More balanced Limerick get big guns firing

Even if Cork had Luke Meade and Darragh Fitzgibbon I still would have felt that Limerick were more balanced. And they were, writes Anthony Daly.

There was a real buzz in the Gaelic Grounds last night but it was a different kind of vibe than normal, a tense and anxious kind of buzz. The U-21 championship, especially the Munster championship, has always been associated with open, free-flowing, swashbuckling hurling but this match mirrored the mood within the ground — laced with anxiety and tense hurling.

Part of that was down to how both teams set up. The strong breeze blowing down the field was another factor but the referee also contributed to the frustration. He seemed hard on Cork at times but Limerick had cause for grievance too John Myler set up his team very deep into the storm but probably took too long to change it when he had the elements. It worked against Waterford and it almost worked last night. They were within touching distance at half-time having played against the breeze but I still felt that Limerick would play better into the elements because it would create more space, which is what happened.