Cork hurlers must find another gear as Limerick come to town

First round done, first test passed. 

The Cork senior hurlers are up and running in their pursuit of ending the dreaded drought in the All-Ireland SHC, and they go into this weekend’s clash with Limerick knowing that another win would put them in a very favourable position in the race to escape the trap of Munster.

Given Tipperary were put away by the Rebels in the first round after a relatively lethargic display, the pressure’s already on the All-Ireland champions. They’ve got to get something from their meeting with Waterford in Walsh Park this weekend.

But last weekend’s win is no guarantee of anything, not when this Sunday test will likely be Cork’s toughest of the entire Munster round robin series. They will need to improve on that Tipp performance if they are to get the two points here.

The first half in Thurles was concerning in parts, particularly with the sluggishness around Cork’s short restarts, and their inability to stitch many passages of play together.

It took Cork a while to get motoring. But they did eventually find their groove, whereas Tipp did not. 

By the end of the game, Cork had opened up dramatically and clipped over some excellent scores. Their shooting accuracy from play came in at a very healthy 70%, with a puckout success rate of over 80%, though many of those were short restarts.

And while their final scoring haul finished at 0-29 with five different forwards getting over four points, it certainly feels as though they’ll need to do more to threaten green flags against National Hurling League champions Limerick.

In Limerick’s last four games – all of which were in the league – the Treaty County scored eight goals. While they were kept goalless in their fifth most recent of the league games, that was the Semple Stadium visit in which they routed Tipperary, finishing with an outrageous 0-36.

Now they head to Páirc Uí Chaoimh for their championship opener. 

MORE TO COME

It’s the first of the two teams' four meetings this year to be held at the Cork venue; the Munster Senior League and both National League games were held at the Gaelic Grounds. And it will certainly be a full house.

But in the league final, besides Aaron Gillane’s 1-4 from play, Limerick weren’t very effective up top against Cork. Their primary threat beyond Gillane was Adam English, and they finished with just 15 scores from 27 attempts from play.

And, despite losing the league final, Cork were clinical with the chances they had on the day, scoring 75% of their 29 shots.

Neither side were at their best in the league final, and Cork still have a few more gears to climb after last weekend’s performance. 

So, the two sides tipped for this year’s All-Ireland title have a lot more to give, and it all kicks off this weekend.