One moment, one goal: Shane Kingston delivered when it mattered most
Shane Kingston celebrates a point against Limerick in the the Munster SHC final at TUS Gaelic Grounds. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Two teams, barely anything between them. Two substitutes introduced during normal time. Two substitutes who stepped up when it mattered most. Two game-changers who rewrote the script.
The team in red pushed desperately to get over the line. And eventually, they did. Champions.
Those two subs? Absolutely pivotal. Champions – for the first time in years.
You might think we’re talking about Shane Kingston and Conor Lehane. But not quite.
It’s Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Teddy Sheringham.
Both substitutes were outstanding in Manchester United’s Champions League final win over Bayern München in 1999. Solskjær, remembered as the hero for decades. Kingston? Not quite the sole hero – because this Cork win was built on something deeper. A phenomenal team performance. But if you had to pick one impact sub – Kingston.
He was flying from the moment he was introduced, racking up three points from play.
But all of that was overshadowed when the game entered uncharted territory: a penalty shootout. Ninety relentless minutes of hurling were behind them. Now it came down to composure.
Limerick led 2-1. Barry Murphy missed. Cork had to capitalise. Up stepped Shane Kingston.
Thing is – there had been no talk of penalties before the end of extra time. No plan. But Kingston was going well and felt ready.
“We hadn’t foreseen this at all!” Shane laughed. “Obviously it was disappointing not to win it in normal time or extra time, I just had to forget about it straight away and focus on the penalties.
“You start thinking about it straight away when you know you’re hitting one. You just have to remain confident, we’ve all been hitting penalties our whole life,” Kingston explained. “It was just about picking that spot and going for it. Now, I didn’t make the cleanest connection – but it still went in!” Both teams faced the Cork end – the sea of red. For Kingston, that was no psychological aid.
“I didn’t really think of it, I was just focussed in on the pick to start with, and then getting the strike. I wasn’t really looking at the background, to be honest, I was more looking at where I was going to get the ball.”
The life of a substitute is so tricky. You’re left waiting for a small window to open. You don’t know when that window will appear. You need to be ready for it, constantly.
Then you’ve got to deliver.
"The management pick their team at the end of the day,” he said. “Everyone wants to be on the starting 15, and if you’re not on that you just want to make your impact. Hopefully you might be lucky enough to put the jersey on the next day.
“Everybody played brilliant there, the fellas who came on, [Connolly] coming off and coming back on – everybody gave it their all. That’s what makes it that bit more special. You put in the graft and left everything out there.
“That’s always the goal in training, build the panel. It makes training that bit more competitive, everyone is fired up.
“When they get given that chance they need to perform to the best of their ability, because there’s always someone waiting for your jersey. You have to keep that in the back of your mind as well.”
There is no doubt Kingston delivered. So did Lehane. So did Tommy O’Connell. So did Robert Downey. A selection headache for the semi-final? Certainly. But that’s a worry for another day.
For now, Cork can soak in what they’ve done.
“I won [a Munster title] in 2017 and 2018, and you nearly expect that you’re going to be winning something every year,” Shane reflected.
“It’s brilliant to come back with a Munster medal again because it’s been seven years, and the team worked so hard over the last couple of years, all the people that have been involved over the last couple of years – the last management crew. Everything.
“Everybody’s put in such hard work and it’s days like today where you appreciate it more then.”
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