THE Limerick Senior hurlers enter the Munster championship this weekend as they take on Cork, in Cork, in the Munster Semi Final. Throw in is at 4pm in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and Limerick will be looking to secure one of the biggest shocks in GAA history by winning.
So much has been written about this Limerick panel, since the whole 2009 season ended. Limerick’s last competitive outing in the championship was an All Ireland semi final. Since then, Limerick have been on the back pages of the national media for all the wrong reasons.
Established players were dropped, votes of no confidence in manager Justin Mc Carthy were tabled and defeated. Even relegation from Division 1 of the league took a back seat to the trials and tribulations off of the field.
This Sunday sees an end to all of that. Limerick take to the field to take on Cork in the Munster championship. Many people thought that the “crisis in Limerick hurling” would never get this far. However, it has. What can be done now? Well, according to Limerick manager Justin Mc Carthy, the Limerick GAA fans should come out and support the team.
“You are looking at the future of Limerick hurling here. This is a three year plan. People have to be patient and realistic too, but I would hope that every support and encouragement will be given to the team. There is great potential here. I can see very good hurlers coming out of it. I can see great players developing and the future for Limerick hurling is good. In order to do that though you need people behind you too, backing you can being positive in their approach. This is not going to be an over night success, but we can get there together.”
On the game itself, the former Cork All Ireland winner sees the tie as a chance for the players to get used to championship hurling and a good performance on Sunday is what is needed against a flying Cork side.
“The game at the end of the day has to be played on field. Our players will have their game plan and we will be giving certain instructions to players. At the end of the day though hurling is all about playing it as you see it and playing on your feet. The uncertainty is always there as the game is mainly instinctive reaction. The players will know what they need to do on Sunday and it is just a case now of doing it added Mc Carthy. “Championship hurling is something you cannot explain to someone. You have to go through it yourself. You can talk all day about it and you can advise players on it, which we will, but you have to experience the day itself. You have to play through it. You don’t get the same time, the pressure and the atmosphere is something different. These lads however will be OK. Nothing phases them really. They are a good bunch of lads. If we give a good account of ourselves and play well, then I’ll be happy.”
With the record defeat to Dublin still fresh in the memory, can Limerick move from being heavily beaten to taking on Cork in the Munster championship? Justin believes that they can in their progression, achieve something this weekend.
“We are making steady progress. The lads are getting sharper. The ground is firming up and that suits us. The lads are adjusting to the pace in the game. I am happy with how they are applying themselves in their training and in challenge matches. We are building for a longer term than the shorter term obviously and they are on the right road”.
Cork impressed against Tipperary in the quarter final. The old style of Cork’s short passing is now coupled with the ability to play long balls into players such as Aisake O’Hailpin and Michael Cussen.
Limerick indeed face a “tall order” in those two. The rest of the Cork side will be playing for places in a Munster final, so there will be no let up there for Limerick.
The one real hope for a Limerick shock would be that Cork are complacent. It has happened before.
Clare, a young team like Limerick, almost caught the more experienced Waterford in the other semi final. Justin Mc Carthy feels that the game itself is not a straight forward as some people might think.
“The game at the end of the day has to be played on field. Our players will have their game plan and we will be giving certain instructions to players. At the end of the day though hurling is all about playing it as you see it and playing on your feet. The uncertainty is always there as the game is mainly instinctive reaction. The players will know what they need to do on Sunday and it is just a case now of doing it.”
With the game being covered live on TV3, the crowd travelling to Cork is expected to be small. Will the shock be big though? In this hacks opinion, no, but then again, stranger things have happen in sport.
