SEEING TWO RED cards brandished at team-mates is not an ideal start to the second half of an All-Ireland semi-final but it proved the springboard for Na Piarsaigh to succeed in unlikely circumstances on Saturday.
The 2016 kingpins booked their place in the St Patrick’s Day decider with captain Cathal King outlining their reaction to the sending-offs of Conor Boylan and Thomas Grimes against Slaughtneil.
“We didn’t really keep the heads as such. We were incensed that the two lads were sent-off. I haven’t seen the footage or anything, I didn’t see what happened.
“But we were pretty angry with what happened and we just brought that into hurling, we brought more physicality. We got on top of them as much as possible. We didn’t let them do a thing in the backs and then the forwards just worked like I’ve never seen before considering they were outnumbered. We just ground it out and worked as hard as we could after those red cards.”
Both Grimes and Boylan won All-Ireland U21 medals with Limerick last September before playing vital roles in Na Piarsaigh’s county and provincial winning campaigns.
Conor Boylan (right) pictured in action for Na Piarsaigh against Slaughtneil on Saturday. Oisin Keniry / INPHO
Oisin Keniry / INPHO / INPHO
“(I) didn’t see them properly at all and I don’t think they were seen on TV either,” remarked Na Piarsaigh boss Shane O’Neill.
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“The boys are very upset. So (I) don’t know exactly at the moment. One (red card) might (get you going), two is just ridiculous. I wasn’t concerned with the one but with the second I was very worried.
“Normally our discipline is very good, in our four years we’ve only had one red. We said as a management we expected to use 19 or 20 today, we said it to the panel during the week and it showed. We’ve a really good panel. The guys that came in were ready to go.
” It comes back to leadership and work rate and composure. The backs, Mike Casey was just phenomenal, but the whole backs worked really hard (and) didn’t give them any possession. The forwards just didn’t allow them to settle so they couldn’t hit proper ball down.”
Na Piarsaigh’s manager and captain both played in the club’s maiden All-Ireland semi-final in 2012. The memories of that loss to Loughgiel Shamrocks came flooding back during a lethargic opening from Na Piarsaigh.
Cathal King pictured in action for Na Piarsaigh in the 2012 All-Ireland club semi-final against Loughgiel Shamrocks. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
“It was looking very much like Loughgiel all over again up here in Parnell Park after the first half,” admitted King.
“They worked harder than us and they were far more physical than us. It’s satisfying in one way and kind of disappointing in another way that again we kind of failed to get going from the start.
“So just thankfully we’re going to Croke Park and we’re delighted for it.”
“It’s gone through my head for the last 12 weeks,” outlined O’Neill.
“Semi-finals are awful to lose anywhere but when you’re going back in, we haven’t been here since. Maybe there was a bit of haunting with us there at half-time.
“We don’t make it easy. We were just so poor in the first half. It was probably the most frustrated I’ve been because we didn’t play at all. We didn’t need stats to see it. We were getting pulverised.
“I thought our second-half performance was just outstanding.”
The input of Ronan Lynch was a shining feature of Na Piarsaigh’s win as he contributed 0-14 to their eventual 3-15 tally.
0-11 of Ronan Lynch's tally on Saturday came from placed balls. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
“When you’re playing Munster club and All-Ireland, free-taking is just so important,” said O’Neill.
“If you’ve a poor free-taker you won’t win games. He got 14 or 15 points there, most of them from frees. He’s been great. He’s an inter-county free-taker, so he’s expected to get them.”
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'We were pretty angry with what happened and we just brought that into hurling'
SEEING TWO RED cards brandished at team-mates is not an ideal start to the second half of an All-Ireland semi-final but it proved the springboard for Na Piarsaigh to succeed in unlikely circumstances on Saturday.
The 2016 kingpins booked their place in the St Patrick’s Day decider with captain Cathal King outlining their reaction to the sending-offs of Conor Boylan and Thomas Grimes against Slaughtneil.
“We didn’t really keep the heads as such. We were incensed that the two lads were sent-off. I haven’t seen the footage or anything, I didn’t see what happened.
“But we were pretty angry with what happened and we just brought that into hurling, we brought more physicality. We got on top of them as much as possible. We didn’t let them do a thing in the backs and then the forwards just worked like I’ve never seen before considering they were outnumbered. We just ground it out and worked as hard as we could after those red cards.”
Both Grimes and Boylan won All-Ireland U21 medals with Limerick last September before playing vital roles in Na Piarsaigh’s county and provincial winning campaigns.
“(I) didn’t see them properly at all and I don’t think they were seen on TV either,” remarked Na Piarsaigh boss Shane O’Neill.
“The boys are very upset. So (I) don’t know exactly at the moment. One (red card) might (get you going), two is just ridiculous. I wasn’t concerned with the one but with the second I was very worried.
“Normally our discipline is very good, in our four years we’ve only had one red. We said as a management we expected to use 19 or 20 today, we said it to the panel during the week and it showed. We’ve a really good panel. The guys that came in were ready to go.
” It comes back to leadership and work rate and composure. The backs, Mike Casey was just phenomenal, but the whole backs worked really hard (and) didn’t give them any possession. The forwards just didn’t allow them to settle so they couldn’t hit proper ball down.”
Na Piarsaigh’s manager and captain both played in the club’s maiden All-Ireland semi-final in 2012. The memories of that loss to Loughgiel Shamrocks came flooding back during a lethargic opening from Na Piarsaigh.
“It was looking very much like Loughgiel all over again up here in Parnell Park after the first half,” admitted King.
“They worked harder than us and they were far more physical than us. It’s satisfying in one way and kind of disappointing in another way that again we kind of failed to get going from the start.
“So just thankfully we’re going to Croke Park and we’re delighted for it.”
“It’s gone through my head for the last 12 weeks,” outlined O’Neill.
“Semi-finals are awful to lose anywhere but when you’re going back in, we haven’t been here since. Maybe there was a bit of haunting with us there at half-time.
“We don’t make it easy. We were just so poor in the first half. It was probably the most frustrated I’ve been because we didn’t play at all. We didn’t need stats to see it. We were getting pulverised.
“I thought our second-half performance was just outstanding.”
The input of Ronan Lynch was a shining feature of Na Piarsaigh’s win as he contributed 0-14 to their eventual 3-15 tally.
“When you’re playing Munster club and All-Ireland, free-taking is just so important,” said O’Neill.
“If you’ve a poor free-taker you won’t win games. He got 14 or 15 points there, most of them from frees. He’s been great. He’s an inter-county free-taker, so he’s expected to get them.”
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13 Men Win Hurling Na Piarsaigh Limerick