Cork Hurling: Green flags provide difference for Limerick again

The contrasting levels of experience across the two teams on Saturday night meant that a home victory was the safe bet and so it proved.

Limerick’s second goal was the dam-breaker and that was likely to be the case whenever it arrived – while there was some good fortune involved in Cork holding out until the three-quarter stage, they earned their luck with hard work and an intensity to match their vaunted opponents.

If the visitors were going to make it five wins from win in the league, then there was a sense that goals would be needed to do so.

However, it’s a curiosity that, for Cork’s reputation as goal-getters while Limerick kill teams with 30-point tallies, the Shannonsiders have raised more green flags in the counties’ recent meetings.

Across Pat Ryan’s time in charge, there were five championship matches, with Limerick scoring 11 goals to Cork’s six in those – only the 2024 All-Ireland semi-final saw Cork out-goal the Treatymen and that by one to zero.

On Saturday night, Limerick again came out on top in the majors column, 3-0, and they left more chances behind them than Cork had.

Nickie Quaid saved from Shane Kingston in the first half and Barry Walsh in the second but, by and large, Cork struggled to get in behind the home side’s full-back line, something that Ben O’Connor will look to put to good use.

“Pressure out the field or maybe fellas going too long or not going long enough at stages,” he said when asked about why there were not more opportunities.

Poor execution with getting the ball in but, look, we’ll learn so much out of this game.”

At the other end, the Limerick attack was not always free-flowing – 19 white flags matched their win over Offaly as the joint-lowest tally – but they did display a sharper cutting edge.

“We got turned over a few times and it cost us,” O’Connor said.

“We probably had the ball in our hand and got turned over. They got scores out of that and that was the difference at the end of the day.”

DEPTH

Limerick’s side had 13 of the Munster final starters and their championship 15 will, one would think, resemble Saturday night more so than Cork’s.

To that end, it was another test of the depth of the squad and exposure to a near-full-tilt Limerick side can only serve a useful purpose.

There is a clarity about the next step for Cork – beat an Offaly side that has little to play for – while Limerick know that securing a place in the final is also in their hands.

The Waterford-Tipperary clash was postponed due to the sudden death of Benny Kiely, father of Waterford player Mikey Kiely and will take place next weekend instead. Should Tipp win that, then they would be in the mix going into the final round, if they were to overcome Kilkenny and Galway beat Limerick.

In such a scenario, scoring difference would come into play to determine who reached the final.