Limerick 1-16 Cork 1-15
Limerick pulled off the first major shock of the hurling championship when they defeated hot favourites Cork by a single point in Pairc Uí Chaoimh today. Limerick started with the breeze at their backs in the first half, and it took four and a half minutes for the first score to arrive amidst the frenetic hurling, a well taken point by Ollie Moran from out on the left wing.
Limerick were in charge at this stage, and some well taken early points were capped off by a terrific goal by Jimmy Butler. He came across from the pitch from right to left, turned and left John Browne for dead before rocketing a shot into the top corner past Donal Og Cusack. Some well taken scores from Paul O'Grady put them in further in charge, but Limerick then fell back into their old ways of hitting unnecessary wides, and it looked like they would pay for them as Cork narrowed the gap through scores from Joe Deane and Seanie McGrath.
Butler then broke the run of wides with a point, followed by Moran driving straight through the middle of Cork's defence for a super point, and Limerick led by 1-10 to 0-7 at the break, despite shooting 10 wides to Cork's three.
Diarmuid O'Sullivan showed Cork meant business in the second half with a huge point from inside his own half, and within a minute Alan Browne went through the middle to finish to the Limerick net off the ground after initially being hooked. It was vital for Limerick that they regained their momentum and they did so with quick points from Brian Begley and Moran.
Cork captain Ben O'Connor then led by example and scored two super quick-fire points from each wing. The game then became an engrossing game of tit-for-tat, broken only by the numerous skirmishes that broke. Barry Foley and Mark Landers swapped points, and then three scores from Browne and Deane (2) put Cork in front for the first time in the game.
Two pointed frees from Paul O'Grady gave Limerick back the lead, but Landers landed another long-range point to tie the game up again. But with just four minutes left on the clock Limerick captain Barry Foley stepped up and pointed a thirty-yard sideline ball to regain the lead for his team. And from there, with Mark Foley playing a man-of-the-match role, Limerick defied the odds and held on to win by a single point.
Afterwards, Limerick captain Barry Foley said he was not surprised by the result. "We definitely came down as underdogs well and truly but I think we put a bit of pressure on ourselves today to come up with the goods and I think we proved out there today that we are not a bad side. We were quietly confident the last few weeks but we played it low-key. Everyone was talking about Cork and how they are a great team and you have to hand it to them, they are a great team but we felt we were really in with a good chance of causing an upset. We really had to work hard for it out there today. I am absolutely exhausted after the match but it's all worthwhile."
In the Munster Intermediate Championship, Cork beat Limerick 1-18 to 1-11.
Filed by Pat Nugent
