Hurling talking points as Cork share the points with Limerick
Ciaran Joyce in action against Limerick yesterday. Picture: ©INPHO/James Lawlor
A result that certainly leaves mixed feelings among Cork fans, at the end of it all there can’t be many complaints.
Ultimately the Rebels didn’t do enough to win. They were fortunate enough to even come away with a draw. Limerick fans do have a right to feel aggrieved with the referee after that one.
Nonetheless, there are quite a few takeaways from a Cork perspective – both positive and negative.
We’ll start with the cons.
After a flying start to the first half that got the crowd fired up, all seemed to be going well for Pat Ryan’s side. They were sending over every opportunity.
Then Limerick arose, as expected. They got right back in it and as Kyle Hayes picked out Will O’Donoghue for the goal, Cork were under pressure.
From that moment on, the same failings that have plagued this Cork side time and time again began to surface.
But there were far too many needless errors.
Whatever it is about Cork, I don’t know, but this seems to happen far too often.
The worst of all was the sideline from Patrick Horgan on the eve of the half time break.
A player with so much class and consistency, a hurler who is regarded as one of the best, and for good reason. Even Horgan still found himself susceptible to one of those moments.
I don’t exactly want to single him out either, because he wasn’t the only one to make those errors. In the grand scheme of things his mistake was hardly costly either, but Cork were not sharp going forward.
It’s only the beginning of February – so a little rustiness is certainly forgivable. Hopefully the Rebels can find their groove over the course of the next few games.
There were quite a few standouts in defence, but for me Tim O’Mahony was easily Cork’s best performer on the night. It felt like every single time someone broke out of defence with the ball in hand, it was O’Mahony.
Not only did the Newtownshandrum man play a huge role in kick starting Shane Barrett’s goal, but he followed that up moments later with a perfect pass to Shane Kingston.
Unfortunately, that chance was put wide, but he made great use of his size and power all throughout. He was superb roaming across the half-back line. It feels like he gets better with each passing year.
A sure starter.
Someone who isn’t a sure starter but will certainly hope to change that this year is Ethan Twomey. His performance last night certainly went a long way towards that.
Injuries hampered his chances of doing so in 2024, but if his performance in midfield last night is anything to go by, he’s going to be a huge asset this season. A skilful hurler who’s become a much more physical presence seemingly overnight.
Both Ger Millerick and Ciarán Joyce also deserve mentions for their displays.
It goes without saying that we all knew it was going to be a big one.
The league is never going to have the same appeal or attraction as championship hurling, that’s a given. But it’s safe to say last night was as good as you’re going to get.
The handbags and scraps. Yellow cards for tensions between each man and his marker. The atmosphere from the crowd.
Dare I say it had that championship bite?
Even if that’s a stretch – there’s no denying it was a contest that the players were up for, and so were both sets of supporters. The game felt like far more than a league match, even before throw in.
Both teams were prepared to put on a show for the more than 24,000 in attendance, it’s just a shame the weather hampered that.
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