*Limerick GAA news/discussion thread*

Fireball07

Awful pity. Well done Waterford.

KevIRL

Your guys showed great heart tonight, should be rightly proud of them. I think they put so much into it that after getting 3 ahead from 13 behind at one stage they just tired badly at the end. Shane Dowling is a beast of a young fella, great potential there.

Shame that Limerick get no second chance considering this was their first loss yet Cork and Tipp both got a second chance.

Really good Limerick support down here at the match as well (understandably very loud support in the second half!)

ShamoBuc

Christ almighty that must have been some game! Getting back into it after the first 10 mins was great going for Limerick, pity they lost out but that's sport for you.

Fentdog84

As good a game as you are likely to see..Must say i felt sorry for Limerick at the end you got some cracking young players and on another day it would have been alot different. You got a woeful start and the team were out on their feet in the extra time period after a collosal second half effort. Unlucky, but i think there is a bright future in some of those lads for ye.

Fireball07

I played with Barry O'Connell (I don't play hurling anymore myself) and I've never seen him make a mistake in a match before, he's a class act. Unlucky it had to happen in a Munster minor semi-final (apparently he was at fault for the 2nd goal). But he had a very good game apart from that, I'd say he's a future Limerick full-back.

I'm actually sickened now...still, there's hope for the future!

washman3

real opportunity lost, with cork and tipp out of the mix this was a great chance for a munster title,or a guaranteed 1/4 final either way. same old limerick failings, team put on a pedestal after beating the worst cork team in years,that resulting cockiness in first 10 mins cost us dearly. Brendan O'Connor a huge loss tonight though. great coverage from Ahern/carey on munster-rugby FM. thought we had it with mins to go in normal time. lets see what progress this bunch can make at 21s. well done anyway,gave it 110%

Cake Man

Fair play Limerick, I've no doubt in a few years ye'll have a senior hurling team with real potential to win silverware which is good to see.

calvin_zola

Hon Limerick, just couldn't finish it off....AGAIN!!!

I have to give it to ye, ye're never beat like, ye're like a big tinker at a fair, you'd keep hitting him but he'd keep getting back up at ya even when hes beaten

Ah sure another moral victory for ye to celebrate I suppose.

Browney7

calvin_zola wrote: »

Hon Limerick, just couldn't finish it off....AGAIN!!!

I have to give it to ye, ye're never beat like, ye're like a big tinker at a fair, you'd keep hitting him but he'd keep getting back up at ya even when hes beaten

Ah sure another moral victory for ye to celebrate I suppose.

Must not feed troll....... Must resist. Ah feck it I'll throw you a few bones Calvin Zola. You'd only be upset if I didn't.

It's a pity you can't celebrate your own teams successes. It's funny, the baby deise were 12 points up at one stage were they not and then went two points behind? I don't think anyone that posts in here would have gone gloating onto the Deise thread had Limerick held out. Credit to Waterford they went and got their draw and were the fitter team in extra time.

I actually laugh at your posts. You have a strange hatred of Limerick for some reason. Did Limerick leave you traumatised after poor aul Waterford shat their pants in 2007 in Croke Park when big bad Limerick took away your all Ireland final.

Or was it in 2001 when Waterford played the best half of hurling in a Munster semi final that I've ever seen only to sh1t their pants yet again when the chance of getting to a Munster final presented itself. (Back then Munster final appearences for Waterford were as rare as hens teeth). Or are you just so blind to your own team's shortcomings on the big day over the last ten years that you feel the need to revel in other team's shortcomings.

