JOINT-TOP of the Munster SHC standings, Cork and Limerick will play for a provincial final spot in the TUS Gaelic Grounds on Sunday at 4pm, live on RTÉ2.
Cork are coming off the back of a 4-27 to 0-24 win over Tipperary, albeit one that included an early red-card for the Premier County’s Darragh McCarthy.
Limerick produced a good performance of their own with a 0-28 to 0-22 victory over Waterford, demonstrating why John Kiely’s team remain serious All-Ireland contenders.
The Rebels are aiming to beat Limerick for the third time in a row after overcoming the Treaty 3-28 to 3-26 in 2024’s Munster SHC and 1-28 to 0-29 in the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Last weekend’s 4-18 to 2-21 defeat of Clare means Tipperary are also on three points ahead of Sunday’s clash with Waterford.
Current All-Ireland champions Clare are out of the championship, regardless of the Tipp and Waterford result, if Cork and Limerick draw.
So, things are getting very tight but the focus for both Cork and Limerick will be on their upcoming game rather than provincial permutations.
Cork have scored more and conceded less than the Treaty on average this year, making Pat Ryan’s side the slightest of favourites.
This is a Limerick team that is out for blood as they haven’t beaten Cork competitively since the Munster SHC round-robin stage back in May 2023, winning 3-25 to 1-30 at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.
Even then, Cork amassed more scores and had a shooting efficiency of 77 percent. It was Limerick’s goals that did the trick.
Amazingly, John Kiely’s side has scored an average of 24 points and conceded 23.625, meaning Limerick aren’t putting away teams like they used to. Added to that, they have netted a mere five goals so far this campaign and three of those via full-forward Shane O’Brien.
In contrast, Cork have hit the net 24 times, 19 of those majors arriving in their last five games.
Brian Hayes (7-12) and Declan Dalton (4-20) in particular have found their mojo. Patrick Horgan (2-51), Darragh Fitzgibbon (2-36) and Shane Barrett (2-15) have shot well too. Barrett was suspended for the Tipp game but will be back for Sunday, a big boost for the Rebels.
Limerick may have been goal shy but they certainly know where the posts are in regards to scoring points. 67 percent shooting accuracy against Tipperary and 68 percent accuracy against Waterford.
O’Brien, Cian Lynch, Aaron Gillane and Adam English are all finding form, and when given space, can punish any opposition.
Sunday’s matchups will be interesting to see who marks Limerick’s dangermen. Niall O’Leary, Seán O’Donoghue and Eoin Downey are well able to handle those tasks.
The potential for Limerick to spring Seamus Flanagan, Aidan O’Connor, Darragh O’Donovan and Peter Casey off the bench means there are livewire attackers everywhere you look.
Nickie Quaid’s comeback has been a huge positive for Limerick as well. The goalkeeper’s influence on his team’s puckouts has been massive since his reintroduction.
Kiely’s team won 61 percent of their long puckouts against Waterford and 72 percent of their long restarts against Tipperary. In hurling, where every puckout is about the breaking ball, those are impressive stats.
Switching over to Patrick Collins in the Cork goal, the Rebels won 56 percent long puckouts against Clare. That stat jumped up to 80 percent against Tipp.
Limerick versus Cork is a game that always whets the appetite even though we are still at the early stages of a long season.
Permutations, All-Ireland credentials and bragging rights will be decided on Sunday evening.
