2006 Flashback: Fire and fury when Cork and Limerick hurlers last met in Thurles
Neil Ronan celebrates scoring his side's first point in the company of Barry Foley, Limerick. Picture: Brendan Moran/SPORTSFILE
CORK, raging favourites on the road to a fourth All-Ireland final appearance in a row, survived a real battle in Semple Stadium 15 years ago.
Limerick had two devastating patches where they blitzed John Allen's side and hit five points in a row in the last quarter to come close to a major shock.
That included a bizarre sequence when Diarmuid O'Sullivan was prevented from coming up the field to take a penalty after Brian Corcoran was upended and Joe Deane ended up popping it over the bar instead. Cork hurled with pace and swagger in spells but were also derailed at times by Limerick's raw aggression.
Neil Ronan, making his first start in six years since the 2000 Munster clash with Limerick, lanced over 0-3 from play in the first half, while Ben O'Connor matched that, adding a couple of frees as well, and the vaunted half-back of John Gardiner, Ronan Curran and Seán Óg Ó hAilpín did enough in the end to keep Limerick at bay.
Niall Moran and Conor Fitzgerald nailed some terrific points for the Shannonsiders, who'd learn from the experience to reach the All-Ireland final the following year, hitting Waterford for five goals in the semi-final along the way.
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