THE LIMERICK senior hurlers may have crashed out of the Waterford Crystal Cup last weekend to Tipperary, but manager John Allen is not overly worried.“I am not happy about losing by 10 points, but the game itself was not as poor from our part as the scoreline suggests,” admitted Allen.
“We created enough scoring chances in the first half to be ahead of Tipperary. We did not take them however. When you shoot 16 wides and miss two clear goal chances, you cannot expect to win any game. We know that with a bit more work and training we can finish those chances when they come.”
Limerick lost out to Tipperary on a scoreline of 0-22 to 1-9 and with three weeks left to Limerick’s opening game in the National Hurling league, fans might fear that a squanderous performance like this one might just linger in the camp.
John Allen disagrees. “We have lads now who will play Fitzgibbon Cup with their colleges and they will come back to us on weekends. We will continue to train as per normal midweek and we will look to play two or three games before the league starts.
“Last weekend was a good reminder of where we need to be as a team. As a management team we need to see lads, battling for positions, in those positions, as many times as we can. It’s not about winning the league or winning the Waterford Crystal Cup, it’s about getting the best 15 on the field in June.” (Limerick play Tipperary on June 9 in the Gaelic Grounds)With defeat comes some perspective for Allen. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to win every game and every tournament, but no one really remembers who won the Waterford Crystal League or even the league at the end of the season. It’s all about the All Ireland and September. That’s where we are aiming for”
Limerick play their first league game of the season on February 24 at the Gaelic Grounds against Antrim, before facing Carlow on March 10 at the same venue.
