Plenty of positives for Cork hurlers but Munster final rematch with lethal Limerick awaits

There could be no complaints from anyone on Leeside when the final whistle sounded at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday evening.

A first Munster final appearance since 2018 secured which leaves Cork one win away from a return to Croke Park. It is back to the scene of the crime of course, with Cork heading to Limerick again on Saturday, June 7, but whatever happens there, they’ll still be in the All-Ireland series.

This was no classic but job done after a strange enough game where the wind had a colossal impact.

Cork were excellent against the gale in the first half, going in 0-13 to 0-12 in front after trailing by four points early on. Their attitude and work-rate were both spot on, which they had to be after the horror show at TUS Gaelic Ground.

STANDOUT

Defensively they were tight with all the standout performers in that area. Ciarán Joyce ended up as Man of the Match but Seán O’Donoghue should have been selected by RTÉ. He showed leadership from start to finish and he directly set up 0-3 from corner-back.

Darragh Fitzgibbon and Tim O’Mahony made sure Waterford, and specifically Jamie Barron who only ended the game with a point from play, couldn’t get any traction at midfield. Shane Barrett and Seamus Harnedy both bagged 0-3 but more impressive was their tackling.

Cork were decent in attack, with Barrett and Alan Connolly especially impactful against the wind, but the finishing was sloppy a times. The final tally of 17 wides to seven tells a lot there and one of those was a goal chance for Barrett while Connolly was a mistimed handpass from Brian Hayes away from a run straight at Billy Nolan.

Hayes took a while to get into his rhythm but a lot of Cork's scores came from clearances or puck-outs landed into the drop zone around the D. 

Limerick shut down that avenue in the last meeting so it will be intriguing to see what tactical tweaks Cork can make.

Pat Ryan and his selectors will have plenty of areas to improve on but there was never really a sense Waterford were going to pull off an upset, even if a sluggish spell after going eight points up allowed the gap to be cut to three.

Encouragingly there was a lift from the bench, with Diarmuid Healy causing problems with his pace and scoring a point, while Shane Kingston and Conor Lehane also split the posts. Having seen very little game-time lately that was a boost for both.

With Declan Dalton and Robbie O'Flynn out injured, they could be needed on Shannonside. 

Diarmuid Healy was the first sub on and heavily involved, scoring a point and setting up two more.

Damien Cahalane was also tenacious when coming in for Ger Millerick, who went off after a block to deny a goal chance and an excellent display. Millerick would be a significant loss and would make Niall O'Leary's return crucial.