than what happened at the other end of the field, I can assure you that. There was no card issued in that situation so it was inconsistent. I know that lads have a tough job refereeing the games. It is very difficult.
‘There’s a lot happening, you’ve to get up and down the field but I just think what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
‘It shouldn’t be the story of the day, that sending-off. The story of the day is the manner of our performance in the second half where we were down to 14 men we still looked like we’d 15 men on the field. That’s the difference.’
The game stood at 0-3 each in the seventh minute when Limerick captain Declan Hannon was forced off injured, having been impressive in the early stages. After he went off, points from Horgan and Darragh Fitzgibbon gave Cork a cushion, but it wasn’t to last as Limerick reeled off four of the next five, with Gillane (free), the lively Séamus Flanagan and Gearóid Hegarty all on target.
A pair of Horgan frees had Cork back in front and then Christopher Joyce set up Daniel Kearney for his second point of the evening to make it 0-10 to 08 before Limerick’s situation looked to have got even worse. With Cork’s Mark Coleman preparing to take a sideline cut, Gillane tangled with his O’Donoghue and when the corner-back went down, referee James Owens consulted with a linesman and showed Gillane the red card.
In the wake of that, Shane Kingston scored his second point, and by half-time they were 0-14 to 0-12 to the good. Horgan opened the second-half scoring but Limerick tied matters again through Tom Morrissey, Cian Lynch and Graeme Mulcahy, only for Horgan to net after Harnedy found him in space.
Limerick’s response was resolute, with Flanagan, Cian Lynch and Tom Morrissey to the fore as they hit the front. While two Horgan frees steadied Cork, Dan Morrissey and Tom Morrissey scored to put Limerick 1-26 to 0-20 in front.
Cork had a surge in them, but Limerick were able to respond to it and both sides remain unbeaten, which was Cork coach John Meyler’s main takeaway.
‘It’s a point won,’ he said.
‘Limerick were really competitive, a really good side, wellcoached and well-marshalled. They had a man sent off early in the first half and the game lost its structure, lost its shape. We put them under pressure and went in at half-time a few points up but they came at us in the second half.
‘We showed great character then coming back in the last five minutes.’
Having played for three straight weekends, Cork now have a break before they face Waterford, knowing that victory should be enough to extend their season.
‘There’s 13 days in the turnover but they’re so used to it that they just turn off,’ Meyler said.
‘The minute the game is over, that’s it, they’re in tomorrow morning now for recovery and that’s not a thing that GAA players are used to.
‘This is over four games, so the result of one game doesn’t mean a huge thing but the results over the four games are critical.’ CORK: A Nash; S O’Donoghue (T O’Mahony h-t), D Cahalane, C Spillane; M Ellis, C Joyce, M Coleman; D Fitzgibbon, B Cooper; C Lehane (J Coughlan 70), D Brosnan (L Meade h-t), D Kearney; P Horgan, S Harnedy, S Kingston (M Cahalane 60).
Scorers: P Horgan 1-11 (8f, 1 65), D Fitzgibbon 0-4, C Lehane 0-3, D Kearney, S Kingston 0-2 each, L Meade, M Coleman, C Spillane 0-1 each. LIMERICK: N Quaid; S Finn, M Casey, R English; D Byrnes, D Hannon (W O’Donoghue 7), D Morrissey; D O’Donovan (P Browne 61), C Lynch; T Morrissey, K Hayes, G Hegarty (D Dempsey 55); S Flanagan (P Ryan 64), A Gillane, G Mulcahy (B Murphy 62). Scorers: T Morrissey 0-8 (5f), S Flanagan 0-6, C Lynch 0-3, D O’Donovan, G Mulcahy, D Byrnes (2f), K Hayes 02 each, G Hegarty, D Morrissey, A Gillane (f) 0-1 each. Referee: J Owens (Wexford).
“The story of
the day is the manner of our
performance”