John Horgan on hurling: Cork will need far greater penentration in attack to get All-Ireland bid on track

We got exactly what we envisaged in last Sunday's Munster final, a game that wasn't sorted until the 73rd minute and then it was just the bare minimum separating what many perceive to be the two best sides in the country.

When Limerick and Cork crash into each other on the championship stage, the margins are as thin as a piece of thread.

Yes, there has been some hammerings dished out when they are involved but when the stakes climb higher, it's hugely difficult to drive a wedge between them.

In any pre-match discussion, it's near impossible to predict what might transpire. If you do so, it's with no great conviction.

Limerick inched their way back on to the Munster throne this time, releasing the grip that Cork had gained 12 months earlier in a penalty shootout.

The bragging rights belong to them for the time being anyway but many in the vast numbers departing SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimhin in the rain on Sunday were of the opinion that this was just a dress rehearsal for the much bigger show in July.

They might be right, they could be wrong too and in any sporting arena, you presume what the future holds at your peril.

Yes, Limerick and Cork's status as the two best teams in the championship hasn't changed at all after their latest installment but you should never disrespect the rest of the teams vying for the ultimate prize.

Cork must now travel the longer route to Croke Park on the weekend after next when they play Offaly in a quarter-final while Limerick won't be seen again for a month, that situation applying to Galway as well. We heard a lot of nonsense spouted last week that the Munster final doesn't matter that great deal anymore because whoever came up short would take care of Offaly in their next game.

Yes, Cork will be odds-on for that encounter but weren't Limerick in the same boat against Dublin last season? That's for another day. It's reflection time now on the events of last Sunday.

There are always differing viewpoints on the type of game that has just been played out before our eyes, words like epic, classic etc frequently used and with plenty of justification.

Would one put this Munster final into that category? No, would have to be the answer.

It was tight and it was tense, it was absorbing at all times but certainly in the pantheon of finals through the years it fell short.

Limerick probably deserved their victory even if it was just by a point and extra-time and maybe penalties loomed large as the regulation minutes ticked away.

It was very much a case of the team finishing the strongest getting the verdict, Limerick doing that with four of the last five points after being five in arrears early in the second-half. It certainly wasn't one of those point-scoring extravaganzas, one team going over the 30-mark, the other not far behind.

The scoring stats don't paint the prettiest of pictures for Cork over the 70-plus minutes, only 1-6 was registered from open play and that's a paltry enough return by any standards.

Limerick delivered five points more from play and they illustrated their superiority when it mattered most coming down the home stretch.

There is no doubt that Darragh Fitzgibbon's absence in the Cork half-forward line was notable, his pace and point-taking ability sorely missed.

Only two points came off the sticks of the three starting half-forwards and Diarmuid Healy was the executioner of both. The Lisgoold player put in a fine shift overall but as a unit, the front six did not get on the board enough.

Maybe it was surprising that changes did not arrive earlier and given how well he did against Clare when he was introduced, we might have expected an appearance from Shane Kingston. But it's very easy to be wise after the event and it wasn't a day for scores to be easily got.

IMPRESSIVE

To be fair, little fault could be found with the Cork defence and a tight rein was put on Aaron Gillane inside, the player perceived to be a major threat in the build-up.

Sean O'Donoghue was doing a fine job on him until he received a yellow card which was the chief reason he was withdrawn in the second half.

Patrick Collins fumbled a few balls but got away without any major damage being done and he produced a few fine saves at different times. Nicky Quaid was again outstanding for Limerick at the other end, making one sublime save from Mark Coleman and the variation in his puck-out strategy was a significant contributory factor too.

On the day that it was, the game might well be best described as a war of attrition, a day when every score was worth a fair amount of currency and none more so than the two points that Peter Casey converted in the dying embers of a contest that once again reminded us that there is little or nothing dividing this bunch of Cork and Limerick players.

When Cork defeated Limerick in the round-robin stage of the provincial championship, James Owens was lauded for his handling of the game, letting it flow to a great extent.

However, this time and maybe the conditions were a contributing factor, a lot more frees were awarded, 18 for Limerick as against four fewer for Cork. But at the end of the day, it's only the scoreboard that matters and Limerick's remarkable consistency in Munster must be commended.

This was their seventh title in eight years and in a championship that is regarded as being the jewel in the GAA's crown, ultra-competitive from one year to the next, that takes some doing. And the one that they didn't win last season was only lost in a penalty shootout.

For a county that has lost in the previous two All-Ireland finals the ultimate goal this time for Cork has to be ending the famine that's now in its 21st year.

That cause still endures and may well come to pass but the message right now has to be, do not take anything for granted and let's forget altogether about another Cork and Limerick collision next month.

A lot of water will go under the bridge before we can contemplate that.

So, another Munster hurling championship season has come and gone and the general consensus is that it did not ignite to the same extent overall as it did in some of the previous seasons when the round-robin format was introduced.

But the Munster title is still a huge prize at its conclusion and in the cold light of day and after all the talking points have been uttered, it has to be said that Limerick, just very slightly, deserve to be on top of the pile again.

And where Cork are concerned, a quick enough regroup must happen and a lot more penetration in attack needed.