VICTORIOUS LIMERICK BOSS John Kiely hailed the “phenomenal” second-half performance that paved the way to the Treaty’s four-in-a-row glory.
And he revealed that Limerick chose to play against the wind in the first half so that they could hold that advantage in reserve for a grandstand finale.
It proved decisive as Limerick outscored Kilkenny by 0-21 to 1-6 in the second period, turning a three-point deficit at the break into a nine-point victory after an utterly complete 35 minutes of hurling.
“It was a phenomenal second half, there’s no two ways about it,” a jubilant Kiely said afterwards. “We dominated apart from [Paddy Deegan's] goal.”
He added: “We’ve had a really strong third quarter as I’ve said all season and it’s amazing the way you take confidence from that.
“We deliberately played into the Hill today to take on that breeze in the first half. We wanted to face that onslaught. We wanted to absorb it. We wanted to feel it. We wanted to fight it and take it on.
“It was difficult, it was very difficult, but the prize was to be able to take on those shots in the second half. There was some incredible scores taken. Even with the breeze, even with the distance, they were still fantastic scores that the lads picked off.”
Kiely saluted stand-in captain Cian Lynch, who led by example as he deputised for the injured Declan Hannon.
Lynch, who missed a large chunk of the season through his own injuries, orchestrated Limerick’s rally at the end of the first half, scoring one point, winning a free for another, and setting up two more.
“To fill Declan Hannon’s shoes is no mean feat,” Kiely said.
“I thought Cian has been a really great vice-captain, with Declan if you like. The two of them work extremely well together off the pitch and on the pitch, but off the pitch as captains, they do an awful lot of work behind the scenes. They really do look after the group, they’re very much in tune with the group, they’re really really on point. If you need to find out what’s going on in the group, they’re the two boys that you will get the information from.
“It’s still difficult for Cian coming out of the season that he’s had, not being able to be involved for much of the season because of injury and trying to get him right, and himself struggling with that and finding it difficult.
“To play in the semi-final was a huge piece for him. Having the four weeks to come into it and get ready for it was massive for him.
“I think he just stepped up, you know. Cian just stepped up. Even on the train this morning coming up, the way he was getting around to all the tables on the train and meeting all the lads, he just led it and he was very comfortable leading it. That’s a really special piece for us to have at our disposal when Declan was out.
“I’m thrilled for Cian. I was so, so thrilled to see him lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup. He’s a really phenomenal player, he’s a great leader, and I was so thrilled to see him up there and see Declan up there with him as well.”
Kiely’s team now join a very short list of hurling four-in-row winners, in exalted company along with the Cork team of 1941-44 and the Kilkenny team of 2006-2009.
“I really wanted this for the lads,” he said afterwards. “I really wanted this for the lads.
“They are an incredible bunch, they have worked so hard together, and there’s never ever a night at training where these boys don’t deliver everything they had in the tank, and I just felt I wanted this for them.
“I really, really wanted them to achieve this one. You never know when you are going to get the chances again. You never get a chance like that anyway for certain.”
