The Limerick Lions U14 boys were tied 25–25 going into the last ten minutes of an A Division semi-final before the game turned against them.
It came down to a handful of possessions. For three quarters of an A Division semi-final at the All-Ireland Club Championships, the Limerick Lions U14 boys gave nothing away, level at 25–25 with one period to play. Then the game tightened, the gaps appeared, and the Lions edged out on the wrong side of the finest of margins.
To reach the last four of the top division, you have to beat good teams to get there. This group did. The draw was no gift either: a group with Neptune, Portlaoise Panthers and St Vincent's, about as hard a start as the competition offers.
They opened with a win over Neptune, then lost to Portlaoise by three. Against St Vincent's, who went on to win the whole thing, they pushed the eventual champions all the way. That run booked a quarter-final against St Brendan's, settled by a big fourth quarter from the Limerick boys.
Coaches Paul Horkan and Matt Hall, with team manager Philip Colbert, sent out a side that never looked out of its depth at this level. Level with a quarter to play in an All-Ireland semi-final says plenty. The margin was tiny. The standard was not.