IF someone had told Limerick FC captain Pat Purcell a couple of years ago that he would captain a Limerick side at Thomond Park against the current Premier League champions, he would have said, “In my dreams”. Well, last Sunday night it happened and what a night it was.
From start to finish, (bar one foolish incident, not even worth mentioning) Limerick FC applied themselves well on the field, but more importantly they were outstanding off of it.
A crowd of 20,672 turned up to watch Manchester City come to town. The Limerick FC skipper, Pat Purcell, like the fans, enjoyed every minute of it.
“I still don’t know if it’s sunk in because you know, we were focusing on the Longford match on Friday. Really, personally speaking I didn’t look forward to this match because, you know, the Friday match was so important. We can look back now on this and be thinking to ourselves, we’ve been in the dark ages with Limerick at times and you kind of think ‘how have we come from where we were four or five years ago, to this, like?’ Top of the league, hopefully going to win the league and go into the Premier. Playing Manchester City in Thomond Park. Pretty much a capacity Thomond Park. It’s the stuff dreams are made of and I’m just glad I got an opportunity to do it at this stage in my career and I just hope the young lads really understand and realise how big a thing this is”.
Indeed it is stuff of dreams. Limerick may have lost the game 4-0 on the night to two goals from Edin Dzeko and one apiece from Boyata and Mancini Jnr, but the overall effect of this game will live long in the memory of Limerick FC as well as boosting the coffers. With eight more glamour ties guaranteed over the coming eight seasons, Limerick’s future as a football force could very well be nailed down for the coming decade.
Pat Purcell is confident that Limerick are going places and maybe, some time in the future, a home European tie can be held at Thomond Park.
“Everything is been done for the players, you know you’ve got the senior team but you’ve got the young lads coming through too. You’ve got the younger teams, 14s, 10s, 12s, that’s the grass roots that will get Limerick, longer term, you know, a much more viable club. I think it’s not beyond the realms of possibility playing a European tie at Thomond Park in four or five years. It’s probably beyond the realms of possibility that I’ll be there! But, certainly, I think the club is going in the right direction and if it keeps progressing the way it has over the last three or four years. I mean, where it was when Pat O’Sullivan took over, it’s night and day, the difference is fantastic and if it can keep progressing, even at a fraction of that speed, yeah European football in four or five years in Thomond Park is definitely on the cards”.
Manchester City were also delighted with their night’s work. Current first team coach, Brian Kidd spoke to PostSport after the game and added that he too would like to return to Thomond Park.
“It was a really good game and we had to work for the result. You always get a good game when you come to Ireland. You have to work for your results. That even goes back to when I played for Manchester United. Our lads showed great respect for Limerick FC the way they went about their business. So I think that is a credit to Limerick and all involved with them. There was no showboating, which the boss would not allow anyway. It is great to come to Ireland and Limerick. The hospitality is unreal. The people are great, the welcome is great. Thomond Park is a great place to come to. With my Irish links, my wife is from Donegal, it is great to get over here to play football. We were in Dublin last year, Limerick this year and I see no reason why we cannot come back. It has been a great experience”.
Limerick FC’s manager Pat Scully was disappointed at his sides defending on the night, but the Dublin native feels that playing games like these are great for experience.
“The chances we gave to the younger players will be huge. There are things we can learn from Man City, passing wise, concentration wise and physical preparation. I even picked up a few things tonight from Roberto (Mancini) on the sideline. Little tactical things that might make me a better manager, so all in all it was a great night for the club. Their side costs over 200 million, I know we have spent a few quid this year, (laughing) but we are heading in the right direction. We managed to hold with Man City out for 35-40 minutes, that is a positive for our fans. For people who have not seen us play before, that was a great advert for the club”.
The final words are left to club captain Purcell, who when asked if he would like to play Man City every week chuckled and said,
“It was tough, it was really really tough. We were just running after shadows at times”.
If the night leaves Limerick people with one thing to mull over it is, that we, as a city, can do anything we want, if we put our minds to it and work together. Dreams can become reality.
