Waterford put us under a lot more pressure

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Limerick coach John Kiely admitted that Waterford had given his team the toughest test to date in a Munster final which Treaty County ultimately won by four points.

The Irish champions and favorites had led by three points at halftime, but Waterford equalized at the restart and even led briefly before Limerick sealed a 0-25-0-21 win, considerably tighter than their margins of victory over Clare (13 points) and Tipperary (9).

“It was a very, very tough match,” Kiely told RTÉ Sport. “There was only a one-ball puck at the end.

“There was a lot of nonsense about the game odds, it was ridiculous.

“Waterford is a really well organized and very well prepared team and they have been in great shape all year. We are not in the least bit surprised by the challenge they posed to us today.

Limerick hit eight widths in the second half compared to one in the first as Déise upped the ante after the restart.

“We were probably under a lot more pressure,” Kiely said. “When they put you under pressure like that, you are going to make mistakes.

“We made driving mistakes today too. We just didn’t go into our flow like we normally would and that’s all Waterford’s credit for disrupting our game.”

Kiely has led Limerick to their first consecutive provincial success since 1981, but their attention immediately turned to atoning for last year’s Irish semi-final loss to Kilkenny, whom they could not face until the final.

“We are delighted,” he said of today’s victory. “The Munster Championship is a really special competition and usually a very special occasion as well.

“Unfortunately it may not be the occasion that it normally is today, but for us it is a fantastic achievement to have won two Munster championships now.”

“We won it the hard way, three games, so all the boys’ credit is that they have worked very hard.

“We are in the semifinals and we want to go one step further than last year at least.

“We were really disappointed and hurt after last year’s semi-final loss. We have worked very hard to get to where we are now. Hopefully we can move on and perform better this time.”

Liam Cahill is in his first year in charge of Waterford

Waterford bainisteoir Liam Cahill said he was “very proud” of his players, but admitted that they lost momentum at the end, having entered the second water break level (53rd minute) with 0-18 apiece.

“I thought they were well behaved,” he said of his team.

“Having said that, we were still a bit far from where I would have liked us to be.

“Against rivals like Limerick, you just have to get everything right or you will end up on the wrong side like we did.

“The second water break in particular came at the wrong time for us. It seemed like we were picking up a bit of momentum.

“But we’ve talked about this and we’ve always been mindful of starting after the water break. It’s the same for everyone, so we’re not going there for excuses.

“Whether or not we need them (in November), I don’t really know, but now they are there.”

Waterford must now regroup for the All-Ireland quarterfinals in Munster against Tipperary or Clare next weekend.

“We go into the draw tomorrow morning (live on Morning Ireland at 8.35am) and it’s Clare or Tipperary,” Cahill said.

“You can see the ferocity of the games over the weekend.

“It’s not easy at all now, so we just have to dust ourselves off, roll up our sleeves and start over.”



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