THE LIMERICK senior hurlers being their National Hurling league campaign this Sunday afternoon against Wexford.
The opening round game, to be played in Innovate Wexford Park at 2pm, is expected to draw a large attendance in what is a clash between two favourites for promotion back to Division 1 of the league.
Limerick prepared for this week’s game with a strong showing in the Munster Senior hurling league, while John Kiely’s men also have played several challenge games in recent weeks as they plan their assault on the league.
The backroom team of John Kiely, Brian Geary, Jimmy Quilty, Paul Kinnerk and Joe O’Connor will also use the league to prepare for the main event of the year, the Munster hurling championship clash against Clare on June 4 in Thurles.
Ahead of this weekend’s game, John Kiely, speaking to GAA.ie, said that he would hope that all Limerick supporters get behind his young side. With an average age of just 21, Kiely is hoping that Limerick hurling fans appreciate the pressures the players are under and often the criticism thrown at the players is not helpful.
“We have great support in Limerick, huge support in terms of numbers but they can be rather impatient at times and maybe lack a little bit of perspective on where things are at,” said Kiely at yesterday’s Allianz Hurling League launch in Croke Park.
Kiely also commented on the ‘verbals’ he and his team received following their heavy Munster league loss to Cork.
“That day against Cork in the Munster league, there were quite a number of people in the crowd who were extremely abusive that day and it was not at all appropriate that players be treated like that on the day, given the amount of time and effort and work they put into preparing themselves on the pitch, and off the pitch.
“That is not something we would like to see again. We have an awful lot of decent people involved in hurling in Limerick, and if there are people out there that aren’t behind the team, we would rather they stayed away,” added Kiely.
Hear, hear, we say. Start as you mean to go on.
