Pa Ranahan: Limerick’s London Calling “Worth More Than Just 2 Points”

So it’s London away for Limerick Footballers in their opening salvo of the National Football League. The one game where the only thing more important than packing your boots is packing your passport.

It’s a crucial game for this group and one they would have targeted as soon as the fixture list was released. Trips to Ruislip with Limerick hold good memories for me. Battles in 2010 and 2013 brought positive results. Both of those campaigns ended with promotion and collecting silverware in Croke Park. Coincidence? Maybe, but I definitely believe those jaunts across the water were worth more than just the 2 points that were brought home.

The extra time spent in each others company brought the group together and the sense of accomplishment permeated through the training and games in the weeks that followed.

Have no doubt London will also be targeting this game. Their manager Ciaran Deely has brought his expertise as a Sports Scientist with QPR to the role and also has access to resources that Limerick simply do not at the moment. Where before London may have taken a few league games to get up to speed with their opponents, this team will be ready from the get go.

In the last 2 weeks alone, they have been over to Dublin on a training camp that included a challenge game, and last weekend hosted Ulster Senior Football Club champions Gweedore in Ruislip, losing out by the minimum. They will be as prepared as they have ever been come Sunday.

For Limerick, there are two big things that can be taken away from the weekend. The first is the chance to really come together as a group which is something immeasurable as you go forward. The amount of time you have with each other – basically two full days – creates opportunities to chat and mix with players and backroom.

Too much downtime can be a hard thing to deal with but it doesn’t come around too often. Even building stronger relationships with teammates aside, I had some long chats with the likes of Munster Rugby’s Tony Mullins and St Patrick’s GAA legend Tom “Guzzler” Downes, both men who I meet now and again in daily life and would always make time for. Strong bonds make stronger teams.

The second and most important aspect of the weekend though and the thing that will shape the whole trip will be the result. London away is as much a mental test as a physical one. This was never more evident than the last Limerick win there in 2013, in contrast to the corresponding fixture last season. In 2013 persistent snowfall meant the game was in doubt up until the 11th hour.

However there was an intense focus from the group as soon as we left the old claustrophobic sauna-like dressingrooms in Ruislip. This was taken into the game and produced an almost perfect performance for 60 minutes. But then minds started to drift, possibly to the warmth of the dressing rooms or the flight home, and we were clinging on to a one point lead as the final whistle blew. We weathered the storm figuratively and literally!

This current group were themselves seconds away from a morale boosting win in Ruislip last February but conceded an injury time goal to only leave with a draw. It must have felt like a loss, especially the manner the goal was conceded, and probably cast a shadow over training for a few weeks.

There had to be hurt experienced from that. I hope it was bottled away and that bottle is bust open this Sunday. The “older” heads like Donal O’Sullivan (sole survivor from those who played in 2013), Iain Corbett, Sean O’Dea & Seamus O’Carroll have to set the tone this weekend. It would be huge for this Limerick Football group and would set them up for the rest of the league. Let’s start building it.