This Limerick expect more than brave defeat

Munster SFC Final: Limerick v Kerry, Gaelic Grounds, tomorrow, 4.15: Stand back to look at tomorrow's Munster football final and you will get a better picture of what's at stake, writes Ian O'Riordan.

It's a game surrounded by history, with Limerick attempting to win their first Munster senior title since 1896 - and only their second ever - and Kerry trying to sustain a winning streak over their neighbours that extends as far back.

Manager Liam Kearns was this week confronted with the notion that it was "now or never" for Limerick to win a Munster title and he partly agreed. Yes, it was time they won it, he conceded, but the team were still young enough to come back next year or the year after should they fail on home ground tomorrow. That did little to dilute the high level of expectation in the county.

In assessing their chances, last year's Munster final meeting between the sides is still most relevant. Limerick lost by five points that day, after conceding an early goal, and missed some of their best chances later in the game. But they'll have learnt a lot from the experience. An excellent league run in Division One has reinforced their confidence.

Now comes the ultimate test of their progress. The team is well settled, with Jason Stokes returning to the half-forward line, and Stephen Lavin and Stephen Kelly also starting as further changes from the facile semi-final win over Waterford. The forwards have shown they can score, notching up 16 points against Tipperary in the quarter-final.

But it's the Limerick defence that will play an even greater role tomorrow. Kerry are without injured centre forward Declan O'Sullivan, arguably their most influential forward this season, but the two corner forwards, Colm Cooper and Mike Frank Russell, can still do untold damage. If they get on top Limerick will be in trouble.

It's been said that Séamus Moynihan's absence takes 10 per cent out of the Kerry team, and clearly his loss will have an unsettling effect. But Marc Ó Sé is a more mature player now than ever and Moynihan is almost certain to come off the bench if Kerry are struggling. The O'Sullivan and Moynihan injuries are not insurmountable setbacks for Kerry.

Paul Galvin is no slouch as a forward either, and Dara Ó Cinnéide hasn't been given the starting position at full forward out of sympathy. He's demonstrated all his old fire-power at recent training sessions and again has a more than capable deputy in Johnny Crowley if that form fails to translate into the match situation.

Still the confidence around Kerry is far from sky high. With home support and the concomitant familiarity with their surroundings, Limerick can't ask for a better occasion to win their third Munster title.

They're bound to put up a cracking challenge to Kerry and it's a game that won't be easily decided either way.

When all is said and done Kerry should still have the resolve to win. They've proven themselves a more adaptable team under Jack O'Connor's management and can wrap up Munster title number 69. It just mightn't be as easy as most other encounters with Limerick.

THE TEAMS

KERRY (SF v Limerick): D Murphy; T O'Sullivan, M McCarthy, A O'Mahony; T Ó Sé, E Fitzmaurice, M Ó Sé; D Ó Sé, W Kirby; L Hassett, E Brosnan, P Galvin; C Cooper, D Ó Cinnéide, MF Russell.

LIMERICK (SF v Kerry): S O'Donnell; M O'Riordan, J McCarthy, T Stack; C Mullane, S Lucey, S Lavin; J Quane, J Galvin; S Kelly, M Gavin, J Stokes; C Fitzgerald, O Keating, M O'Brien.