Munster SHC semi-final: Limerick 2-22 Cork 1-17
In the context of what the Leinster semi-finals offered up earlier on in the day, this was the comedown. The bummer. The downer.
Thirty-five wides to add to the 37 at the same venue last week, the policy of shooting on sight is showing little let-up in this Munster Championship. A swirling breeze that refused to play ball was a mitigating factor and the welcome 2,400 crowd didn’t much care such was their elation at being able to watch hurling again. But the fare was poor.
It and Cork had to be brilliant for them to win, Limerick just had to be businesslike and while their 20 wides were blots on the copybook it was of no consequence, just like the 22 that Clare registered six days previous.
Relatively early withdrawals for Tom Morrissey and Seamus Flanagan spoke of the difficulty they were having against Eoin Cadogan and Damien Cahalane who enjoyed getting in their faces. However, at the other end Cork’s entire half-forward line was replaced by the 55th minute. Against Limerick’s hammering half-back line, save for livewire Robbie O’Flynn, they were merely a nail and Patrick Horgan has played few quieter games for his county.
Cork’s challenge did not dissipate until additional time when Limerick moved up a gear but the sense of inevitability about the outcome was present from as far out as the second water break when the champions retained the six-point advantage they enjoyed at half-time.
On three occasions, twice through impressive substitute Shane Barrett, Cork came within four points but the last of those prompted Limerick to push away in additional time, just as they did before the turnaround. A return of 2-4 in the extra seven minutes was a testament to their attitude and belief.
Much like last November’s All-Ireland semi-final against Galway, Limerick’s composure was the standout characteristic of the closing period although at times it felt they were toying with the opposition. A second Cork goal (one was never going to be enough) would have asked serious questions of their collectedness but the closest they got was a half-chance for Horgan.
In the build-up, Cork’s need for green flags dominated the analysis but it was Limerick who outscored them on that count, their additional time brace handing them a 2-10 to 1-7 lead at the break. It was rough on Cork who, despite some poor decision-making, were proving to be more than a match for their illustrious neighbours. Limerick were particularly wasteful but the dash in Cork’s advances was making things interesting. In the 16th minute, the fizz appeared to have gone out of an attack initiated by Niall O’Leary’s run but Shane Kingston was alert to gather, pirouette and dart the ball to the net.
Cork led by two points at the first water break, 1-3 to 0-4, and by one in the 22nd minute when Paud O’Dwyer adjudged Peter Casey should be sin-binned for a cynical foul on Conor Cahalane inside the “D”. Cahalane appeared to be denied a shot on goal although there were defenders in wait. Nickie Quaid was equal to Horgan’s penalty strike and the let-off galvanised Limerick, who despite the numerical disadvantage scored four points to Cork’s two over the next two minutes as Cian Lynch took control of matters.
Manager John Kiely redirected the praise to his coach Paul Kinnerk for rearranging their shape to accommodate the loss of Casey.
“While I was thinking about it, he had it done and that’s what he’s really good at. He had it literally sorted within a second. He spotted straight away what needed to be done and he got it done.
“If it happens again, you know, we’ve had that experience. We mightn’t have liked it at the time or wanted it at the time but it didn’t punish us, which is a great testament to how hard the team worked during that period and it’s a good reference point for us going forward into the next series of matches.”
In the second minute of additional time, a bombing Quaid puckout down to Cork’s right-hand corner was not dealt with before Lynch brought it to hand and, with the Cork cover having been sucked in, found Darragh O’Donovan whose rasping shot deflected off Seán O’Donoghue’s hurley past Pa Collins.
Less than 90 seconds later and Limerick repeated the trick, Aaron Gillane fetching Quaid’s restart and slipping it through to an overlapping Kyle Hayes, whose low finish to the far corner was sublime.
Despite picking up five yellow cards in the opening half, Limerick had the cushion they needed, not so much to be comfortable as to dictate the terms, sniping shots from distance. Although their radar was off for long spells, they led by eight in the 40th minute when Casey lofted over a score.
