John Horgan: Cork hurlers must show same drive when they take on Tipperary
Alan Connolly of Cork is tackled by Kyle Hayes of Limerick. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
WITH every passing week the consensus seems to be the same, the Munster SHC just gets better and better.
What was a brilliant game one day is quickly put in the shade with what comes next, the levels of intensity, artistry and expertise are reaching almost frightening levels.
What we are witnessing in front of our eyes is hurling mayhem that is breathtaking to watch and ensures that you just don't know what to expect from one game to the next, make that one minute to the next.
There might be a thousand ways of summing up last Saturday night's epic between Cork and Limerick at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh and every one of them would do justice to a contest that could only be described as a sporting extravaganza.
This was Munster hurling at its very best and that again reminded us that we are privileged to be around at a time in our lives when the game is greater than it has ever been down through the long corridors of time.
The stakes where Cork were concerned were never so high as they were here, their hurling summer was dangling on a tightrope of massive uncertainty. Another championship loss to add to earlier defeats by Waterford and Clare would have brought all sorts of questions about the overall state of the game on Leeside.
There is still a mammoth task ahead in getting out of Munster but, quite rightfully, this magnificent victory was celebrated properly by the supporters.
But those celebrations must be put on hold quickly because, the victory such that it was in all its finery, could be meaningless if Tipperary aren't taken down in Thurles next Sunday.
Such is the current state of play in this enthralling Munster hurling championship that the uncertainty has become even greater than it was at the outset of the campaign.
Cork deservedly won this wonderful game after somewhere along the way losing it before they again managed to regain their lost composure to manufacture one of the county's best victories for quite some time.
And it's been quite some time too before such abundant character was exhibited by a Cork team.
This was another one of those great hurling stories that contained everything you could wish to see over the hour and 10 minutes.
On 60 different occasions, the four umpires had to raise their flags with some scores of sheer brilliance that were wonderful in their invention and magnificent in their execution.
One player scored three goals, adding on a brace of points for good measure but still Seamus Flanagan ended up on the losing side.
Cork teams have often been criticised for their lack of aggression and physicality in the past, not good enough to mix it when the harder yards had to be covered.
Not this time, from the off they tore into what is arguably the greatest hurling team of all time, they matched them in those departments that can be key and without fear of being contradicted, this observer would put down the opening 35 minutes as being one of the best from a Cork team for many long years.
Father Time is certainly not catching up with that great warrior from St Ita's!
Cork had a substantial advantage at the interval, a foundation stone had been laid but history has taught us many times that there's not a better team from any era more than capable of quickly wiping out that advantage as Limerick.
An eight-point lead was suddenly a four-point deficit as we entered the game's dying embers.
It seemed that once more, this great Limerick team had found a way.
But not this time the complete opposite was the case, Cork found their own way home.
And substitute Shane Kingston must be given immense credit for turning the game on its head, winning a late, late penalty which was sublimely drilled past Nicky Quaid by one of Cork's greatest ever hurlers, Patrick Horgan who had another superb outing in the jersey that he has given so much to.
Cork had so many players generously contributing to the win, Darragh Fitzgibbon fired over five big points from play, midfield compatriot Ethan Twomey worked his socks off before being called ashore. Rob Downey was a fine replacement at centre-back for the injured Ciaran Joyce.
From eight to 15, all put in a huge shift, all on the board until some legs tired and were replaced. Connolly and Hayes shared a quartet of points between them on a night when every score was worth its weight in gold.
Character is a word perhaps too often uttered but without it, you are always battling against the tide and, by God, Cork had it in abundance when Limerick had opened up what seemed very much to be a winning lead.
Cork conceded a very significant tally of 3-26, they have done something similar in the past and lost but not this time because they were able to score two points more and that took a hell of a lot of doing against a Limerick team that still have to be clear favourites for the big honours.
Pat Ryan should, quite rightly, be very proud of his players, they answered the call when the need was at its greatest. The number one priority was to keep the season alive, to be heading for Tom Semple's field in Thurles still in the chase.
But they are far from being out of the woods yet and Tipperary, buoyant after their fightback in Walsh Park, are now waiting in the long grass. And Liam Cahill will have learned a lot about this Cork team last Saturday night and the concession of three goals by them will have been taken on board.
This was without the aforementioned Ciaran Joyce and the loss of such an influential player had to be dealt with and it was. But as they say, one swallow never made a Summer and one win won't be enough to save Cork.
A very acute bend on the road has been turned, the road ahead is certainly not as long as it was before throw-in last Saturday.
A very good night for Cork hurling.
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