SHANE Kingston played a key role for Cork in the late win over Limerick in the round-robin stages of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
It was this fringe performer who earned the home side a last-gasp penalty from which Patrick Horgan goaled to keep the Rebels in Championship 2024, with a positive 3-28 to 3-26 outcome in what was to date the best match of the year.
“I don’t really remember it too much, to be honest – I just got the ball and I ran and kept running then,” he recalled. “Thankfully, we got a penalty and got the win on the day. It was a brilliant result.”
At the outset of the Championship, Kingston was troubled by a hamstring issue which forced him to sit out the opener against Waterford. Thereafter, however, he has featured from the bench in the rest of the campaign for the Leesiders.
Following on from the win over Limerick, Cork breezed past Tipperary to secure third spot in Munster.
Since then, Pat Ryan’s side haven’t impressed but have accounted for both Joe McDonagh Cup winners Offaly and Leinster runners-up Dublin.
“The last two games probably weren’t our best performances,” noted 26-year-old Kingston. “But you look back and take the learnings from them, what we did right and what we did wrong, and hopefully change things going into the semi-final then.”
“We were just happy to get the wins – you’d rather play poorly and still win rather than playing well and lose. “We’re just grateful that we’re still in the championship and looking forward to the semi-final.”
Kingston was introduced with 20 minutes to run in the defeat of Dublin and it’s around this mark that the Douglas clubman will be sprung from the bench again this weekend.