The vibrancy of Darragh Fitzgibbon and Shane Kingston helped to ensure Limerick’s lead never rose to double figures but when they did push forward with speed Cork’s urgency saw moves break down. When they did look to the posts, they were often found wanting too. By the end, Horgan had five wides to his name, three in the second half.
Highlighting Cork were scoring only one out of every two chances, Kieran Kingston knows such inaccuracy can’t continue if they are to come through the backdoor. “I think we’ll have a big say yet in the Championship,” he declared.
There are reasons to believe him but as many to doubt him.
The 60-second report
IT MATTERED
On the third occasion, Cork came within four points of Limerick in the final quarter the champions said “enough was enough” and reeled off four unanswered points in additional time.
CAN’T IGNORE...
Like Clare six days before them, Limerick’s shooting left a lot to be desired and yet it was insignificant in the end. It helped that Cork were almost as wasteful, that 50% conversion rate a statistic Kieran Kingston bemoaned afterwards.
GOOD DAY
Semi-finals are for winning and Limerick won’t mind that it fell far short of a vintage performance. Haven’t we seen them play within themselves and win All-Irelands before?
BAD DAY
Cork knew they needed to score goals here although “the handy point” Shane Kingston spoke about in the lead-up to this game may have brought them closer. The eight-point margin at the end wasn’t reflective of the game.
PHYSIO ROOM
Nothing major of note to report. A used substitute here, Dan Morrissey may come more into the reckoning for the Munster final.
SIDELINE SMARTS
When Cork ran at Limerick, they looked dangerous although at times it seemed they lost their heads in the excitement of conjuring up those moves. Limerick did what Limerick do. Their own puck-out strategy faltered at times but they were stronger on Cork’s than Cork were on theirs.
BEST ON SHOW
While others such as Cian Lynch for Limerick and Cork’s Darragh Fitzgibbon ebbed and flowed during this game, Kyle Hayes’ consistency stood out. As units, both full-back lines performed stoutly.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
For the second weekend in a row, a contentious sin bin call was made at the Killinan End. Peter Casey did commit a cynical foul inside the “D” but the question is was it a goalscoring chance for Conor Cahalane? A reasonable game by Paud O’Dwyer, even if he seemed to have bought some of the players’ reactions to being tackled.
NEXT UP
A third consecutive Munster final for Limerick on Sunday week. Cork are in the pot for the qualifiers and will either be out that same weekend or the following one.
Scorers for Limerick: A. Gillane (0-6, all frees); D. O’Donovan, K. Hayes (1-0 each); C. Lynch. D. Byrnes (1 free), P. Casey (0-3 each); S. Flanagan, G. Hegarty (0-2 each); W. O’Donoghue, G. Mulcahy, D. Reidy (0-1 each).
Scorers for Cork: P. Horgan (0-5, all frees); S. Kingston (1-2); D. Fitzgibbon (0-3); J. O’Connor, S. Barrett (0-2 each); S. Harnedy, T. O’Mahony, R. O’Flynn (0-1 each).
LIMERICK: N. Quaid; S. Finn, R. English, B. Nash; D. Byrnes, D. Hannon (c), K. Hayes; W. O’Donoghue, D. O’Donovan; G. Hegarty, C. Lynch, T. Morrissey; A. Gillane, S. Flanagan, P. Casey.
Subs for Limerick: C. Boylan for T. Morrissey (46); D. Morrissey for B. Nash (56); G. Mulcahy for S. Flanagan (57); D. Reidy for G. Hegarty (65); P. Ryan for A. Gillane (66).
Sin-bin: P. Casey (25).
CORK: P. Collins; N. O’Leary, D. Cahalane, S. O’Donoghue; E. Cadogan, M. Coleman, T. O’Mahony; D. Fitzgibbon, G. Millerick; R. O’Flynn, S. Harnedy, C. Cahalane; S. Kingston, P. Horgan (c), J. O’Connor.
Subs for Cork: S. Barrett for C. Cahalane (46); L. Meade for S. Harnedy (50); S. O’Leary-Hayes for N. O’Leary (51); A. Cadogan for R. O’Flynn (55); A. Connolly for S. Kingston (69).
Referee: P. O’Dwyer (Carlow).
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