Anyway I'm done with you and your posts that resemble a spoilt five year old. Ignore list for you from now on Kid. Best of luck against Tipp;).

calvin_zola

:pac::pac::pac:


Must not feed troll....... Must resist. Ah feck it I'll throw you a few bones Calvin Zola. You'd only be upset if I didn't.

hit me with it

It's a pity you can't celebrate your own teams successes. It's funny, the baby deise were 12 points up at one stage were they not and then went two points behind? I don't think anyone that posts in here would have gone gloating onto the Deise thread had Limerick held out. Credit to Waterford they went and got their draw and were the fitter team in extra time.

probably wouldn't have paid any attention to it if they did gloat, admitted Limerick had a 14 point swing, but Waterford won so I don't particularly care about Limericks little purple patch

I actually laugh at your posts.
[I laugh at you
You have a strange hatred of Limerick for some reason. Did Limerick leave you traumatised after poor aul Waterford shat their pants in 2007 in Croke Park when big bad Limerick took away your all Ireland final.
an excellent performance from a spirited team which resulted in usual heartache for Waterford, nobody was traumatized, our skins are thick down here boi

Or was it in 2001 when Waterford played the best half of hurling in a Munster semi final that I've ever seen only to sh1t their pants yet again when the chance of getting to a Munster final presented itself. (Back then Munster final appearences for Waterford were as rare as hens teeth). Or are you just so blind to your own team's shortcomings on the big day over the last ten years that you feel the need to revel in other team's shortcomings.
jaysis is that 10 years ago, had forgotten about that, must dust off the old vcr and have a look at that some night again, id probably get a copy of it in limerick would I, ye seem to still hang on it

Anyway I'm done with you and your posts that resemble a spoilt five year old. Ignore list for you from now on Kid.

Best of luck against Tipp;).
Cheers Buddy

Browney7

Hasn't been a post in here for a while. Doubt the footballers will do the business on Saturday without the two boys but I'll go in anyway and have a look at it. We can still trouble Offaly with Collins and co but hard to see a Limerick win.

grenache

Browney7 wrote: »

Hasn't been a post in here for a while. Doubt the footballers will do the business on Saturday without the two boys but I'll go in anyway and have a look at it. We can still trouble Offaly with Collins and co but hard to see a Limerick win.

We'll probably do it. The footballers have a habit of winning when nobody expects it (obviously not against the bigger teams).

dtmc

Anybody know if 95fm are covering both matches?

Browney7

I'd be amazed and disappointed if they weren't to be honest.

dtmc

Just checked their website there and will be covering both!

Browney7

Thrilled with the win. Ryano with 1 7 of the 3 13. Not our best performance and hopefully with lucey plus razor we can improve.

grenache

Ment to post in here at half time. Very impressive from the lads, the work rate and tenacity was a totally different level compared to Kerry game last month. The off the ball running from, from stephen kelly in particular, was much more evident today. For once our full forward line looked menacing with every attack. I'm glad for Ian because he has received a fair amount of criticism over the last couple of years, some would say deserved. He had that bit of confidence back today and was prepared to kick from anywhere. The early goal did him the world of good. Ger Collins and seamus o carroll deserve special mention too, Collins is our most natural forward and he showed it today, always dangerous and in front of his man. O carroll looks a great prospect, 2 goals in 2 games. Great athleticism too, easily known he's a champion handballer. Midfield showed up today, Tom Lee was a collosus. Came to the fore at the end when the game was still in the balance. Stephen Lavin did a reasonable marking job on their danger man McNamee. It was great to be able to call on Tommy Stack to come back into the panel and fill the full back berth. His presence settled the likes of shane gallagher and riordan and offaly never really looked like scoring a goal. They also hit a world of wides. Though offaly were poor at times, it shouldn't take from a great team performance - especially without 5 key men. Bigger challenges lie ahead, but hopefully this will give them a good confidence boost.

Browney7

grenache wrote: »

Ment to post in here at half time. Very impressive from the lads, the work rate and tenacity was a totally different level compared to Kerry game last month. The off the ball running from, from stephen kelly in particular, was much more evident today. For once our full forward line looked menacing with every attack. I'm glad for Ian because he has received a fair amount of criticism over the last couple of years, some would say deserved. He had that bit of confidence back today and was prepared to kick from anywhere. The early goal did him the world of good. Ger Collins and seamus o carroll deserve special mention too, Collins is our most natural forward and he showed it today, always dangerous and in front of his man. O carroll looks a great prospect, 2 goals in 2 games. Great athleticism too, easily known he's a champion handballer. Midfield showed up today, Tom Lee was a collosus. Came to the fore at the end when the game was still in the balance. Stephen Lavin did a reasonable marking job on their danger man McNamee. It was great to be able to call on Tommy Stack to come back into the panel and fill the full back berth. His presence settled the likes of shane gallagher and riordan and offaly never really looked like scoring a goal. They also hit a world of wides. Though offaly were poor at times, it shouldn't take from a great team performance - especially without 5 key men. Bigger challenges lie ahead, but hopefully this will give them a good confidence boost.

