LIMERICK may be 32-21 behind Tipperary in Championship encounters over the years, but looking ahead to this weekends Munster Championship clash, two of Limerick’s star players, James Ryan and Gavin O’Mahony, know that it will be another close affair.
“This is what you have been gearing for since January. There is a good buzz around Limerick and I am looking forward to it” commented midfield dynamo James Ryan, while Kilmallock man O’Mahony is equally as excited, “It’s funny really that I never think of Thurles as a home game for Tipperary. We are used to playing there and I hope that the Limerick Supporters can be there and be as loud if not louder than the Tipperary fans and when we need them near the end, they can help us get over the line.”
Ryan, a dual player who have experience many big days with the Limerick footballers says that this weekends game, (throw in at 4pm) will be the toughest game of the season.
“I think for any player the first round of the championship is the hardest. You talk to any player and he will tell you that. I have played in Munster football finals, but the hardest game of the season is always the first game. There is an awful lot of hype, hope and expectation before these games”
O’Mahony agrees; “The key is to get your hands on the ball and get involved. The last thing you want is to be not getting any ball in a game. There is a bit of luck involved, but you have to get through the first few clashes. It is scarily quick. You just have to empty the tank and trust your fitness levels. We know that we can live with the pace and even set the pace. The speed is something else. We are six months training for one match, so hopefully it will another classic”
The atmosphere at hurling HQ is often copied but never matched. The uniqueness of a hurling match at Thurles is something that needs to be seen to be believed. For James Ryan, it is inspirational.
“Coming out on to the field in Thurles is an outstanding feeling. The terraces there are special too. The young people get in early and they really enjoy themselves. You come out and it is the first time you hear the bodhrans and the horns going. The hair stands up on the back of you neck. There has been blood, sweat and tears in the build up and then you get to play. This is what you did all the hard running in January for. No matter what you do in the league, you cannot get up to the intensity of championship until the ball is thrown in”
Limerick go into this weekends game as massive outsiders. Tipperary are looking to get back to the All Ireland final for the fourth year in a row, will they have to use the back door?
by PostSport Reporter
BEHIND every good manager is a good backroom team and John Allen certainly possess that. Ahead of this Sunday’s game, Allen will be calling on the experience of John Kiely and Eamonn Meskell to lead the Treatymen into battle against Tipperary. Both men spoke to PostSport this week and both are eagerly awaiting the Munster Championship clash.
“We have not given any thought to anything other than Sunday. We know what we need to bring to the table to win on Sunday. We are not approaching the game as a rivalry, we are just treating the game as a game we need to preform in ourselves. We have no fears”, commented Ahane Club man Meskell.
“In the last few weeks it has seemed like nothing else matters. Sunday is where we have been aiming for all year. We will know where we are on Sunday evening. I work in Tipperary Town so the rivalry has been building now for a couple of weeks. It all adds to the preparation and the excitement” commented Kiely.
The news from the backroom ahead of the clash is that Declan Hannon is expected to play some role on Sunday. The Adare forward has missed the entire league through injury, but should be fit to tog out on Sunday.
The final words are left to John Kiely, “Let’s hope for a rip roaring game of hurling which will be a fitting start to the Munster hurling championship”.
