Cork v Limerick: Rebel rise firmly pushed down by ruthless champions

CORK hurling might be on the rise but they've some distance left to climb before they hit Limerick's heights.

For all the romanticism of the Rebel treble bid, John Kiely's charges crushed those Cork dreams in the cold and calculating manner that has seen them draw comparisons with the all-conquering Kilkenny. 

Who can end their dominance? In terms of conditioning, support play and big-day temperament, Cork weren't remotely close to Limerick at Croker.

In 2003, Cork came from nowhere but left an All-Ireland behind them. Their response 12 months later was to dethrone Kilkenny and retain Liam MacCarthy in 2005. It'll be some job by Kieran Kingston and his management if they mastermind a similar turnaround.

Could it be more like 2013? A one-off appearance. That's the fear given how Cork were dismantled by Limerick.

Underage All-Irelands are one thing, and Cork supporters certainly enjoyed the U20 and minor victories across the last seven weeks, but senior is elite sport. There's no room for sentiment at the summit. 

We can say Patrick Horgan 'deserves' a Celtic Cross but that never comes into All-Ireland final day. 

Horgan hit the scores to become the 2021 championship top-scorer but that All-Ireland remains out of reach.

The champions justified their favouritism and then some in a power-packed opening period, demolishing Cork with a tally that would win most games across 70 minutes. The second half had the feeling of a training match as a consequence, an extremely grim one for Cork. 

If the Treaty were in second gear for spells of the Munster semi-final, they had the pedal down from Gearóid Hegarty's early goal. Granted, a rocket from Shane Kingston roused the Rebel masses briefly but every Cork score in the first half was hard-earned. 

Limerick's swarm tackling and covering across the middle third made running possession through the lines extremely difficult with the likes of Robbie O'Flynn and Mark Coleman getting turned over. Long deliveries, bar a couple of snappy scores from Patrick Horgan, weren't an option due to the aerial prowess of the Limerick rearguard. 

Jack O'Connor was often contesting a looping, high ball with twin towers blocking the skies. Cork repeated the same mistake when Alan Cadogan was introduced. 

Seamus Harnedy, like Horgan, was able to pilfer some lovely scores but it was utterly in vain. Harnedy ended his afternoon with 0-4 from play, the pick of the forwards, but that won't be any consolation to the veteran.

Very few of the Rebels got close to their best form from the throw-in, but the gap in experience between the sides was a huge factor. 

The space in front of the Cork full-back line meant Niall O'Leary, Rob Downey and Seán O'Donoghue's best efforts were in vain. Tim O'Mahony was trying to provide an outlet over the top down the wing but as a consequence, Gearóid Hegarty was able to drift and cause havoc.

Luke Meade processed a lot of ball at midfield and was one of the few Cork players capable of breaking tackles but the positives were few and far between. 

Defensively, Downey was the standout, while Limerick raised three green flags the rookie full-back made a series of fine blocks and tackles. 

Mark Coleman as a sweeping number six was undermined by the volume of ball being sprayed around by the champions, and the threat of Cian Lynch on breaks. Coleman kept driving on until the final whistle eventually sounded and put Cork out of their misery, but Cork sorely lacked the ferocity of Limerick down the centre of their defence.

In the last 15 minutes, Cork chased goals that never looked like coming, spurning a host of good chances for points but it was hard to blame them given the gap on the scoreboard. 

Shane Barrett, just 20, was lively off the bench but there was little to be upbeat about for the Rebel faithful. What was particularly worrying was that Harnedy and Horgan, the two oldest forwards, were also Cork's best.

In his speech, Limerick captain Declan Hannon referred to Cork as a young, up and coming team. Perhaps their time will arrive but that wasn't All-Ireland Sunday, 2021.

SCORERS:

Patrick Horgan 0-54 (0-36 f, 0-4 65); 

Shane Kingston 4-9;

Jack O'Connor 2-10; 

Seamus Harnedy 0-13; 

Shane Barrett 1-6; 

Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-6; 

Robbie O'Flynn 0-6; 

Tim O'Mahony 1-2; 

Alan Cadogan 0-4; 

Niall O'Leary 0-3;

Alan Connolly 0-2;  

Luke Meade 0-2; 

Mark Coleman 0-2 (0-1 f); 

Conor Cahalane 0-1; 

Declan Dalton 0-1.