Did you head in for it Grenache? Great to get a win. Thought we were in trouble in the second half when Biffos got it back to 2 and midfield was struggling to win any ball. Then we got a lucky break and got a goal and twas as good as game over. 6 goals in 2 games is good going. of the 3 13 today a fair bit of it came from play. I can only recall 2 frees but could be wrong.

Shane Gallagher looked in trouble. Was turned a good few times. Could we have been costly. If we get another home draw it would be fantastic but will wait and see. Ryan stepped up big time today. Thought Seanie Buckley stood out when we were in the most trouble. A good game of football.

AbsentPonderer

Hopefully now they'll build a bit of confidence and get a run going, unlike other years where one good performance will be followed up with a bit of a flop...
Nice win for the hurlers, a very slow start though! Wasn't at it now, but according to the radio took them awhile to settle.. Won't do against Dublin!

Browney7

So the Deise await in the next round next saturday in the gaelic grounds. It will be a close one no doubt about it. Both teams will think they have a great chance.

It's nice to see Limerick getting a bit of luck in the draw for once. Having to beat the two best teams in the country just to win the province every year is tough enough so to get the perceived weakest team is a welcome relief. I wouldn't underestimate Waterford. Hurney is a very good player capable of hurting us. They had a good win yesterday as did we. Home advantage should swing it for us though hopefully. A game agaisnt Wexford would be a huge incentive for the lads because there is a great opportunity of a game in Croke park for them if they want it.

Yeah the hurlers were in a tough game last night up until Stewart got sent off and even then we were only four points up for a good bit of the second half. Scoreline flattered us.

Hard to know where we are now though in the grand scheme of things after Waterford's dusting today. We made them look good the last day. We won't fear the Dubs but they will want revenge over us after they effectively beat themselves against us 2 years ago although the team were in the process of plotting a coup so hard to know what to take from that encounter.

AbsentPonderer

Browney7 wrote: »

Hard to know where we are now though in the grand scheme of things after Waterford's dusting today.

True, but at the same time, Tipp are operating at a level that is just on a complete parallel to ours and at this stage, most of the country, bar Kilkenny(probably)!

We are definitely deserving of our last 6 place anyway, and the Dublin match should be very interesting!

ReacherCreature

AbsentPonderer wrote: »

True, but at the same time, Tipp are operating at a level that is just on a complete parallel to ours and at this stage, most of the country, bar Kilkenny(probably)!

I'm confused. Do you mean they're on the same level or that they're above everyone else? I'll take it you mean the latter.

We are definitely deserving of our last 6 place anyway, and the Dublin match should be very interesting!

Interesting is correct. I'm pained though - over who to shout for. I like Limerick's style of play and they've got some great players, but I like Dublin too, they've come on enormously. It'll be a great game to watch.

grenache

Browney7 wrote: »

Did you head in for it Grenache? Great to get a win. Thought we were in trouble in the second half when Biffos got it back to 2 and midfield was struggling to win any ball. Then we got a lucky break and got a goal and twas as good as game over. 6 goals in 2 games is good going. of the 3 13 today a fair bit of it came from play. I can only recall 2 frees but could be wrong.

Shane Gallagher looked in trouble. Was turned a good few times. Could we have been costly. If we get another home draw it would be fantastic but will wait and see. Ryan stepped up big time today. Thought Seanie Buckley stood out when we were in the most trouble. A good game of football.

Yes i attended. I forgot to mention Buckley, he was excellent throughout, my MOM would be Stephen Kelly, he carried some amount of ball and was always there in support of a team-mate when needed. Seamus O'Carroll looks very promising, i have to say. I think we scored 3-9 from play? We got a good draw today but i'd certainly not underestimate Waterford. They went to Ruislip and beat a handy London side when everyone was writing off their chances. And of course they beat us in the league in February, so we are well warned of the danger of going in over-confident. That said, if we don't win, i'll be a little bit surprised.

