John Kiely devastated for 'incredible talent' Peter Casey
Peter Casey of Limerick scores a goal, which was subsequently disallowed, despite the best efforts of Willie Connors of Tipperary. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
John Kiely was delighted with how Limerick applied coach Paul Kinnerk's work-ons to turn in a much improved showing in the 15-point win over Tipperary. But the Limerick manager wasn’t sure his side had enough on the board at the end of a first half that saw them lead by five.
“It was really tight for the first 25 minutes or so,” said Kiely after the game. They (Tipperary) weren’t threatening massively from play. It was only frees. That gave us a little bit of comfort.
“Obviously, we knew we were playing with the breeze and it was freshening right throughout the first half. It became more of a factor than anticipated and meant a bit of a change in approach.
“Last 10 minutes of the first half we managed to get some good, solid possession and create some good solid scoring chances. We went six up, they pulled one in to bring it back to five at hal- time.
“You’re facing into that breeze in the second half. You know the threat that they have. Breaking ball off long puckouts – they are really brilliant at it. Great at making line breaks.
“It was a real watch for us in the second half but I think we dealt with it very well. I think we were solid at the back. We used it as a platform to attack and a base to work the ball in.
“Our energy levels up top were a lot better today. Our accuracy in our pick-ups and even our passing and ball retention were far more accurate. Our tackling was accurate. Our shooting was accurate.
“It was a really good improvement from last week. The boys put a real emphasis themselves on it this week on what they wanted to go after. What they did with Paul (Kinnerk) this week was done on the pitch today.”
The win was somewhat marred by the injury picked up by Peter Casey after he scored Limerick’s second goal in the 54th minute.
Casey was in fine form throughout the contest but was stretchered off and rushed to hospital immediately.
“Devastation for Peter,” said the Limerick manager. Nobody wants to see anybody get injured on any team but he is one of ours. Obviously, it’s a significant injury. We will look after him the very best way that we can.
“We will make sure that he will get the best of treatment. He has come back from a serious injury before and came back very strong. I have no doubt that Peter has the capacity to do that again. We would rather not have to see him do that.
“It hurts. It hurts the group very much to see that it has happened. We will rally around him and give him every assistance that we can. For the group, it’s a case of move on.
“He is an incredible talent. He can do it in the air and do it on the ground. He has a fantastic hurling brain. He has always stacked up with really great plays for us. We look forward to seeing him take to the pitch again down the road.”
