Limerick must starve Shanahan at source

Defence against Waterford's danger man begins out the field, former Limerick captain TJ Ryan tells Ian O'Riordan

Dan Shanahan has fast become the incomparable hurler of his time: 8-8 in his four matches this summer; 2-1 the last day off half-a-dozen clean possessions; and having failed to score a goal in his first six seasons as a championship player he now has 19-36 to his name since 2004.

No hurler has instilled that sort of fear into the opposition, at least not in a long while, and trying to contain Shanahan is a large part of the challenge facing Limerick in Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final against Waterford - especially given he hit 3-3 in their previous meeting this year, the Munster hurling final defeat, on July 8th.

For former Limerick full back and captain TJ Ryan there is only one way to keep Shanahan quiet, and it starts out the field, rather than in any strictly defensive tactic.

"Dan is definitely the man of the moment," says Ryan, "and his record speaks for itself. He's playing at the top of his confidence as well, and I just think it's very difficult to man-mark a player like that.

"So it's really about cutting off his supply at source. Even the way Dan can drive it off the ground, and only needs those two or three chances, and that's why it's so important to cut off the supply.

"But a big part of Waterford's game is creating space, and the way their forwards switch around and move about also makes that very difficult to contain. So they are also very good at opening up space for players like Dan. So it's really up to the six Limerick backs to hold their shape, and just stop any ball at all going in to him."

Easier said than done, of course, though Ryan is confident Limerick have the players to achieve that.

The return of corner back Damien Reale, who missed their Munster final clash because of the after-effects of concussion, strengthens their hand, and they'll also have learned valuable lessons from the Munster final, where they were right in contention on the hour mark before being outscored 2-3 to 0-2 thereafter.

"I thought Limerick did play very well in the Munster final," adds Ryan, "and just lost their shape in the last 10 minutes. But they'll have learned a lot from that - if they can keep their shape at the back for the full 70 minutes.

"Having Damien Reale back in there is a huge plus, because in my opinion he is one of the best corner backs in the country. He was a big loss for that Munster final. I think people underestimated just how much a loss he was.

"It's a big challenge, with Waterford definitely the team in form. For me they are definitely in the top two teams in the country, themselves and Kilkenny. But Limerick are in a great position now to knock them off, and I do still see it being a close game.

"I think Limerick improved a point or two on the Munster final for the Clare game, and if they can improve another point or two they won't be that far off."

Goals, however, usually win matches - and Ryan was full back on the Limerick team that last beat Waterford, in 2001, the day they outscored their opponents 4-6 to 0-4 in a dramatic final quarter. Ryan agrees Shanahan has become a goal-scoring machine like no other.

"I played against him a couple of times in the league, but he wasn't at the height of his powers. I was more familiar, say, with Séamus Prendergast. But Dan has really come on in the last three or four years. Right now the only players you could compare him to are Henry Shefflin and Eoin Kelly, when they're at their absolute best.

"I mean hitting 8-8 in four games. Any player will tell you how difficult it is to keep picking off goals like that, even at club level.

"He's just playing so well. And it's no good either just cutting off that supply for 65 minutes; it has to be the full 70. We saw again on Sunday that Dan only needs one or two chances, and he'll rush through and finish them off into the net."

At least Limerick will know exactly what to expect.