Rebels give Walsh food for thought

IN defiance of the dire weather predictions, a large crowd made their way to Castletownroche on Saturday evening for this senior hurling challenge, anticipating perhaps that with time running out to the championship, they would see a real contest between two sides that would be coming close to full strength.

All the early arrivals quickly packed out the impressive new stand, but those who lined the embankments were rewarded for their dedication when the threatened rainstorm, as though in homage to the superb work done by the local club in upgrading their facilities, held off.

There, however, and for the substantial group of Limerick supporters especially, the reward ended. On the scoreboard it was a contest for about three quarters of the match, but only on the scoreboard. When Fintan O’Leary, one of a bevy of impressive Cork half-time substitutes, slammed past Brian Murray in the 53rd minute to put the home side ahead by seven points, 1-22 to 1-15, he was merely putting an exclamation mark on Cork’s dominance.

Though playing into a huge wind, Cork were ahead by two points after ten minutes, 0-5 to 0-3. Limerick did rally briefly, notching 1-3 without reply, full-forward David Breen getting on the rebound of a brilliant Cusack save for the goal.

Cork were far sharper and added eight more points before the break. A little sloppiness, a couple of soft frees conceded, saw them lose that lead before half-time, four points gifted, but no-one was fooled by the interval scoreline – Limerick were ahead on the scoreboard, 1-12 to 0-13, but were trailing almost everywhere else.

Nowhere was Limerick’s problem more pressing or more evident than in midfield. Between them in that first half, Jerry O’Connor (four) and Pa Cronin (three) had seven of Cork’s points, all from play, and while Donal O’Grady had a brace for Limerick, Cork had total control here.

In a second half of total dominance, Cathal Naughton ran riot in midfield and hit over three superb points while fellow sub and newcomer Fintan O’Leary was a massive presence on the edge of the square and scored 1-1. Another newcomer, Brian Corry, proved hugely effective as a ball-winning half-forward and when added to the fine displays by corner-back Conor O’Sullivan, wing-back sub Ray Ryan (two fine points into the wind in the first half), and the superb stick work of corner-forwards Patrick Horgan and Tadhg Óg Murphy, it all added up to an encouraging evening for Cork fans.

Throw in the positive contributions of second half subs Kieran Murphy (Erin’s Own, three points) and Barry Johnson (pointed sideline) and with only a couple of weeks left until the championship match against Tipperary, Cork boss Denis Walsh is left with a quandary. “I thought I knew my team a week ago but it’s not so easy now!”

Question marks still remain, not least over full-back, but Cork are certainly headed in the right direction.

Limerick? Even though this was just a challenge, it was nevertheless a heartless performance, one so atypical of what you’d associate with Limerick hurling. He still has a month to do so, but manager Justin McCarthy has a major job on his hands to get this team right for their Munster championship opener against Waterford.

Scorers for Cork: P Horgan, 0-7 (0-6f); J O’Connor, 0-5; F O’Leary, 1-1; P Cronin, 0-4; T Óg Murphy, C Naughton, K Murphy (Erin’s Own), 0-3 each; R Ryan, K ‘Fraggie’ Murphy, 0-2 each; N McCarthy, B Johnson (s/l), 0-1 each.

Scorers for Limerick: N Moran 1-7 (1-6f); D Breen 1-0; D Ryan, O Moran, D O’Grady, 0-2 each; G O’Mahony (free), A O’Shaughnessy, 0-1 each.

CORK: D Óg Cusack; S Murphy, E Cadogan, C O’Sullivan; K Hartnett, C McGann, J Jordan; J O’Connor, P Cronin; P O’Sullivan, N McCarthy, T McCarthy; P Horgan, K Murphy (Sarsfield), T Óg Murphy.

Subs: R Ryan for Hartnett, 5; M Coleman for Cusack, C Naughton for T McCarthy, F O’Leary for P O’Sullivan, B Corry for N McCarthy, all 35; K Murphy for O’Connor, B Johnson for Cronin, both 57; D Crowley for Cadogan, Billy Murphy for S Murphy, both 63.

LIMERICK: B Murray; D Moloney, R McCarthy S Walsh; J Ryan, B Geary, G O’Mahony; D O’Grady, W McNamara; O Moran, M O’Brien, N Moran; A O’Shaughnessy, D Breen, D Ryan.

Subs: M Foley for J Ryan, 10; T Condon for O’Mahony, P Browne for McNamara, both 35; G Mulcahy for O’Brien, 49; P Tobin for D Ryan, 57.

Referee: J Ryan (Tipperary).