Ben O'Connor says Cork players were not told last free had to go direct

Cork manager Ben O’Connor was left aggrieved by what he felt was a return to ‘league refereeing’ in Sunday’s final.

The overall free count was 18-14 in Limerick’s favour – O’Connor also took issue with the fact that referee James Owens did not tell his players that the 14th free awarded to Cork, at the very end, had to go dead.

With the breeze against him, Cork goalkeeper Patrick Collins tried to work the ball short to Mark Coleman and Tim O’Mahony but Owens blew for time just as O’Mahony launched it and Limerick regained the Mick Mackey Cup, the seventh victory in eight seasons.

The Shannonsiders go straight through to the All-Ireland SHC semi-final on Sunday, July 5 against either Clare or Dublin, while Cork must take on Offaly in a quarter-final in a fortnight – the winners of that will do battle with Galway on Saturday evening, July 4.

In addition to feeling that Cork were penalised more than their opponents, he was frustrated with how that last free was officiated.

“I met some of the boys there and they just said, going off the field, that he didn't tell them that it was the last puck of the ball.

I thought normally a referee would just say, ‘This is it lads, you should go direct,’ but they said he didn't.

“The boys, when you say surrounded him, that's a little bit much now. They were walking alongside him with his team of officials.

“They were walking alongside him. They never even raised their voice and just said, ‘Why didn't you tell us?’ That was the only issue the boys had.

“I am only getting third-hand information off the lads, that is what they said to me coming off. I was talking to them coming out and they said they weren’t told anything.”

RED-EYED

It stung all the more given how Cork were disappointed with the decisions that went against them prior to that.

“I’m not taking away from Limerick’s win but I do think there was a few [went against Cork],” O’Connor said.

“We’ve got to here now and championship refereeing, whereas I thought that was a little bit more like league hurling.”

Owens had also refereed the Cork-Limerick round-robin game in April, when more was allowed to flow.

“I thought he done a great job the first day, but we won the first day, so maybe that’s why I’m giving out!” O’Connor laughed.

“I just thought today it was very whistle-happy. You can’t be criticising these fellas – they are not getting paid, they are inside there and there is fierce pressure on them.

“It is a split-second decision. But I am looking at it through red eyes and I thought we were harshly treated in a few of them."