SATURDAY’S Munster title glory meant sweet redemption for Cork’s Conor Lehane.
Experienced forward Lehane turns 33 next month but has bided his time with Pat Ryan’s men lately.
He has not started a game for the Rebels since their All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final win over Offaly a year ago.
Lehane then suffered a dislocated shoulder three minutes after coming off the bench in the NHL draw with Limerick on February 1.
And that kept him out until a late scoring cameo in the Munster SHC round-robin win over Waterford last month.
Between injuries and a lack of game time, he has fallen down the pecking order as younger forwards Shane Barrett, Alan Connolly and Brian Hayes became mainstays.
But Lehane — who was omitted for the 2021 season — sucked it up and vowed to be ready to go if and when he was called upon.
The Midleton ace got that chance in Saturday’s epic provincial showpiece with Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds and he grasped it with both hands.
Lehane fired 0-2 in a brilliant and busy offering off the bench — and drilled home his penalty as Cork won a shootout 3-2 to seal their first provincial title since 2018.
It was a fourth Munster crown for the team’s one-time golden boy — and his sweetest yet after a frustrating year.
Lehane said: “That’s the nature of the game. You wouldn’t be involved unless you didn’t know that going into it.
“With the talent that’s there representing Cork the best way they know how, they’ve done themselves justice.
“It’s healthy competition. You just try to stay as patient as you can and avoid injury if possible.
“When the chances come, be as tuned in as you can and try to make some sort of an impact.
“You want to make whatever the impact is, whether it be scoring, tackling or whatever the case is.
“You want to make a positive impact for everyone and you want to have some impact for yourself.
“In the overall scheme of things, this is where it matters. Just seeing the crowd and the reaction is worth everything.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, especially the way it went.
“It wasn’t just like a one-sided game or anything, it went down to the wire in the best way possible.
“You’d rather not be in too many of those situations. But when it comes out the better end for you, it’s the best feeling in the world.”
ZEROES TO HEROES
Cork have gone from the floor to an All-Ireland SHC semi-final in the space of three weeks.
Limerick annihilated them 3-26 to 1-16 in their Munster round-robin clash on May 18, making the Rebels huge underdogs for the provincial final rematch. But Ryan’s men delivered a fantastic performance to go toe-to-toe with the holders for 90 minutes before finishing the job on penalties to halt the Treaty’s march for seven Munsters in a row.
And Lehane says keeping calm and carrying on was vital in their road to redemption as they booked a last-four spot on July 5.
He said: “If there is an unbelievable win that we had or a horrific loss, you have to go back to the base and just drive on again.
“I think it’s about not getting too carried away. It’s your job as a team and a panel to keep the head.
“You can’t get carried away because it’ll affect you day-to-day if you do. You just have to keep the head, know where things went wrong, highlight them and then make sure it doesn’t happen again and hope it works out.
“You’d nearly rather be out a bit sooner for the semi-final but it’s the best way to be after winning a cup. We couldn’t be happier.”
“You just hope that when you do get that impact that you’re recognised and you might be lucky enough to start the next day.”
Lehane’s fellow sub Shane Kingston also delivered the goods.
The Douglas man lit up the Gaelic Grounds with 0-3 and also scored in the shootout.
A goalscoring starter in the 2021 All-Ireland final loss to the Treaty, Kingston, 27, is another who struggles to start these days and, whether he likes it or not, is more known as an impact sub.
But Lehane hailed that impact on Saturday, saying: “Shane was unbelievable.
“He’s lethal. Sometimes the ball will go for you and other times, the donkey work someone might do that you mightn’t see has a huge impact on the game.”
And Kingston was quick to repay the compliment.
The duo helped Cork win back-to-back Munster titles in 2018 but ending the county’s seven-year wait for another one was special.
Kingston said: “Lehane came on the last day as well and got a lovely point. He was lifting us there when he came on.
“He’s been showing that in training as well. It’s nice to get recognition having trained well over the last couple of weeks.
“Obviously nobody wants to grow up and not be in the starting 15.
“You just hope that when you do get that impact that you’re recognised and you might be lucky enough to start the next day.
“When you win two Munsters, that’s nearly your expectation.
“But as your career goes on, I suppose you realise that these days are to be cherished and you’re very fortunate to be in the position. I’m obviously delighted.”
