To suggest that champions Cork owe their place in
the Guinness Munster hurling final to a soft goal conceded six
minutes into the second half of yesterday's game in the Gaelic
Grounds, would be an over-simplification.
Yet, the inescapable fact is that underdogs Limerick lost the
momentum they had gained over the course of a spirited first half
display and struggled in the face of a rising Cork challenge.
To their great credit and thanks to the astute preparation of
manager Padjoe Whelahan they were still in contention when the
whistle sounded in the 40th minute.
There was no single reason why Cork triumphed, much less
convincingly than had been generally expected, it was due more to a
combination of factors. Team captain Ben O'Connor, the goal-scorer
from a 75-yard free which went over the head of goalkeeper Albert
Shanahan (who might have been blinded by the sun), certainly made a
telling contribution with 1-7 from placed balls. And, in a defence
which acquitted itself reasonably well overall, the influence of
John Gardiner at right half-back after his move there on the
resumption was highly significant.
Limerick, starting with Mark Foley at midfield (on Gardiner, who
never really settled there), made the perfect start with a
seventh-minute goal. It came from Sean O'Connor at full-forward,
when he met an outfield free from Niall Moran with a powerful
overhead strike. That gave them the confidence boost they needed to
unsettle Cork and sustained their challenge to half time.
During this period, there were two minor melees, but these were
small beer by comparison to a ninth minute incident. This involved
the Limerick captain T.J. Ryan who pushed corner-forward Jonathan
O'Callaghan in the face with his outstretched hurley. After
consulting with his umpires, Tipperary referee Seamus Roche merely
showed him a yellow card. He should have been sent off. And, that
was very fortunate from Limerick's perspective because the
Garryspillane man did invaluable work at the heart of the defence.
Without over-impressing, Cork were level by the 17th minute, through
the industrious Niall McCarthy, who was actually finding it hard to
make progress against Ollie Moran on the left flank. In contrast, on
the opposite side, Niall Moran proving quite accurate for Limerick
against an out-of-touch Tom Kenny. And, around the middle of the
field, Limerick were winning more ball, through Foley and Clem Smith
in turn.
They fell down in their finishing, with Niall Moran the only real
threat. It meant that after falling behind by three points, they
went without a score until the 25th minute. Additionally, missing a
few scorable frees discouraged them until Moran had them on level
terms in the 30th minute. Finally, they did go back in front with a
great shot from Moran to see the half finish 1-5 to 0-7.
Recognising the danger posed by Niall Moran, Cork moved Gardiner to
right half-back for the second half and it didn't take him long to
establish himself even though Moran was still able to contribute
four points. And, there were other signs of a growing Cork influence
in defence, indicated by stronger play from Wayne Sherlock, the
increasing influence of Ronan Curran in the centre and the
dependability of Diarmuid O'Sullivan.
Cork gained further ground through the unerring accuracy of Ben
O'Connor from frees, while Niall McCarthy continued to work hard and
Joe Deane was more involved, hitting a great score in the 50th
minute which gave Cork a five-point lead, while McCarthy had the
ball over the bar straight from a puck-out badly aimed by Shanahan.
Basically, the game was heading for its predictable outcome until a
second goal from O'Connor in 67th minute (made by good work from
Andrew O'Shaughnessy) gave Limerick renewed hope. And, with
substitute Patrick Tobin pointing quickly afterwards to narrow the
margin to a goal, there was the possibility of the home side
completing their revival. However, with T.J. Ryan being penalised
for over-holding when Limerick desperately needed the ball to be
driven deep into their attack that hope quickly disappeared. Still,
they went down with their honour intact.
The refereeing of Seamus Roche wasn't up to standard, as he ignored
too many obvious fouls. Initially finding it difficult to assert his
authority, the failure to send off the Limerick captain was his
biggest mistake.
Scorers: Cork 1-7 (1-6 frees, 0-1 65); J. Deane 0-4 (0-3 frees); N.
McCarthy 0-3; T. McCarthy, M. O'Connell, J. O'Connor and B. Corcoran
0-1 each. Limerick: N. Moran 0-7 (0-3 frees); S. O'Connor 2-0; P.
Tobin 0-2; D. Sheehan, J.P. Sheahan and M. McKenna 0-1 each.
CORK: D. Óg Cusack; W. Sherlock, D. O'Sullivan, B. Murphy; T. Kenny,
R. Curran, S. Óg Ó hAilpin; J. Gardiner, M. O'Connell; N. McCarthy,
J. O'Connor, T. McCarthy; J. O'Callaghan, B. O'Connor (capt.), J.
Deane.
Subs: B. Corcoran for T. McCarthy (53rd minute); M. Byrne for
O'Callaghan (65th).
LIMERICK: A. Shanahan; D. Reale, T.J. Ryan (capt.), M. Cahill; O.
Moran, B. Geary, P. Lawlor; M. Foley, C. Smith; M. McKenna, J.P.
Sheahan, N. Moran; A. O'Shaughnessy, S. O'Connor, D. Sheahan.
Subs: P. Tobin for J.P. Sheahan (55th minute); D. O'Grady for D.
Sheehan (72nd).
Referee: S. Roche (Tipperary).
*Attendance: 31,663.
Source: irishexaminer.com |
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