In 1842, a Russian writer, Nikolai Gogol, compiled a piece of ‘double dutch’ in the Russian language. Its English translation is a reminder of a journey taken by the Limerick footballers in recent times, “As you pass from the tender years of youth into a harsh and embittered manhood, make sure you take with you on your journey all the human emotions! Don’t leave them on the road, for you will not pick them up afterwards!”

There have been many human emotions where the Limerick footballers have been concerned, and the latest stage of the journey took place in Croke Park last April. Ten years ago, a Limerick football journey began that took supporters, myself included, to some quare places. Next Sunday’s venue, Dungarvan, may have been a regular haunt in preceding years for lower level league clashes, but upon winning the Munster under 21 championship there in 2000, we were taken to other football planets.

Westmeath and Dessie Dolan were beaten at Portlaoise, a town best known as ‘a place you pass on the way to Dublin’ on the rare occasions the hurlers got to Croke Park. The All Ireland final at Mullingar forced many a supporter to stop en-route and pull out the map to see if the venue was any closer after about three hours of constant driving. There were qualifier venues too: Castlebar, Hyde Park, Dr Cullen Park and a few trips to Killarney within Munster, but the best of them all was the trip to Breffni Park in Cavan back in 2002. Who can forget that great day that ended with the then Cavan player Peter Reilly and the evergreen Michael Greenan having words after the game, resulting in Reilly almost crippling himself with a forceful kick on a locked door? What a pleasure to witness in the midst of all the celebrations! Then there was the heartbreak at Croke Park against Westmeath, but that was forgotten in Páirc Uí Chaoimh a week later.

Speaking of Croke Park memories, Brian Scanlon’s ‘45 in the league final, has done nothing to bury the memory that Seamus O’Donnell should have been dispatched to kick Eoin Keating’s last free in the 2004 drawn game against Kerry. A recognised outfield player and freetaker for his club St Kierans, many torture themselves to this day, that he remained on the goal line, and more so that there didn’t appear to be any major prompting for him to move upfield. Goalies have a serious kick from the ground, and O’Donnell would certainly have had the distance, whatever about the accuracy. Scanlon must walk the distance for all future ‘45’s if necessary. We struggle too much for scores in games to take any chances. Most ‘45’s are in front of the goals, yet many teams cannot convert them because they have to be taken from the ground.

Limerick need to squeeze a couple of extra scores to move above their customary points total of 0-10 against the top teams. In the league final, the final score was 1-16 to 1-14 but those tallies were far greater than either team would get against any of the top teams in the championship. Both teams would need to keep the score down in a Munster final if they got there, and it would be difficult for Limerick or Waterford to limit Cork or Kerry to less than ten points (including goals) if they cannot do it in a game involving themselves. In last years Munster final, Limerick conceded only 0-5 in points, but it was the questionable penalty and a well taken Daniel Goulding goal that proved decisive. Penalty decisions will always materialise when the underdog meets the favourite (as we found out in the 2004 replay with Kerry at Killarney) but the Limerick management need to identify ways in which the Goulding goal could have been prevented. Some players might deliver with consistency almost all year round, but might struggle on the day when the stakes are raised.

Waterford seem to have been dealing from a full deck of cards since Gary Hurney returned but Limerick have been very depleted in 2010. The injured players are returning, but crucially Conor Mullane is a major doubt. It’s a pity because he was doing a job at full back, which meant that Johnny ‘Concrete’ McCarthy would have been freed to perform specific man marking jobs in the corner (possibly on Liam Ó‘Líonáin on this occasion). Mullane hadn’t been tested at full back in championship football and needed this game, though in any event it might not have told us much. Diarmuid Duggan and Brian O’Regan did a job for Cork in 2008 against Kerry but were found wanting against a different Kerry in Croke Park later that year. A player might get you over the line against Waterford, but in the stiffer tests you need more. One would expect Mullane to deliver against the bigger teams if Limerick progress, but selection of the right combination of players in defence will be crucial.

There are those within the corridors of the white elephant that would prefer Stephen Lucey not to be on the team. Many have criticised the football board in Limerick, but if there were not a football board in Limerick, Stephen Lucey would be an ex-Limerick footballer. I have been a critic of Mickey Ned in the past, but I will say one thing in his credit, both he and his management team won’t bow to politics that exists in Limerick. For all his critics, Lucey has a lot to offer this team, but having not played in the league means that, at this stage, his selection would be at the expense of someone who has been playing all along. There are only six spots in defence and there are a number of contenders for them, all with extensive game time in the 2010 league. In alphabetical order of surname, 1.Padraig Browne, 2.Diarmuid Carroll, 3.Shane Gallagher, 4.Andrew Lane, 5.Stephen Lavin, 6.Stephen Lucey, 7.Johnny McCarthy, 8.Conor Mullane, 9.Mark O’Riordan, 10.Pa Ranahan. Ten into six doesn’t go, so there are tough decisions to be made by the management.

As for midfield, Jim Donovan seems to be more of an equal to John Galvin than the lesser partner he once was. But people tend to forget that Mick Aherne of Waterford is around as long as Galvin. They also forget that Waterford have had several Railway Cup footballers in the past decade. They were our equal in the under 21 final of 2000, and they won the competition three years later. There are footballers in Waterford, they proved it in the League final and they will prove it on their own patch on Sunday. They will know that they left the league final behind them. But Limerick have also seen those days, having missed the boat in the past, when the door was open and they didn’t go through. This is the perceived easier side of the Munster championship draw but there will be only a kick of the ball between the teams.

Limerick were denied a Munster title last year, and it would be a shame if they were denied a chance for redemption by getting caught in Dungarvan. But Waterford don’t fear them, and anything less than a Limerick team at 100% will be beaten.

Get the rosary beads out, every prayer is needed...