Cork v Limerick: Pat Ryan proud Rebels represented the jersey in the right way

In a year where hype has followed the Cork hurling team fairly closely, there will be more to contend with after the first-ever Munster SHC final win by penalty shootout.

Cork got the better of Limerick at TUS Gaelic Grounds on Saturday evening, ending the hosts’ hopes of a seventh straight provincial title. The Shannonsiders will have to contest an All-Ireland quarter-final for the first time since 2018 while Cork will have the luxury of a four-week lead-in to the semi-finals.

That will allow belief and momentum to grow on Leeside but, having seen his team lose by 16 points to the same opposition in the round-robin game three weeks previously, manager Pat Ryan doesn’t have any fears about things getting out of control.

“We won by penalties against a brilliant Limerick team, do you know what I mean?” he said. “This is just the start, this is just one thing.

“We move on to the All-Ireland series, the semi-finals. We know we're a really good team, [but] we saw what we were like when we were not at it three weeks ago.

“It's all to play for.”

Cork hadn’t practised penalties beforehand and fell 2-0 down in the shootout before Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston and Alan Connolly netted.

“None, none,” Ryan said when asked about the preparations for such an eventuality.

“All the lads are practising a lot, I think. Do you know what I mean? We had really, really good confidence in them. Eoin Downey [who would have taken the fifth penalty if required] probably practised more penalties than anyone.

“To be honest, we were just focused on coming up here and really going to battle with Limerick and represent the jersey, represent our people.

“The last day, the people are spending money to come up here and we didn't give them any value for money the last day. 

I think both teams gave fierce value for money to their supporters today and to everyone.”

Cork certainly did that, something all the more impressive given that Declan Dalton was absent through injury and defenders Niall O’Leary and captain Robert Downey limited to substitute appearances.

“It's the same with every other team,” Ryan said, “there's loads of good teams out there and it's all about the attitude you bring and whether you're going to fight. We fought today really, really hard.

“We were missing a couple of fellas, a couple of bodies came on and sometimes that actually freshens up the team. 

I thought the lads came off the bench and did a fantastic job.

“Robbie O'Flynn, Tommy O'Connell, Shane Kingston, I thought they were really, really good. You know, in fairness, that was great for us.

“Again, having the ability to bring on Niall and Rob, it was huge. It was a step up for us. We picked up one or two yellow cards. The fellas were cramping and tiring. It was the same as Limerick were, but we were delighted to get the win and it was vital that we represented the jersey properly today and we did.”

FIGHT

Cork led by four points at half-time after playing with the strong breeze, but Ryan knew there was a big task ahead.

“We were just going to have to fight,” he said.

“We put pressure on them all over the place and they put pressure on us all over the place, but look, we were in the game today.

“From the throw-in, we were engaged. Cian Lynch was on top of Ciarán [Joyce] at the start, but Ciarán was everywhere he was. Do you know what I mean? Cian's a super player and I thought, look, Ciarán, as the game went on, got on top there as well.

“But that's what you have to do. You have to put really, really good teams under pressure and you take your chances, then whether you win or not. I suppose the key thing was that the guys stayed composed and responded when Limerick had the goal to go ahead.”

Going into the All-Ireland series as Munster champions means a new challenge with the longer break until the semi-final.

“This is one less game,” Ryan said, “this is probably three or four weeks off.

It's probably going to take a bit of managing now. That's something that we haven't accounted for before.

“Limerick have plenty of experience of how they deal with that. That's your four weeks off to manage properly and probably get a bit of advice from fellas that have done it before. “