Limerick 1-21

Cork 2-17

JOHNNY CAROLAN REPORTS

A BATTLE lost but the war is still there to be won.

In April, Cork won a Munster SHC round-robin game by two points against a Limerick side without Aaron Gillane for all and Cian Lynch for nearly half of the game; last Sunday, the Shannonsiders were at full tilt and edged a Cork team lacking its captain Darragh Fitzibbon.

The margins between these two teams are ultra-tight and on Sunday it was the visitors celebrating wildly as they reclaimed the Mick Mackey Cup in the rain at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

This result ended Cork’s 12-game unbeaten run in home games across league and championship; it was also the county’s first-ever home loss in a Munster hurling final (11 previous games).

All is far from lost for Cork, however. An All-Ireland SHC quarter-final tie with Offaly on Sunday week, June 21st offers the chance to get back on track – should they get over that, they would then face Galway for a place in a third straight decider and the smart money is on Limerick being on the other side.

That is all down the line, of course. In the rain on Sunday, before 43,209 people, Limerick were the better side but, as their manager John Kiely asserted, they ‘had to be six points better to win by one’.

Kiely’s counterpart, Cork boss Ben O’Connor, was proud of how his team battled to stay with their opponents on a day when scores were hard to come by. At the same time, he had some misgivings regarding the officiating, not least what he felt was the lack of a clear direction from referee James Owens on the last play of the game.

With the five minutes of injury time having bled into two more, Cork won a free on their own 65 when Tim O’Mahony was body-checked. Goalkeeper Patrick Collins came up to take it but, faced with a strong wind that made a scoring attempt futile, he went short to Mark Coleman, who in turn found O’Mahony.

As the midfielder let fly, Owens called a halt and Limerick had regained the Mick Mackey Cup – a seventh win in eight years. O’Connor felt aggrieved that the ref had not communicated the fact that the free was the last play.

‘I met some of the boys there and they just said, going off the field, that he didn't tell them that it was the last puck of the ball.

‘I thought normally a referee would just say, "This is it lads, you should go direct," but they said he didn't.

‘The boys, when you say surrounded him, that's a little bit much now. They were walking alongside him with his team of officials.

‘They were walking alongside him. They never even raised their voice and just said, "Why didn't you tell us?" That was the only issue the boys had.’

O’Connor was also disappointed by the free count but Limerick were the better side and could have won by more – Gearóid Hegarty almost made the game safe late on by Patrick Collins saved brilliantly. It was one of three fine stops by the goalkeeper but Cork’s puckout was not fully on point in the wind-assisted first half, with three going out of play.

Even so, they got on top thanks to Mark Coleman’s penalty following a foul on Brian Hayes by his namesake Kyle and frees from Alan Connolly, three O’Mahony 65s and a Robert Downey boomer had them 1-11 to 1-5 just after the half-hour.

Foreshadowing their strong finish to the second half, Limerick ended the first period with four on the trot, two from Aidan O’Connor, but Cork were able to stay in front in the initial period after the restart.

They were helped by a wonderful goal finished by Brian Hayes following a deft pass from Mark Coleman to Tommy O’Connell – that made it 2-12 to 1-10 but it proved to be Cork’s last score from play.

Limerick threatened a goal when Shane O’Brien tested Collins but much of the middle period of the second half was Cork’s Alan Connolly and Limerick’s Aidan O’Connor exchanging frees.

The score stood at 2-14 to 1-15 when Tim O’Mahony claimed a Collins puckout and found the onrushing Coleman. This time, his low shot was kept out by Nickie Quaid – in the first half, he had brilliantly denied Diarmuid Healy a goal.

At the other end, Limerick’s Peter Casey picked Collins’ pocket after a Kyle Hayes effort fell short, however Cormac O’Brien – on for the yellow-carded Seán O’Donoghue, who kept Aaron Gillane scoreless – made an important goal-line block.

Diarmaid Byrnes cut the deficit to two with a long-range free on 58, then O’Connor made it a one-point game with his first from play after missing a scoreable free just beforehand.

Connolly put Cork two in front again following a foul on O’Mahony but Cian Lynch claimed possession from puckout and set away Adam English, who had not started but came on for Gillane. He drove at the defence and then popped a pass to Hegarty, who had relocated to full-forward – he loaded but Collins diverted the shot out for a 65.

Byrnes put that over and they were level when Hayes set up Hegarty. With the clock showing 70.05, Casey gave them the lead for the first time since the fifth minute, 1-20 to 2-16.

Five minutes of injury time had been signalled and Connolly tied matters again but Limerick had the momentum and Casey got what proved to be the winner.

Scorers

Limerick: Aidan O’Connor 0-8 (5f, 2 65), Gearóid Hegarty 1-1, Diarmaid Byrnes (2f, 1 65), Peter Casey 0-3 each, Tom Morrissey 0-2, Barry Nash, Cian Lynch, Cathal O’Neill, Shane O’Brien 0-1 each.

Cork: Alan Connolly 0-7f, Tim O’Mahony 0-4 (3 65, 1f), Brian Hayes 1-1, Mark Coleman (1-0 penalty), Diarmuid Healy, William Buckley 0-2 each, Robert Downey 0-1.

Limerick: N Quaid; S Finn, D Morrissey, B Nash; D Byrnes, W O’Donoghue, K Hayes; D O’Donovan, C Lynch; G Hegarty, A O’Connor, C O’Neill; S O’Brien, A Gillane, P Casey.

Subs: T Morrissey for O’Neill (35, injured), A English for Gillane (50), M Casey for Nash (66-69), D Reidy for O’Brien (66).

Cork: P Collins; N O’Leary, D Cahalane, S O’Donoghue; M Coleman, R Downey, E Downey; T O’Mahony, T O’Connell; B Walsh, S Barrett, D Healy; A Connolly, B Hayes, W Buckley.

Subs: S Harnedy for Walsh (66), H O’Connor for O’Connell (70+2).

Referee: J Owens (Wexford).