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John Meyler praises Limerick's substitutes

Cork manager John Meyler pictured at Croke Park.

Cork manager John Meyler pictured at Croke Park.

By Cian O'Connell

Cork manager John Meyler acknowledged the impact made by Limerick's substitutes during a dramatic All Ireland SHC Semi-Final encounter at Croke Park.

Limerick substitutes Shane Dowling, David Reidy, Pat Ryan, and Barry Nash combined to score 2-6 as the Treatymen edged a gripping match with Meyler stressing the importance of depth.

Meyler also commented on Nickie Quaid's dramatic last gasp save to thwart Seamus Harnedy at the end of normal time.

"When I saw (Peter) Casey coming on and (Shane) Dowling were coming on, I thought we were in the ascendancy at the time," Meyler reflected. "We were six up and we were going well.

"Then they came in and they added to Limerick and we had an opportunity, Robbie (O'Flynn) went in, he lost his hurley, he gave it to Seamus, Seamus was blocked to either go a point up or something, I can't remember. They're decisions that are critical at this level and also the fact we didn't close out the six-point lead."

During the thriller Cork were forced to deal with an unfortunate series of injuries with Daniel Kearney, Darragh Fitzgibbon, and Harnedy forced off. "Kearney's contribution today was incredible," Meyler added. "You're trying to keep those. We've a lot of young fellas in the subs, Robbie came on, Jack (O'Connor) came on and TIm (O'Mahony), 21 years of age, they've a long way to go and please God they'll win an Under 21 All-Ireland which would develop them.

"Limerick have more senior younger players if you know what I mean. They made that difference there."

Ultimately Meyler was adamant about the deep impact made by the Limerick replacements with Dowling's precise penalty a crucial score. "You know Limerick drove on and then you'd Casey and Dowling came in, they made a huge contribution in terms of driving Limerick forward," Meyler commented.

"I thought then going into extra-time when there was a point in it, but then the penalty killed us then and it put four between us. They made a massive contribution there in the end."