Player Ratings: Strong defensive effort but Cork attack found going tough

Couldn’t do much about the goal but made a series of terrific saves otherwise, denying Hegarty, Shane O’Brien, Casey and Cathal O’Neill. 

Very mixed return from deliveries, with a few long restarts skidding out for sidelines but Cork weren’t aerially strong enough either. 7.

Seán O’Donoghue: Strong first half on his old nemesis Gillane but coughed up a needless yellow card, for a foul on Peter Casey. 

That led to his replacement early in the second half when he had been utterly dominant. A blow to Cork. 7.

Damien Cahalane: Unusual match-up on the diminutive skillful Casey but kept him in check in the first half. Ended up on Gillane and then Hegarty. Another very honest Munster final showing. 7.

Niall O’Leary: Man-marked Shane O’Brien very tightly and limited him to a point before he was replaced.

Peter Casey did finish the game strongly but huge space had opened up by then. 7.

Eoin Downey: Tasked with tracking Gearóid Hegarty in the first half, who thieved a goal when a Brynes free dropped short. Solid showing but wasn’t able to drive up as much as he likes. 6.

Rob Downey: Arrowed a glorious first-half point after snaring a puck-out. 

Had the measure of Aidan O’Connor from play but when Limerick brought Adam English to midfield and moved Cian Lynch to 11, they got far more joy. 7.

Mark Coleman: Stitched the penalty and kept Cathal O’Neill fairly quiet until he came off injured. Tom Morrissey did pick off two scores but Coleman was denied a goal by a flying Nickie Quaid. 6.

Tommy O’Connell: Holding role at midfield, same as Darragh O’Donovan for Limerick. Excellent assist for Brian Hayes’ goal. 6.

Tim O’Mahony: Tagging Cian Lynch once again until he moved to the forwards. Superb long-range placed balls with the wind and was fouled for two converted frees. 7.

Diarmuid Healy: Grabbed two first-half points as well as earning a converted free. 

Won a vital late free and came close to a goal but Diarmaid Byrnes had a big impact too. 7.

Shane Barrett: Profited from Will O’Donoghue sitting deep and picked up a lot of possession towards midfield in the first. Didn’t score but fouled for two frees and had a couple of assists. Kept battling but couldn’t wriggle free in the second half. 6.

Barry Walsh: Didn’t see a lot of ball in the first half but was clearly told to stick tight with Kyle Hayes. Fouled for a free but wasn’t an attacking threat overall.

Did the job he was asked to do though. 6.

William Buckley: Dangerous, despite a lack of ball, nabbing two points. Had a sniff of goal in the second half but just couldn’t escape the clutches of the Limerick full-back line. 6.

Alan Connolly: Very quiet overall and only got the sliotar in his paw once in the danger zone. Reliable on the frees. 6.

Brian Hayes: Fouled for the first-half penalty but got little quality possession. Limerick were very tuned in to his playmaking as much as his scoring. Took his goal with a very clever finish. 7.

SUBS:

Cormac O’Brien: On for O’Donoghue due to the yellow card. Limerick’s rotation of their forwards in the last quarter was match-winning. 6.

On too late to rate.