Cork GAA: What we learned from McGrath Cup loss to Limerick

The result wasn’t memorable, but Sunday was a special day for a dozen Rebel debutants at Páirc Uí Rinn.

An experimental Cork side were put to the sword by Limerick in a tight encounter, although they still qualified for a seventh successive McGrath Cup final on score difference.

With his Sigerson Cup cohort available, John Cleary made 13 changes from their midweek victory over Tipperary, including a series of debuts down the spine.

There were first appearances for Nemo Rangers full-back Colin Molloy, Castlehaven centre-back Tomás O’Mahony, midfielders Seán Dore of Ballincollig and Tom Cunningham of Kilshannig, Clonakilty centre-forward Conor Daly, and Carbery Rangers corner-forward Ciarán Santry.

There were as many newcomers off the bench, including Colm Gillespie and Luke Casey (Aghabullogue), Paddy O’Driscoll (Gabriel Rangers), Kevin O’Reilly (Carrigaline), Cormac Hyland (Mitchelstown), and Sam Copps (Mallow).

The likes of St Finbarr’s goalkeeper Darragh Newman and Knocknagree corner-forward Denis O’Connor, who made their bows last Tuesday in Cappawhite, got first starts, as did Valley Rovers’ Jacob O’Driscoll, Castletownbere’s Fintan Fenner, and Luke Murphy from Cullen.

There was also the honour of captaining his county for Kevin O’Donovan.

Jacob O’Driscoll was particularly prominent as he settled into inter-county life. 

He got a good hand in to turnover Limerick’s first attack, while a robust tackle forced the dangerous Danny Neville to concede possession minutes later. He then showed a fine change of gear to skin an opponent.

His most notable contribution came in the 12th minute to block James Naughton’s long-range shot towards an empty net. That came about after Darragh Newman was caught up in contesting the opposition kick-out.

Many of the errors evident on Sunday were those you’d expect from a team which had never played together before. 

Players were sometimes overly keen to impress. Four times in the first half, Cork dropped shots short when it appeared the wind was in their favour. Those moments would prove particularly punitive as Limerick countered to score 1-2 off such misses.

In truth, the swirling breeze didn’t grant a massive benefit to either side, although Limerick did exploit it to pen in Cork during their best period of play in the second half.

Their other goals came from Cork restarts. One was a sideline which Limerick pressed fiercely to turnover. The last was a kick-out which fell uncontested to a green jersey.

After a strong showing off the bench in Tipp, Darragh Cashman was again a standout performer going forward for Cork, kicking three points in the third quarter, one having turned over possession himself, and winning a pointed free.

Defensively, his positioning was questionable for the first two Limerick goals, where Conall Ó Duinn and Naughton escaped his orbit. He still emerges from pre-season largely in credit for more opportunities in the league.

Conor Daly took his opportunity well with three frees from three and two from three in open play for a 0-5 total. 

Tomás O’Mahony also looked assured at centre-back during his 30 minutes on the field, while Paddy O’Driscoll kicked a debut point.

IMPRESSIVE

The most eye-catching performance from a newer name was on the Limerick side. In a half where Cork were on top, wing-back Ó Duinn came forward to score two points from four attempts and assisted the first goal before his half-time withdrawal.

Before the break, Newman made a brilliant save from Naughton, which was followed by a bizarre moment. 

Play was brought back for a mysterious free, despite Naughton not being touched by any opponent and no possibility of an attacking mark given the pass in was delivered from inside the 45. As it was, Naughton took too long to tap over, and Eoin Morrissey chose to throw up the ball.

Their experienced attacking spine of Neville and Naughton were clinical in linking up for both second-half goals. That bit of nous was the difference between the sides.

The story of this McGrath Cup Group B has been strong selections beating weakened sides. Tipp went strong against a scratch Limerick team and won by double-digits. Cork went strong against a depleted Tipp side and won by double-digits. 

And Limerick went stronger against a novel Rebel line-up to pick up a win.

Still, it’s Cork who march on to a McGrath Cup final against Kerry on Saturday. Cork have won three of those last four McGrath Cup derbies, which highlights how the Kingdom are often more preoccupied with timing their run into the league.

They have yet to reintegrate most of their All-Ireland-winning team, while the Dingle contingent will be otherwise focused on matters in Croke Park at the weekend.

Tony Brosnan was in outstanding form on his home pitch against Waterford on Sunday, scoring 1-15, including three two-pointers and two two-point frees.

Backed by the wind, they won the first half 0-20 to 0-1, and completed a second-half shutout, 1-7 to no score, for a 29-point win.