John Kiely: Limerick had 'challenging conversation' at half time of league final win

LIMERICK manager John Kiely said his team had a “challenging conversation” at half-time of the Allianz Hurling League final win over Cork, after the ‘Rebels’ reduced a nine point deficit to just three.

With the visitors playing with the aid of the breeze in the second period, Kiely was thrilled with the response from his side.

“We lost a bit of control in that last part of the first half,” Kiely admitted after the 1-27 to 1-21 win at the TUS Gaelic Grounds. “In fairness to Cork, you give them a smell of it and they're going to be all over you. Fair play to them. They got a lot of momentum in that last 12, 15 minutes of the first half. I think they brought the lead down to a goal and that put us on the back foot.

“After playing with the breeze, we were only three points up so you have to batten the hatches then for the second half.

“We had a challenging conversation at half-time and, to be fair to the lads, everything we asked of them in the second half, they produced. 

“Cork came in the second half with a charge. We had to push again and I thought we closed out the game well. We showed a bit of maturity in that last five minutes to close out the game."

The win was a fourth league title won in Kiely’s reign.

"For a player to get into a national final is a great achievement. But when you get those opportunities, you have to take them,” he said.

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“This group have shown in the past that they have that ability to take those opportunities when they come around.

“From a performance perspective, I’m really happy with our start to the game. It hasn't been good in the last couple of games and it was something we were going after in that first quarter. We did that and the return was really good.”

While Limerick have been no strangers to the winners’ circle over the last decade or so, after a disappointing 2025, this silverware was welcome on Shannonside.

“Any time as a player that you win something at inter-county level, you have to be incredibly appreciative because it's so hard. It's just so, so hard,” Kiely said.

“When we lost our first game below in Waterford, did anyone think we'd be here today? No. They absolutely didn't. But the response from the player group has been incredible in the time frame in between.”

The victory marked a sixth win in a row since that defeat at Walsh Park. However, the manager insists while the results have been good, there is room for improvement.

“We had a few dips here and there. I thought our performance against Offaly was a dip and there were other elements where we had in-game dips as well. But our response to them has always been positive and honest.”

A successful league campaign but with the Munster Championship fast approaching, Kiely and his side will quickly be moving on.

"We'll use this week as a reset now, absolutely,” he said. “The league finishes today. There's a full stop there, it's done.”