‘If we perform like that we will be beaten out the gate’

LIMERICK await the winners of Sunday’s replay between Cork and Kerry in the 2010 Munster senior football championship final on July 4.
The Gaelic Grounds will host the decider if Cork are the opponents, but Limerick will have to travel to Killarney if the final is against the reigning All-Ireland champions. It could yet be a bumper day for Limerick city with Bob Dylan in concert in Thomond Park.
Last Sunday Limerick booked their place in a fourth provincial final of the last ten years when they were 1-16 to 1-9 winners over Waterford. Mickey Ned O’Sullivan’s side were 1-8 to 1-4 ahead at half-time with Milford’s Ger Collins scoring the Limerick goal in the fifth minute.
“It doesn’t matter – whatever I say will be used in evidence against me,” joked the Limerick manager when questioned of his preference for their final opponents.
Since the Kenmare man replaced Liam Kearns as manager in the autumn of 2005 Limerick have never faced Kerry in championship action as Cork have ended the Shannonsiders’ title aspirations for each of the last four seasons.
“We came to win and we won and we are in a Munster final. It’s nice to be there and now that we are there we will start planning,” said the Limerick manager after the semi-final win in Dungarvan.
“If we perform like that we will be beaten out the gate by Cork or Kerry, but then again it will be a new game, a new approach and we will hopefully lift our game,” said the manager who captained Kerry to the 1975 All-Ireland title.
Although nine different scorers got on the scoreboard Limerick registered ten wides.
“That’s nothing new to us. We are fairly handy at that,” said the manager with a rye smile.
He added: “There is an awful lot of work to do to get us up to the next level for the next round”.
Limerick were favourites to overcome Waterford, but O’Sullivan said that he never looked beyond the semi-final hurdle.
“It’s only from this moment on that we will start preparing for the final. Waterford had the advantage of having played a championship game two weeks ago and no matter how you prepare that is a major advantage – it knocks the corners off and steels you,” he said.
Although Waterford ended the game with 13 players O’Sullivan paid tribute to both sides for a fine contest.
“It was unfortunate that they had a man put off, but that’s football. It was a good solid honest sporting game - both teams went out to play football and I didn’t see any dirt, there was none whatsoever.”
Limerick also defeated Waterford in the NFL final, but saw four regulars return for the championship.
“They didn’t have game experience and that is a plus - they all got 60 minutes of championship. None of them had played more than one or two games in 40 weeks. since the Meath game last year was the last time they all played,” said the manager of the returning quartet of Johnny McCarthy, Stephen Lavin, Stephen Lucey and Stephen Kelly.
Meanwhile, Limerick and Kerry will meet in the Munster junior football championship final on Thursday evening, July 8.
There were initial discussions regarding the possible staging of the decider as a curtain-raiser to the Cork and Kerry SFC replay on Sunday, but now the novel final will take place in four weeks as per the schedule. It will be Limerick’s first final since 1963. The Kingdom won that final and the history books have to be traced back to 1950 for Limerick’s last success in this competition.

Jerome O’Connell