Three reasons Limerick beat Cork
Cork captain Seán O'Donoghue battles Aaron Gillane for possession during the Munster SHC game at TUS Gaelic Grounds. Picture: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
Cork had 31 scores against 28 for Limerick, but crucially three of the Shannonsiders’ were green flags.
Given that the Rebels had scored 19 points (with four goals) in drawing with Tipperary and 18 points (three goals) in losing by a point to Clare, the feeling was that goals would be needed if John Kiely’s side were to be troubled, given that 25 white flags are a matter of course for Limerick.
As things turned out, Limerick were guarded against allowing Cork goal opportunities, electing to foul at the expense of a free if necessary, while they hit the Cork net three times as well as having a shot off the post, being denied by a good Patrick Collins save and going close on at least three other occasions.
Of the Limerick side that began the 2018 All-Ireland final win over Galway, 11 saw game-time against Cork while two more, Will O’Donoghue and Peter Casey, came off the bench in that victory against the Tribesmen.
On the one hand, it means miles on the clock and they were unable to steamroll their way through Munster but, on the other, they had four close games in the provincial championship and only lost one of them – to Clare, and that by a point.
They find themselves back in the Munster final and still the bookmakers’ favourites. While Cork will have a long time to reflect on this, the result should prove educational.
There was a period from the 43rd to the 59th minute where Limerick outscored Cork by 1-7 to 0-4 as their half-back line began to get on top and Cork struggled to make headway. That said, when six straight points put them seven in front, things could have got ugly for Cork but they refused to wilt and battled back to stay in contention.
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