*One thing i do not understand is today's match report in the Independent. It says "Limerick caused a huge upset when they dumped Offaly out of the championship yesterday" - now i know we were missing our first choice midfield and the two hurlers, but seriously, a huge shock?? It was Offaly we were playing, not Kerry! It's probably a good thing that the media writ us off though!

ReacherCreature wrote: »

Interesting is correct. I'm pained though - over who to shout for. I like Limerick's style of play and they've got some great players, but I like Dublin too, they've come on enormously. It'll be a great game to watch.

Luke you know there is only one county you can support in this game

Browney7

Grenache you asked in another thread why you think I don't think we will beat Dublin.

First things first I am an eternal pessimist when it comes to any Limerick team and I never expect them to win games they should. I suppose I've seen them lose so many games down through the years I've now come to expect a loss.

I'm personally not a fan of the game they are trying to implement. I've no problem with a player taking his four steps to get out of trouble and maybe going on a small run and laying it off to a team mate in a better spot to deliver a good low ball into the forwards. There's times when Limerick players have Oceans of space in midfield and needlessy take the ball into contact.

We don't have a full back. Hickey is a super hurler and is a future Limerick centre back but he is not a full back.

The Waterford game has now evaporated any confidence I might have had. Waterford played some dreadful hurling in the semi final and we had the game won yet we still couldn't close it out. The old Limerick failings are still alive and well.

To be honest even if we were to lose it wouldnt have been a bad year. Promotion from division 2 and hurling in late July. That's a degree of progress. I'm just a bit skeptical of us if I'm being honest. All this talk of O'Grady being the messiah doesn't sit well with me. He took over a team that had a lot to prove to both themselves and the Limerick public. If they didn't deliver against Clare in the league final or Waterford in Munster he would have got no blame. Instead the players would have taken the flak. To be honest they were always going to run the Deise close. Limerick teams never have a fear of Waterford and most of the starting fifteen hadn't played championship hurling since Black sunday agaisnt Tipp when we shipped 6-19. I'll say one thing about O'Grady though. He's brought a sense of professionalism to the whole set up and a lot of the guys hurling has improved a ton.

Donal O'Grady has hurled out of his skin the last few games and Tom Condon has impressed me no end in the full back line. Add in Downes delivering and Deccie Hannon not being phased by the step up to senior hurling and there are some great signs for the future.

Our subs bench is something that worries me however. The sight of Donie Ryan coming on for the last ten minutes against Wexford would suggest that the management haven't much faith in the lads on the bench.

I wouldn't be surprised if we beat Dublin but I wouldn't be surprised if we lost eitehr. They have a lot to prove and they will be eyeing a last four spot no question about it.

ReacherCreature

Luke you know there is only one county you can support in this game

It's all about the full appreciation!

AbsentPonderer

ReacherCreature wrote: »

I'm confused. Do you mean they're on the same level or that they're above everyone else? I'll take it you mean the latter.

Oh the latter, very much so indeed!!!

Fireball07

Been away for the last 2 and a half weeks and they've been some good ones for Limerick GAA.

Not surprised that they beat Offaly in the football, I did think they'd win that...I was just worried whether they'd be able to hold Niall McNamee. We did everything wrong against Kerry and I thought (hoped) that that was a once-off awful performance and that we hadn't collapsed without Galvin. Great to see Ian Ryan score 1-7, he hasn't produced that kind of performance in ages and we know he's capable of it. Collins and Kelly have proved their quality over the years and Tom Lee is a great addition to the team.

Did Tommy Stack really play??


As for the hurlers, 2 great results. I thought the Wexford game would be much closer. Hannon hitting the Championship with form is a huge boost and hugely improves the forward line + Mulcahy and Tobin showing some of their true potential too. One worry is the lack of ball Downes seemed to get. Didn't see or hear the game live but I've talked to people about it and he didn't seem to get much service. The man is dynamite, pure class and if he gets the ball he will score. That point he scored against Wexford was sheer brilliance and he's almost impossible to mark.

