Kiely hails Limerick 'resilience' in semi-final win

Limerick manager John Kiely hailed his team's "resilience" as they battled back from the brink against Clare to reach the All-Ireland hurling final.

Seven adrift late in the first half, Limerick narrowed the gap to five and pushed on in the third quarter to get to within one.

However, Clare recovered to move six clear with the aid of a Tony Kelly goal from a penalty which made it a six-point gap, yet Limerick would hold the Banner scoreless for the remainder and hit 1-5 of their own with Aidan O'Connor's 70th minute goal proving the key moment.

When the chips were down at various stages, Limerick held their nerve and Kiely was delighted, yet unsurprised with how they turned it around.

"It's just relief, huge relief; pride - that took great courage," he said.

"Clare brought an incredible challenge today and huge energy.

"We reset at half-time and the boys were committed to giving it their all. Another huge question asked in the middle of that second half and the response from our guys was phenomenal.

"It was such an example of resilience and never say die attitude, plus composure in that final quarter."

Kiely credited the "maturity" of O'Connor and the younger members of the panel, but also felt the impact off the bench was crucial.

An injury sustained in training kept team captain Cian Lynch out of the starting line-up but the Patrickswell man made a telling impact when introduced after Kelly's goal.

"The impact off out bench was tremendous," Kiely said.

"Cian didn't start as had a knock the last couple of weeks, but he gave us great leadership, composure and a great presence in the tight situations by winning dirty ball, recycling, retaining, carrying and won an important free int he middle of the field.

"From our whole group perspective, it was very positive in terms of character and never say die attitude.

"From our execution point of view, we have work to do on out poc-out, shooting and getting out passing game going."

While Gearoid Hegarty didn't get on the scoresheet, his second-half performance was a major factor in Limerick taking back control.

His aerial ability and eagerness to get on the ball was exemplary as he sought to break the lines and create opportunities, which led to scores or scoreable frees.

"Gearoid would probably be disappointed with the first half," Kiely added.

"He made a huge effort but found it difficult to get on the ball and was probably a bit frustrated.

"To come back out after half-time and deliver the performance he did in the second half is a measure of where that man is at."