LIMERICK FC midfielder Lee-J Lynch spoke of his delight at the club’s recent upturn in fortunes with two victories banishing the ghost of a 21-game winless streak and offering renewed hope of avoiding relegation.
The 23-year-old, who returned to the club last month following a brief spell with Scottish Premiership side Hamilton, felt that Limerick had been unlucky on a few occasions earlier in the season and that the resilience shown in Saturday’s 4-3 win over Bohemians, when the Super Blues played almost half the game a man light, was just reward for the Premier Division’s bottom club.
“I watched a few of their home games and they just weren’t getting the rub of the green. I don’t think the morale has been low. It’s been there and the boys have kept the faith. They’re getting their rewards for it now after two wins in a row. It’s good to see and hopefully we can push on from there.
“When we went down to 10 men and 2-1 down, it might have freed up some boys’ minds to say ‘We’re not going to win this game; let’s just go out and play’. I think that showed because we played so much better. We were moving the ball quicker and I don’t think they knew what hit them. Usually when that happens, you’d go 4-4-1, sit in, ride the storm and see if you can break but we just kept going and going. It was a crazy game.
“I’m delighted we got the win because we needed it and it showed the fans that we do care. I’m only in a few weeks but for the boys to go half a season without winning a game must have been so hard for them. I’m delighted they’re getting their rewards now and hopefully we can keep getting a few wins, look up the table and get out of the drop zone at least.”
Lynch was among several players to sign for Limerick in the July transfer window and he believes that the addition of much-needed experience supplied by players such as him, Freddy Hall and Shaun Kelly has been vital in the recent wins over Sligo and Bohemians.
Although he said that the blooding of several young players earlier in the season would stand to them, he pointed out that they need to have more seasoned campaigners alongside them in order to manage games effectively.
“It is a very young squad and I’ve already said this to Martin, but sometimes you have to step up to the plate a bit earlier than usual. Instead of getting 10 minutes at the end, a lot of them are getting 90 and that’s what they have to do if they want to play at the highest level in this country.
“We had a lot of experience last year and I think everyone around Limerick could see the players Martin could bring into the club when the budget is right and when the situation is right towards the end of last season. The young lads were coming in for the last 10 minutes in those games.
“Compared to last year’s squad, I believe [this one] is too young but we’ve got the right balance now. The team in the last two games has been our most experienced starting XI that we could have played. I think it’s showing because sometimes you need to see out a game and ride the storm for 10 minutes.
“I think we did it for the last 15 on Saturday because with 10 men for the whole second half and after going 4-3 up, a lot of lads can get carried away and keep going, but we needed to see it out, be smart with when we broke, keep to the right shape and I think it worked.”
Lynch had been part of a very different Limerick side just one short year ago, one that finished sixth in the league, and his impressive performances in the closing weeks of the campaign earned a transfer to Hamilton, where circumstances outside of his control would lead to his time in Scotland being frustratingly brief.
However, the upbeat 23-year-old focused on taking the positives out of an experience that could have irreparably damaged other players’ careers.
“That happens; that’s football. I signed an 18-month deal and I was in the door a month when Alex [Neil, then-manager of Hamilton] unfortunately got the call from Norwich and obviously he wasn’t going to turn it down. I can take confidence that a manager who’s now in the Premier League was the manager who signed me and I know I would have played under him.
“With the manager who’s in at the moment, Martin Canning, we just didn’t see eye to eye. He had different philosophies on football and everyone around Limerick knows the way I like to play football. If it’s not an expansive game, I’m not going to be able to showcase my talents.
“I’m only 23. I still have aspirations to go back again, or to Europe where maybe the game would suit me a lot more. I’m taking the positives from it. I think people can see that I’m not one bit down about it. That’s just football and the way things go. The opportunity was amazing.”
Lynch finds himself in the unusual position of fighting a relegation battle, having played with a mid-table Limerick team last season and been a member of the Sligo Rovers team that won the league in 2012.
Ironically, if Limerick succeed in pulling off an improbable escape from relegation, it is quite likely to be at the expense of the Bit O Red. However, despite Lynch’s evident fondness for his former club, his commitment to Limerick is unmistakable.
“I hate seeing where Limerick are and I hate seeing where Sligo are. The memories I have from Sligo are amazing. It was a great two years for me. I was only 19 when I went there. I ended up playing a lot under Ian [Baraclough] and a lot of the older lads looked after me there.
“When we won the league, I think everyone in the country could see what it meant to the whole town, so to see where it is now…for whatever reason, there are where they are, but I play with Limerick now and I want us to be safe. If it means Sligo going down, it’s a must-be. I’d rather us stay safe and Sligo going down, but it’s sad to see where the club is and I hope they can get back to where they were a few years ago.”
