Cork Hurling: What we learned from Limerick and Clare's victories 

If some commentators had jumped the gun by announcing Cork’s qualification for the Munster final after beating Waterford, that position is very much up in the air after this weekend’s events.

Clare proved once more that they can be relied upon to dig deep after a defeat. Under Brian Lohan, last year’s injury-decimated campaign was the only season in which they’ve lost back-to-back games.

To remedy a defence that had leaked 6-51 in two games, Lohan went back to tried-and-trusted veterans among his late changes. Importantly, he did so without jettisoning those youngsters in whom he’s invested much faith.

LEARNING CURVE

Shifting over to wing-back, Niall O’Farrell dominated Andrew Ormond, who was withdrawn at half-time. The newly converted defender will learn plenty from playing alongside the master of that centre-back transition, John Conlon.

The whole operation knitted together seamlessly with the Clonlara man back at six. Four of Tipp’s starting forwards were kept scoreless from play.

At times, Conlon mixed it with Jake Morris, who was the hosts’ biggest threat. In other moments, he handed off to the likes of Diarmuid Stritch to target puck-out breaks.

Stritch made his full debut in midfield and was impactful right from the throw-in, which he won to tee up Seán Rynne’s opener. 

When pushed towards the centre-forward channel, he exploited pockets of space for six points from eight shots, linking up particularly well with Tony Kelly.

Cathal Malone, who switched from wing-back to wing-forward, helped Clare to lay down a marker in that department.

“Clare came fully ready to go to war,” said Liam Cahill. “Physically, they really dominated. The swarm tackle, Clare were there in numbers.

“How many times did you see our guys trying to reach out to get a high handpass up over a group of players all around them?

“They were hunting in packs, they smelt blood, and they went after it.” 

The Tipp boss namechecked the two players he felt would be happy with their own performances: Robert Doyle and Bryan O’Mara. Ronan Maher could’ve been added to that list, too.

No coincidence that those three were detailed with man-marking roles on Tony Kelly (0-1 from play), Shane O’Donnell (held scoreless), and Peter Duggan (0-1 from play). Cork will be paying close attention to those match-ups next weekend.

Cahill felt a lesson from their early exit was the emphasis given to the league.

"Cork and Limerick in the league final, they're in pole position now to get out the gap in Munster," he said. "Our league was chequered and we were playing catch-up then."

Kelly, Mark Rodgers, and Ryan Taylor came off early for treatment, so it remains to be seen if any of them could come under pressure to make the Páirc on Sunday.

Ian Galvin was a magnet for the sliotar on his introduction, although he was shortchanged with a 1-2 return from eight shots.

It was an abrasive Clare performance, but not exactly polished, given their 17 wides. They can’t afford those numbers against Cork on Sunday.

A four-point win is Clare’s target to overhaul the Rebels for a Munster final spot.

GOAL THREAT

At the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick’s 2-8 charge after the hour mark delivered their 10th consecutive championship victory over Waterford.

Like against Cork, the Déise led by just one point after playing with the wind, but were still in pole position entering the closing stages.

Limerick’s goalscoring uptick proved their saviour. The Treaty had scored just five goals against Waterford in their past seven meetings, but they needed the two they got here.

“They weren't pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but there was great desire in our group to try to get those couple of goals,” said John Kiely.

“We're getting them every day now and that wasn't always the case in the past. 

Our goal-scoring rate is well up on previous years. We want to keep that going.” 

Aaron Gillane came in to start for Limerick, but was hunted everywhere by Paddy Leavey and held scoreless until his withdrawal. Gearóid Hegarty’s resulting switch into the full-forward line triggered Limerick’s winning flurry.

Cian Lynch was named on the bench and introduced before half-time in place of Adam English, who had started with two points but was carrying a yellow card and a ticking. The captain made a fast impact with a point and a hand in scores for Cathal O’Neill and Shane O’Brien. He ended with 0-3, while Tom Morrissey matched that bench tally.

The Limerick full-back line has already been functioning well, but Dan Morrissey showed why he was added to the mix by keeping Seán Walsh quiet. Kyle Hayes was switched back for a finish to nail down the space behind William O’Donoghue.

Not getting carried away, Kiely insisted: “For us, next weekend is really a Munster semi-final.” 

With nothing but pride on the line, it’s hard to see Tipp snapping a 13-game winless run in this fixture.