The way Tom Morrissey remembers it, Limerick could easily have wilted.
Still trying to make their way with a team of greenhorns, they led Kilkenny by a point late in their 2018 All-Ireland quarter-final tie in Thurles when Richie Hogan slammed in a goal for the Cats.
Battling defeat looked set to be Limerick’s lot until they suddenly found a gear that few, perhaps even themselves, were sure they had, outscoring Kilkenny by 0-5 to 0-1 in the closing minutes to progress.
One match report suggested that “when we look back on it in years to come, this may go down as a defining victory for John Kiely’s young Limerick side”. A decent call as things turned out.
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Four All-Ireland wins later, they’ve only lost one knockout game in the Championship since, ironically enough against Kilkenny the following year.
“Who knows where we would have been if we didn’t respond in the way we responded and if we maybe ended up losing that game,” said Morrissey of the 2018 encounter ahead of Sunday’s rematch in the Allianz League final.
“We were a young team coming through and hadn’t beaten any of the big guns in a knockout game in a long, long time in the Championship. To do it in the nature that we did it, having led for so long and having went behind and then to pull it back and go ahead again and get the result.
“I suppose the rest of what happened in 2018 is history. Yeah, I think it’s absolutely been a strong reference point and a bearing for where this team went. Winning that game gave this group a huge amount of confidence going forward. It just seemed to bounce us on to another level.”
Morrissey was among the Limerick players that struck crucial late points in that game five years ago. He was also there the following year when Kilkenny gained revenge with a semi-final win at Croke Park. Again, Morrissey looks on that as a landmark afternoon in the overall development of the team.
“I’m sure some people are of the opinion that it could have been the best thing for us,” said Morrissey of the one-point loss in 2019. “After winning the first All-Ireland in 2018, not winning the following year maybe just snapped us back to reality and showed us that we weren’t world beaters.
“We went on to win the league and the Munster title in 2019 and maybe complacency had set in. That [defeat to Kilkenny] maybe just reaffirmed and grounded us that we’re not world beaters and taught us that if we’re not switched on and haven’t got the right attitude on a certain day, we can be beaten. That paid huge dividends for us going forward. It’s definitely a thing that you learn from your mistakes and that was a lesson that we learned. Thankfully I suppose we’ve made good of that lesson.”
Maybe Kilkenny unleashed a beast by winning that game in 2019.
“I’ve heard that being said,” said Kilkenny captain Eoin Cody. “In fairness to Limerick, they bounced back. I remember watching it myself. It was incredible how well Kilkenny performed but Limerick still only lost by a point or two in the end. They obviously haven’t looked back since.
“Whatever wasn’t right for them that day, it hasn’t been seen since. They took it in their stride. Every team is looking at Limerick as the top dogs and everyone is trying to get at them. We have an opportunity now to give them a good go this weekend.”
With all of that history between the teams, and last year’s MacCarthy Cup decider still fresh in the memory too, Morrissey rubbished the suggestion that it doesn’t really matter to Limerick if they win on Sunday, given that their primary goal is retaining the All-Ireland.
“It’s not like we’re wrapping ourselves in cotton wool or minding ourselves for two weeks down the line and the start of the Munster championship,” said Morrissey. “That’s not what this team has ever been about.”
His own strong form in attack – he has played in every game and contributed 0-24 – is part of the reason they’re chasing another title.
“I’m very happy that I’ve got the minutes under my belt,” said Morrissey. “Training is brilliant and of a very high standard and competitive but nothing beats that confidence you get from putting in a good performance in a match going into the summer.”
As for Cody’s form, it has been harder to judge given that he only played three games in the league. Late back after collecting another All-Ireland club title, the forward then tweaked his hamstring in the round-five defeat of Waterford and missed the league semi-final defeat of Cork.
“After a week, a bit of rest, I did a bit of running on it,” said Cody. “I kept off the hurling side of things for the last week and a half and it came back right. Hopefully I’ll be available to the team.”
