Fitzgerald praises Limerick players after reaching Tailteann knock-out stages

LIMERICK'S senior footballers booked passage into the knockout stages of the Tailteann Cup with a 1-19 to 0-14 win over Carlow at Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday afternoon last.

Mark Fitzgerald's side need a win over Wicklow in their last group game to guarantee their place in the quarter-finals.
The Limerick manager said his side are exactly in the position he wants them to be following the eight-point victory.

"That's what we want at this stage. Happy to get the win. I wasn't too enthused at half time to be honest from being 0-8 to 0-3 up to eight all at half time.

"We started to get a bit sloppy and make mistakes, which we haven't been doing in the last few games. That obviously gave Carlow some oxygen and they kicked some brilliant scores."

Paul Maher's goal in the second half put Limerick back on their way and they ran out comfortable victors in the end. Fitzgerald opted to bring Iain Corbett on at the break ti sure things up and Limerick immediately reacted. The Limerick manager was pleased that the response was swift on the game's resumption.

"I couldn't have asked for any more," he told reporters. "We got the goal and then tacked on a couple of points. That gave us a bit of distance and killed any bit of momentum they had from the first half. We are very happy with it.

"I think we were close a couple of times in the first half to cutting through but some poor skill execution in the final third let us down. Carlow gave us a right good test for 38 or 39 minutes of the game.

"That's what half time is for. Sometimes just to regroup and get your thoughts back, get a bit of a breather. I thought the lads were brilliant in the second half. We played some good football and are going home happy."

Limerick have a week of a break before they play Wicklow in their final group game. A win over Oisin McConville's side will see them progress into the Tailteann Cup quarter-final automatically.

Whatever fears that people may have had about Limerick's footballers after relegation to Division 3 of the Allianz Football League have been allayed with wins in their first two games.

Fitzgerald puts the two wins so far in the competition down to his players and has praised them for how they have taken to their first participation in the Tailteann Cup.

"They're the ones that do the work," Fitzgerald said of his panel. "It was a rough period for them. From our point of view, it's a brilliant competition.

"Had we been knocked out by Clare, up to this year, you get one game in the qualifiers. If you win, you keep going but it's knockout at that stage.

"You are guaranteed three games. You win one and you are nearly guaranteed a preliminary quarter-final. It's a brilliant competition."