Obviously Dublin will be a different test again, but this Championship is shaping up very similar to 2009. I think we could definitely beat Dublin. O'Grady is a very good tactician and hopefully he realises we'll need to get the best out of Downes to beat Dublin. Hannon obviously needs to produce too but I think he will anyway....but ball needs to be directed to Downes.

The only thing is if we do beat Dublin (which I think he might just do), I can't see us having any hope against Tipp or Kilkenny. 2009, to me, wasn't as much of a disaster as people made out. Obviously we capitulated in the semi-final but Tipp were very very good and exploited our weaknesses. And I think they're better now and could do something similar, we don't have the strongest full-back line in the world. I'd hope we wouldn't get hammered if we did get through but I could see us conceding goals and getting cleaned out in our half-forward line. Against either Tipp or Kilkenny.

But the Dublin game should be a cracker.

Footballers prospects in the qualifiers- I think we can definitely beat Waterford. If we can get good ball into Collins and Ryan, and Stephen Kelly is on form then we should win because over the past couple of years we have been better than Waterford. Wexford.....are very very good. But they are beatable, we beat them in the league. We had Galvin then and they mightn't have been on the top of their game but it shows that we can get a result against them. If we do beat Waterford, it will be 2 wins in a row, they'll have a bit of a break and maybe our momentum could swing it our way. Wexford will be huge favourites (assuming we do beat Waterford which will be tough) but I'd love to get to an All-Ireland quarter-final just once with this group of players. It's possible...the draw could have been a lot worse.

Browney7

Yeah Fireball it was a good day for the footballers on Saturday. Yeah Tommy Stack played and to be honest I thought he did well. Looked assured on the ball and I can't remember him doing anything wrong.

Shane Gallagher needs to improve big time. After the Kerry game I feared the lads weren't playing well because of the manager. We started well but we got goals at crucial times. Offaly only had the one goal chance and we had about 6 and took 3 of them. Steven Kelly butchered one chance and there was one that came back off the post which we should have taken. Ian Ryan's performance was brilliant. He played a fantastic pass across the box for our second goal. It was eye of the needle stuff. He had lost control of the ball for his first goal but he swung his foot at it and it went into the top corner. It was just what he needed. Hopefully it will help to spur him on for the next day.

In the second half Offaly came back at us and we dropped a lot of men back behind the ball. Offalys shooting was poor to say the least. They got on top in midfield and it seemed like they were winning everything and I thought our lads were looking tired but we got a lucky break and Collins sneaked it home to put us five up. It was game over then. It's the bit of luck we've been due for the last few years.

As for the hurlers, after watching Dublin under 21's tonight I'm not confident. Dublin dropped a man back behind the half back line once they got ahead and basically said to Wexford put it over the ball if you're good enough. Wexford pucked ball after ball to the loose man. If Dublin do this it would shut down the Downes threat and I don't think we are accurate enough from out the field but it could be just the game to suit Hannon. I don't like putting too much faith in a lad so young but he's pure class.

Also Dublin are big strong athletes who are solid under the high ball and are tough to push off it. If they can get on top in their half back line I fear we are toast. I think our forwards are a bit too small ie Mulcahy and Tobin. Paul Browne out in midfield if he plays might be a bit too small too.

I think O'Grady has played it cleverly saying in public after the Antrim game that he feels we are slipping back into our old habits and that we haven't advanced as much as he thought. Could be good management on his part. I fear for us with Hickey at full back. He's a very good hurler but he's not a full back. I'd be delighted if he proved me wrong though.

Fireball07

Browney7 wrote: »

Yeah Fireball it was a good day for the footballers on Saturday. Yeah Tommy Stack played and to be honest I thought he did well. Looked assured on the ball and I can't remember him doing anything wrong.

Shane Gallagher needs to improve big time. After the Kerry game I feared the lads weren't playing well because of the manager. We started well but we got goals at crucial times. Offaly only had the one goal chance and we had about 6 and took 3 of them. Steven Kelly butchered one chance and there was one that came back off the post which we should have taken. Ian Ryan's performance was brilliant. He played a fantastic pass across the box for our second goal. It was eye of the needle stuff. He had lost control of the ball for his first goal but he swung his foot at it and it went into the top corner. It was just what he needed. Hopefully it will help to spur him on for the next day.

