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Conor Lehane and Shane Kingston in action on Saturday night. INPHO

'You just have to stop feeling sorry for yourself' - Cork subs make Munster final mark

Conor Lehane and Shane Kingston starred to help Cork defeat Limerick on Saturday.

PERHAPS THE SIGNS were there 13 days previously.

On an afternoon fraught with tension against Waterford as Cork sought to prolong their hurling summer, Shane Kingston charged off the bench to grab one point, while Conor Lehane flicked over another.

Small moments in brief cameos. Including injury-time Kingston got 13 minutes of action, Lehane got two.

Kingston had come on in the opening round against Clare, playing a role in the levelling free that was awarded for a foul on Ciarán Joyce, but hadn’t featured after that. Lehane’s role was more restricted, the legacy of a shoulder damaged against Limerick in the league in February.

Saturday night was different in every way imaginable. Both came on late in normal time of a breathless Munster final, by the finish they were the chief architects in Cork’s dramatic victory – firing over points, scoring penalties, wreaking attacking havoc.

When Cork needed the moments of scoring magic to keep track of Limerick, they got it from two experienced forwards who have had careers featuring moments to illustrate their attacking brilliance, but sporadic enough to make it a challenge to cement regular starting spots.

Their inconsistency has drawn scrutiny, but on Saturday night it was only plaudits for their extra-time scoring burst.

Kingston floated over off his left in the 78th minute, Lehane wriggled clear of a few challenges to point a minute later, building on the foul he had drawn for a Darragh Fitzgibbon pointed free.

When Lehane’s 83rd minute shot knocked against the upright, Kingston scooped up the rebound before clipping over a score. Robbie O’Flynn tapped a pass back to Lehane to point on 84, before Kingston rifled over Cork’s final point from play of the night in the 87th minute.

A combined 0-5 from play was invaluable in the closing analysis.

Both have endured fluctuating fortunes in Cork jerseys to appreciate a night like that.

“When you win two Munsters, that’s nearly your expectation. But as your career goes on, you realise that these days are to be cherished and you’re very fortunate to be in the position,” remarked Kingston.

“Just the best feeling in the world, especially the way it went, it wasn’t just like a one-sided game, it went down to the wire in the best way possible,” reflected Lehane.

“You’d rather not be in too many of those situations. But when it comes out the better end for you, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

This was a new experience for both in partaking in a penalty shootout. Lehane rocketed home Cork’s first goal with their second penalty, Kingston struck home his to tie the teams at 2-2.

“That was my first one. It was a bad strike too but it went in, so I was lucky,” remarked Kingston.

“I think Pat came up to me and said, ‘Do you want to hit one?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’

“If I wasn’t playing well I probably would have been a bit more hesitant hitting it. But confidence was high at the time. As soon as I knew I was hitting one, I just focused on scoring it.

“I suppose it’s nearly an unforeseen thing that a Munster final would go to penalties but obviously for the spectators that was brilliant.”

shane-kingston-brian-hayes-patrick-horgan-and-shane-barrett-celebrate Cork’s Shane Kingston, Brian Hayes, Patrick Horgan and Shane Barrett celebrate. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

“Hopefully it’s the last I’ll ever do as well,” stated Lehane.

“It was nerve-wracking alright. Nearly got to zone in, hit it as hard as you can and hope for the best.”

Dazzling impacts off the bench are nothing new from Kingston. It was his surging run which resulted in the penalty goal that defeated Limerick last year, previously he fired 0-7 in a stunning display when coming on against Kilkenny in the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final.

“I was actually wearing the same number so it’s becoming a bit of a thing now,” said Kingston, recalling that Croke Park outing four years ago.

“Obviously nobody wants to grow up and not be in the starting 15. The management put out their best team on any given day, so you just have to stop feeling sorry for yourself and focus on getting the best out of yourself if you’re fortunate to be called upon.

“I suppose it’s nothing I’m not used to at this stage. It’s just about coming on and running relentlessly, hoping you get on that ball. For the first five, ten minutes I didn’t touch anything and then I got a ball in from Robbie (O’Flynn) and I just said I’d take it on because the boys were after playing 65, 70 minutes so I knew they’d be tired.”

kyle-hayes-and-shane-kingston Limerick's Kyle Hayes and Shane Kingston of Cork James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

There is a familiar feel for them participating in bigtime Cork-Limerick showdowns. Lehane is one of three Cork playing survivors from the 2013 Munster final loss and one of four still hanging around from the provincial win twelve months after.

In 2018 when Cork completed back-to-back Munster title, both Lehane and Kingston were central characters. In that epic All-Ireland semi-final against Limerick, Lehane weighed in with 1-3 and Kingston supplied 0-2.

Roles changed. Kingston bagged three goals against Limerick across the 2021 and 2022 championships, but saw Cork sustain some desperate beatings, particularly the 2021 final meltdown.

That season Lehane was marked absent from the inter-county game. Cut from the Cork setup, he rehabilitated in guiding Midleton to a county senior title as their captain and scoring maestro.

Lehane notched 0-2 against Limerick in Munster in 2022 when starting, came on as a sub against them in 2023, but hasn’t featured in the past two round-robin meetings with John Kiely’s side. Last season he only played in four of Cork’s eight championship games, starting two and coming on as a late sub in two more.

Persistence has been a necessary quality in coping with the frustration of not playing regularly.

“Sure look that’s the nature of the game,” said the Midleton man.

“You wouldn’t be involved unless you didn’t know that going into it. I have no issue. With the talent that’s there, representing Cork the best way they know how, they’ve done themselves justice numerous times. It’s healthy competition.

“Just try stay as patient as you can and avoid injury if possible. When the chances come, then just be as tuned in as you can and try and make some sort of impact.”

conor-lehane-celebrares-scoring-a-point Cork’s Conor Lehane celebrates scoring a point against Waterford. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

For Lehane there was a personal satisfaction in contributing in such a meaningful way.

“Ah definitely. Sure you want to make a positive impact for everyone and you want to have some sort of impact for yourself.

“In the overall scheme of things, this is where it matters. Just seeing the crowd there and the reaction, it’s just worth everything.”

Kingston felt the work at the coalface on the training ground aided Cork in recovering from the thrashing they suffered against Limerick a few weeks ago.

“Limerick were really at the races that day and they have been over the last number of years. We just kind of hunkered down over the last two or three weeks and trained hard.

“We probably didn’t train hard enough coming into the last game so we just focused on getting the most out of every session and putting ourselves in the best position coming into the final.”

Lehane echoed those thoughts about the necessary graft to remedy mistakes.

“I think it’s just not getting too carried away. It’s your job as a team and a panel to keep the head. If there is an unbelievable win that we had or a horrific loss, you have to go back to the base and just drive on again. You can’t get carried away because if you do, it’ll affect you day to day.

“We chatted about it, dove into it, really discussed what went wrong, or what did we do well as well at the same time that you might dismiss.”

They will watch on now for the next four weeks to see how the All-Ireland series plays out before emerging again on semi-final weekend in early July.

“It’s a long time alright,” remarked Lehane.

“You’d nearly rather be out a bit sooner but it’s the best way to be after winning a cup so couldn’t be happier.”

*****

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