“All you can ask for is effort” | Declan Hannon gives his thoughts post Tipperary win

A tight opening 25 minutes in windy conditions saw the sides draw level on five occasions, but the Shannonsiders rallied before the break.

Limerick captain Declan Hannon was full of praise for his teammates after Sunday’s Munster Senior Hurling Championship victory over Tipperary.

Hannon spoke after collecting the Man of the match award on behalf of the injured Peter Casey, and was clearly pleased with the work rate of his teammates.

A tight opening 25 minutes in windy conditions saw the sides draw level on five occasions, but the Shannonsiders rallied before the break, as scores from Aaron Gillane, Diarmaid Byrnes and Casey saw them into a healthy half-time advantage.

“Most people watching at home might not have seen how strong the breeze was, I think we enjoy playing into the breeze it gets us into a rhythm of a running game and a flowing game. Every game is different, you play on instinct and see how it’s going, lads put in a big shift. All you can ask for is effort and that’s what they gave .”

Limerick had to produce a stunning comeback to beat Clare last week, but things were a bit easier for them this time around.

Hannon admitted that his team “aren’t flying the way we want to be,” and said “it took us a long time to get going again”.

“I don’t think we’re flying the way we want to be to be honest, it took us a long time to get going again I think, but that’s down to Tipperary and the ferocity they brought in the first half there. I think at half-time we just wanted to settle down and get back to basics really, we worked hard in the second half and again the lads coming off the bench were fantastic.”

The Limerick captain was accepting the Man of the Match award on behalf of Casey, who hit 1-2 from play before having to depart the action.

Casey sustained what looked to be a very serious ankle injury in the process of netting what was his first championship goal in five years.

Hannon says his teammate is in all of the Limerick panel’s thoughts.

“I don’t know the severity of the injury, but it obviously didn’t look great. He’s first and foremost in our thoughts. A game of hurling is a game of hurling and Peter was flying it, obviously Mike last week as well. Hopefully it’s not too bad but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Limerick GAA have since confirmed that Casey has suffered a broken ankle which will require surgery. They wished the player “all the best in his recovery” and extended thanks to their Senior Hurling Medical team, the Tipperary Senior Hurling Medical team, the Stadium Medics, the Doctors and Staff at UHL and to An Garda Siochana for the care provided to their player.

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