In the second half Offaly came back at us and we dropped a lot of men back behind the ball. Offalys shooting was poor to say the least. They got on top in midfield and it seemed like they were winning everything and I thought our lads were looking tired but we got a lucky break and Collins sneaked it home to put us five up. It was game over then. It's the bit of luck we've been due for the last few years.

As for the hurlers, after watching Dublin under 21's tonight I'm not confident. Dublin dropped a man back behind the half back line once they got ahead and basically said to Wexford put it over the ball if you're good enough. Wexford pucked ball after ball to the loose man. If Dublin do this it would shut down the Downes threat and I don't think we are accurate enough from out the field but it could be just the game to suit Hannon. I don't like putting too much faith in a lad so young but he's pure class.

Also Dublin are big strong athletes who are solid under the high ball and are tough to push off it. If they can get on top in their half back line I fear we are toast. I think our forwards are a bit too small ie Mulcahy and Tobin. Paul Browne out in midfield if he plays might be a bit too small too.

I think O'Grady has played it cleverly saying in public after the Antrim game that he feels we are slipping back into our old habits and that we haven't advanced as much as he thought. Could be good management on his part. I fear for us with Hickey at full back. He's a very good hurler but he's not a full back. I'd be delighted if he proved me wrong though.

I see what you're saying about the hurlers but I think if there's one thing that O'Grady brings it's tactical nous. I can't see us hitting ball into a free man. The whole short hand-passing game comes with pretty accurate balls into the full-forward line. We're not going to throw the ball away anyway.

I think our half-back line has the beating of their half-forward line at the same time. And I agree about Hickey, I'd much prefer him out around midfield/half-back line but I don't think O'Mahoney or Lucey or any better at full-back either.

grenache

Fireball07 wrote: »

I see what you're saying about the hurlers but I think if there's one thing that O'Grady brings it's tactical nous. I can't see us hitting ball into a free man. The whole short hand-passing game comes with pretty accurate balls into the full-forward line. We're not going to throw the ball away anyway.

I think our half-back line has the beating of their half-forward line at the same time. And I agree about Hickey, I'd much prefer him out around midfield/half-back line but I don't think O'Mahoney or Lucey or any better at full-back either.

I would be inclined to disagree with you there. While i'm not a huge fan of Lucey, and his inclination to do silly things on the ball, there's no doubt that he is the best option at full back. He's certainly capable of stopping Dublin's No 14 Paul Ryan from fielding the ball. Lucey is strong and difficult to knock off the ball. Why Seamus Hickey is still full back i'm not sure, Lucey should be nearing full fitness at this stage. Hickey's love for wandering up the field on these foraging runs is seriously worrying me. Like others have said, he's a great hurler but certainly not a full back, he's not capable of spoiling like Lucey can and prefers to hurl clean ball.

Dublin seem to be well able to field ball, with Keaney, Rushe and McCrabbe particularly good under a high ball. So i think O'Grady will tell his team to batt the ball down and make sure they compete well for the breaking ball. This is the only way of stemming Dublin's aerial threat. We won around 70% of the breaks against Wexford, guys like James Ryan and Paul Browne mopped up a fierce amount of ball.

I must admit to really liking the game O'Grady has them playing at the moment. Unlike previous managers there now actually seems to be on-field plan in place!! Yes Downes certainly needs more direct ball, but i feel we are starting to do this short-passing game justice, it's very hard for the opposition to counteract this tactic as there is always a spare man running off the shoulder. We've been hitting long balls into big full forwards for the last 38 years and what have we to show for it! Downes is well capable of fielding low as well as high ball, his first time control is second to none, so i believe we need to mix it up a bit. Instead of just bombarding him with high balls, giving Peter Kelly a chance to challenge him, lets work the ball up the field and throw him in a nice low ball - if you look at his two goals against Waterford, both came from accurate low balls.