John Kiely urges Limerick fans to ‘mobilise’ for battle on Leeside

JOHN Kiely is expecting a cacophony of noise on Sunday as his Limerick side travel to SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh against a Cork side.

The match, which is expected to sell-out with over 45,000 in attendance, sees two teams whose passionate - and vocal followings do battle in a repeat of last year’s Munster final.

In the lead up to the championship campaign, ‘Rebel’ manager Ben O’Connor bemoaned referees strictly policing the sideline, stopping mentors for getting instructions onto players mid-game.

O’Connor noted officials stopping him from encroaching on the field when the two counties met in the Allianz Hurling League final earlier this month.

This weekend, should see the atmosphere - and the noise - go up a notch.

Limerick boss Kiely acknowledges this will cause difficulty on Sunday.

“You’re going to struggle to get your message in above in Cork, that’s for sure because it’s a very loud stadium,” Kiely told the Limerick Leader.

“In fairness to them, Cork have very vocal support and very big numbers of supporters coming after them.”

However, this is an area where the five-time All-Ireland winning manager is confident those in green can match their counterparts in the stands.

“It’s incumbent on our own support now that they mobilise themselves, make the biggest impact they possibly can in Pairc Ui Chaoimh because there’s no doubt about it, it’s a big help to the team when you have great support behind you.

“We’ve seen that ourselves for many years - every ball, every catch, every strike, every score, having your supporters come in behind you in those moments. When they’re busting their ass trying to make tackles, trying to win a race, trying to get in a block or hook or chase, a flick in, a save, whatever it might be, having your supporters there to cheer you on and cheer each of those moments on is a really, really important facet of what Munster Championship is all about,” he added.

“I know we can depend on our supporters to be a fantastic voice for our players in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday.”

While it’s Limerick’s first outing in the campaign, Cork got up and running last weekend, with a four-point win over Tipperary, a late goal flattering the final score for the defending All-Ireland champions.

“It was a dominant performance in many respects,” Kiely acknowledged. “They had a huge number of shots on goal and it was a very impressive performance.

“It’s going to really put it up to us when we go up to Cork, I’ve no doubt about that, a great challenge ahead, I’m really looking forward to it.

“We haven’t been there now for two years, it’s a special place to play. It’s a fabulous ground, fabulous stadium, beautiful pitch. We love playing there, we love going down there and we’re very much looking forward to next Sunday,” said the Limerick manager.