Limerick face London in Tailteann Cup:
By Paul Shaughnessy Limerick Leader Sport
THE Limerick senior footballers take on London in round three of the Tailteann Cup on Saturday June 1 at 1:30pm in Parnell Park.
Jimmy Lee’s side have put themselves in a great position to reach the knock-out stages of the Tailteann Cup, following a 2-10 to 0-08 victory over Offaly last time out in round two.
Before last Saturday’s success, it was 364 days when Limerick last registered a victory in a competitive game of football. Limerick senior footballer Peter Nash said the result against Offaly was huge for the players and the management.
”It was an important win. It meant a lot to get it and to get over the line. The way we pushed on at the end putting a couple of goals in the back of the onion bag and putting a little bit of distance on the scoreboard between us and them. There were some really positive signs to take from it.”
Nash feels the group are in a great position ahead of their encounter with London.
”They’re good players around the group. It’s just about getting the continuity and learning the hard lessons that you have to learn at inter-county football. They’re definitely green shoots and it’s definitely a massive sign of health to be able to put a performance together.”
Limerick and London have both registered one victory in Group four, both against Offaly. Both sides have suffered heavy defeats to Down. Limerick and London currently sit level on two points. The Exiles are currently in second place in group four with a superior scoring difference -3 to Limerick’s scoring difference of -6.
”The focus ahead of London is definitely going to be 70% on ourselves because we need to get our things right before we look outwards. Our key focus is going to be to put back to back performances together for the 70 minutes and trying to build on the things that we did well against Offaly and just try to become more consistent.
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The other 30% is respecting London and the season they’ve had . The win they had against Mayo in the FBD, the win they put together in a highly competitive Division 4 and their incredibly impressive performance against Offaly. London have some real threats and it will be about trying to nullify the threats that London pose.”
Success for the Limerick senior footballers would be to go as far in that competition as they possibly can according to Peter Nash.
“Opportunities are going to present themselves over the next couple of weeks. Our goal would be continuing to build on the performances and take every opportunity that comes our way and to allow us to go as far as we possibly can in the competition. There is going to be opportunities presented against London can we take them and put ourselves in a position for second place in the group and get a home preliminary quarter final.”
Down have advanced to the quarter-finals of the Tailteann Cup along with the three teams that finish top of the other groups. The four teams that finish second along with three best third-placed teams and New York will qualify for the preliminary quarter-finals. The teams that finish second will get a home preliminary quarter final and Limerick will need to beat London to get a home preliminary quarter-final.