Match-winner Hayes offers 'different dimension' to Cork attack, says Ryan
NEW ADDITION: Richie English of Limerick in action against Brian Hayes of Cork. Pic: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
There was contentment in either corner. That Cork had snatched the spoils right at the death didn’t necessarily make them the happier going back out the gate.
Although, if you really want to know who was smiling broadest walking out of Pairc Uí Rinn Sunday at dinnertime, you needn’t have looked any further than those in Munster Council jackets.
The initial attendance given of 4,521 was later rounded up to 5,128. For a pre-season fixture in the middle of January, provincial coffers don’t expect such a swelling.
They came to see Pat Ryan’s first competitive fixture on home soil. They came to see the three-in-a-row All-Ireland champions.
As a minute’s silence was impeccably observed for our late friend Paudie Palmer, the only audible sound was that of turnstiles clicking on the Boreenmanna Road side of the ground. They were still clicking 15 minutes into proceedings as the last of the large crowd made their way in.
It’s been six months since we last caught sight of the Limerick hurlers. But this wasn’t the dominant Limerick side who’ve taken over as landlords of the game. This was a side as green as it was rusty.
There were just four survivors - Dan and Tom Morrissey, Darragh O’Donovan, and David Reidy - from last July’s All-Ireland final win. Four was also the number for senior debutants - Fergal O’Connor, Ciaran Barry, Aidan O’Connor, and Shane O’Brien - in this experimental Limerick lineup.
And yet despite their relative greenness at this level, and their rustiness, and the amount of green diesel they spilt across the 70-plus minutes, and the fact that they are not long off the airport tarmac following an almost two-week team holiday in the Carribbean, Limerick were right there until the last exchange.
“You're kind of going into it blind, if you like, but from what I saw today, I'd be very happy with the boys, the way they engaged in the game, the whole day in fact. Their attitude was superb throughout,” said John Kiely.
“We got a few young lads who joined us last year and this year, they got some good gametime into them. That's a fantastic experience for them to have had.”
Blowing hard early doors, as was to be expected, a fortuitous Darragh O’Donovan goal from distance on 15 minutes brought the visitors into proceedings. But for eight first half wides, contrasted against Cork's one, they might well have led at the break. Instead, they trailed 0-11 to 1-7.
David Reidy was responsible for five of those eight first half wides. His accuracy was much improved upon the change of ends. Six frees from his stick and three from play from Barry Murphy, Oisin O’Reilly, and sub Conor O’Grady had the champions one in front as the clock entered the red.
It was a chaotic and messy four minutes of injury-time. Conor Lehane’s 12th of the afternoon levelled matters in the 71st minute. There followed Tom Morrissey and Shane O’Brien wides either side of a Ciarán Joyce effort dropped short. The squandered opportunities were a microcosm for the lack of sharpness in either corner. We’re only halfway through January, lest we forget.
Stepping up amid a haze of misses and mistakes was Cork footballer-turned-hurler Brian Hayes. His second white flag, in the fourth and final minute of injury-time, secured Cork the win and a final meeting with Tipperary this Sunday.
Although the Barrs dual talent failed to find the net with either of his two second half goal opportunities, his height and aerial ability offers Cork a new direction inside.
“You can see that he gives us a different dimension and he's very sharp. He had two great goal opportunities that he'll be disappointed he didn't take, but he got two great scores and worked his socks off for us. He'll get better and better," said Pat Ryan.
There was one stage in the second half, in the buildup to Oisin O’Reilly’s 43rd minute point, where David Reidy knocked Ciarán Joyce with a shoulder. The physicality tabled by the understrength champions was an early season eye-opener for Ryan.
“When you think of the fellas they were missing, you can imagine the physicality that they'll bring. It's my first time being up close to it again in five or six years and you could see that the physicality has gone up another notch since I was involved in 2017, 2018.
“I suppose you see it in the stands, but when you get down close to it, you can hear the ferocity of the belts.”
And it’s only tougher it will get from here. In every sense.
C Lehane (0-12, 0-7 frees, 0-1 ‘65); C Beausang, B Hayes (0-2 each); B O’Sullivan, C Cahalane, L Meade, S Barrett (0-1 each).
D Reidy (0-9, 0-9 frees); D O’Donovan (1-0); A O’Connor, S O’Brien (0-2 each); B Murphy, O O’Reilly, C O’Grady (0-1 each).
P Collins; C O’Callaghan, R Downey, S O’Donoghue; C Cormack, C Joyce, C O’Brien; T O’Connell, B O’Sullivan; C Cahalane, C Lehane, L Meade; C Beausang, B Hayes, S Barrett.
S Quirke for O’Sullivan (HT); B Roche for Meade, P Horgan for Cahalane (both 52); D Dalton for Barrett (56); C Walsh for O’Connell (62); E Downey for Quirke (65, inj).
D McCarthy; A Costello, R English, F O’Connor; M Quinlan, D Morrissey, C Barry; D O’Donovan, R Hanley; A O’Connor, D Reidy, T Morrissey; O O’Reilly, S O'Brien, B Murphy.
M Houlihan for A O’Connor, R Duff for Hanley (both 53); R Connolly for Barry (56); D O’Connell for O’Reilly, J Quilty for F O’Connor (both 63); C O’Grady for O’Donovan (65).
J Mullins (Clare).
