2 days ago
John Kiely: Limerick loss not on penalty-takers
Limerick manager John Kiely said his side's defeat was not on the three players who missed penalties in the shootout as they finally surrendered their Munster crown against Cork at TUS Gaelic Grounds.
Darragh Fitzgibbon's equaliser from a '65 deep in injury-time of extra-time sent the Munster SHC final to a penalty shootout for the first time in history.
After Nickie Quaid had given the defending champions an early advantage in the shootout with a save from Fitzgibbon, misses from Barry Murphy, Tom Morrissey and Declan Hannon saw Cork end Limerick's bid for seven-in-a-row in the province.
It was a first defeat in a final for Kiely's Limerick after 16 final victories in seven years - six Munsters, five All-Irelands, three National Leagues and three Munster Leagues.
"There is no dress rehearsal for this, there is no practicing for this," Kiely said of the shootout afterwards. "It is just put your best foot forward.
"You are taking a shot on behalf of the group, it is not on the lads.
"I thought Declan, Tom, and Barry, manfully, put their hand up to take these penalties.
"As far as we are concerned, it was Limerick senior hurling team that lost this afternoon. It wasn't anything to do with Barry, Tom, or Declan for sure."
As to whether penalties should decide a Munster hurling final, Kiely responded: "I think everybody would agree that it is normal play that a game should be finished.
"Listen these are the rules, these are the procedures, and we have to go with that. Fair play to Cork. They took the penalties when they came around."
Declan Hannon misses his penalty as Cork win the shootout 3-2 to be crowned Munster champions. #rtegaa
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While Kiely praised the performance of the original match referee Thomas Walsh, he did express some bemusement at the amount of injury-time added on in the second half of extra-time.
By that time, Walsh, who reffed the game throughout normal time and the start of extra-time, had to be replaced after suffering from cramp and James Owens took the whistle for the remainder of the contest.
"We felt there was three minutes gone, it is hard to find three minutes of added time in a 10-minute half. There was only one minute in the first-half.
"As I said, we'll have to go back, watch the tape, analyse it, break it down before we formulate a concrete opinion of it. But it was a little difficult to understand.
"I thought Thomas did a great job. It was a pity that he got injured. He did a fantastic job. We have to move on. That is the end of the Munster championship for us."
As for the game itself, Kiely cited Limerick's reduced scoring efficiency from their round robin victory over Cork as a key factor but reiterated his pride in his players after what has been a mammoth, unprecedented run in the province.
"Our efficiency overall wasn't where it was at against Cork the first day. Our efficiency was just a bit down today. We were creating scoring opportunities, but it was a very difficult wind as well. It was a swirling breeze, and hard to score for both teams.
"Cork had 24 scoring chances in the first-half but only 15 scores in the opening half. Their shooting efficiency was low as well.
"We have a great record in extra-time. I thought we played exceptionally well, I thought we were the better team in extra-time.
"I think we created 14 scoring chances to their 8 in extra-time, so I thought we had enough done to win the game in that extra-time period. I think Cork got a really good rub of the green there just in that last piece.
"All told, I have just to be super proud of our fellas for the effort they put in. It was just an incredible effort.
