Limerick forward Tom Morrissey said that experience is the simple key ingredient in their ability to continually come out on the right side of narrow contests.
Sunday's dramatic Munster final win over Clare was the 18th time that a Limerick championship game has ended with a margin of three points or less since John Kiely took charge ahead of the 2017 season.
Incredibly, the Treaty have only lost four of those encounters, two of them in Kiely’s first season, as they completed five in-a-row in Munster and now are just two games away from a fifth Liam MacCarthy success in six seasons.
"It’s probably built over time," Morrissey told The Sunday Game after their 1-23 to 1-22 win.
"We’ve been involved in a lot of those games over the years and I think 2018 [when they won the All-Ireland with a one-point win over Galway], everything has sort of bounced since then.
"You gain confidence, we have been in that position this year alone so many times. In the last five, six, seven years, so many times as well.
"We haven’t come out the right side every day, we lost to Clare a few weeks ago by a point here in the Gaelic Grounds, we lost against Kilkenny in 2019.
"The majority of the time we still remain calm and composed coming down that home stretch. We have full belief that what we do will get us over the line."
Kiely's side looked in trouble at the interval at the TUS Gaelic Grounds as Clare led by three points and should have been further ahead only for a series of wasted opportunities in the lead up to half time.
The Ahane man disagreed, however, with the consensus that they were struggling a bit in the first half, but he did admit that they needed to raise their aggressiveness.
"We felt we were going okay, we felt we were going well. You say Clare were doing most of the hurling, I actually felt we were well in the game. I felt it was 50-50.
"It pretty much was only that they got that fortuitous goal off the upright, they reacted faster than us and they were that goal ahead.
"Other than that, we were just matching them. It was very, very even. We just stayed relaxed and stayed doing what we were doing, maybe just be a bit more aggressive on breaking ball – I think we just tidied that up.
"We got on a bit more possession and we were able to get a few more attacks and [be] a bit more clinical in front of goal."
"I felt our positioning was very good, I think we just maybe left one or two balls, easy possessions, that as a player you'd expect to be gathering and starting an attack," he added.
"We probably just weren’t picking up those balls, we were letting them drop or they were getting their hurley in, and we just weren’t strong enough with our bodies to make sure that we did get those balls.
"That was pretty much the message, we’ve got to mind the ball, we’ve got to be aggressive and make sure that you do get it even if it an easy possession. I suppose they were getting a lot of their joy off that.
"We felt that if we could just get a foothold in that, the second half going forward that would work for us."
"You say five in-a-row and does it feel as good every time, I tell you if you ask anyone this is very reminiscent of coming back to the Gaelic Grounds after 2018, winning our first All-Ireland after 45 years.
Morrissey’s interview took place against the backdrop of thousands of Limerick fans celebrating wildly as they watched on.
For the player, it sparked memories of one of his favourite days in the green and white jersey.
"You say five in-a-row and does it feel as good every time, I tell you if you ask anyone this is very reminiscent of coming back to the Gaelic Grounds after 2018, winning our first All-Ireland after 45 years.
"I tell you we don’t get tired of it and they [the fans] definitely aren't getting tired of it either."
Limerick may have endured some struggles during their Munster campaign but they’ll now be favourites to repeat that 2018 trip back to their home ground with the Liam MacCarthy in tow.
For Morrissey there’s still a lot of ball to be played – and he isn’t ruling a third epic against the defeated Banner.
"Both teams had a very good Munster campaign, only a point has separated us so far.
"Whoever is going to be in the last four when we’re there are going to be four very, very good teams.
"The Leinster teams will have a big say in this championship as well.
"Last year, Galway and Kilkenny put us to the edge of our collar."
