A TACTICAL masterstroke or a 50-50 call that simply went Limerick’s way? John Kiely didn’t claim any of the credit but when Limerick won the toss, he did instruct them to play against the wind initially.
From there, things unfolded pretty much as Kiely imagined; Kilkenny using the wind to exert early pressure and Limerick then riding the breeze in the second half to wrestle back control of the game and see it out.
“We deliberately played into the Hill to take on that breeze in the first half,” explained the Limerick manager.
“We wanted to face that onslaught. We wanted to absorb it. We wanted to feel it. We wanted to fight it and take it on. It was difficult, it was very difficult, but the prize was to be able to take on those (long-range) shots in the second half. And there were some incredible scores taken. Even with the breeze behind us, even with the distance, they were still fantastic scores that the lads picked off, Peter Casey, all the boys.”
Whatever about the influence of the elements, Kiely ultimately attributed Limerick’s brilliant fightback and second-half performance to being ‘comfortable in that space’, when their backs were to the wall.
“That’s it, yeah,” he nodded. “There is nothing more that they are facing in that situation than they have faced in training, or at least there shouldn’t be. So they have to cope with it and it took them a long time to learn how to cope with it but they got there eventually.”
Kiely was delighted for Cian Lynch that he rose to the occasion with a strong performance. Injuries have affected him but he timed his return to top form well, in Declan Hannon’s absence.
“Even on the train this morning coming up, the way Cian was getting around to all the tables on the train and meeting the lads, he just led it and he was very comfortable leading it,” said Kiely.
“That’s a really special thing for us to have at our disposal when Declan was out.”
Afterwards, Lynch and injured Hannon, the regular captain, lifted the MacCarthy Cup together. They did the same last year, when Lynch was the one who didn’t played through injury.
“If Cian could have had the 36 or 37 players up there he would have,” said Kiely.
Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng sat in the same chair as Kiely moments earlier at the post-match press conference but cut a disconsolate figure.
“I think nine points of a gap is harsh on us to be honest but look, it is what it is now,” said Lyng.
“Our lads fronted up, it just wasn’t good enough.
“Limerick are just so strong around that middle third and I thought for a long time we made it a really good battle out there. But the momentum, they just get that flow and they get a bit of room and space, and it’s not as if we were cut apart, they were just getting scores from out the field, outrageous scores, fantastic scores and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it.”
