With Limerick and Cork potentially meeting five times this year, one would have excused either side of shadow boxing in this Division 1A clash at the Gaelic Grounds, but it was nothing but as the Treaty County powered to a 3-19 to 0-20 win.
There may be a potential league final next month and they have a Munster clash in seven weeks' time, but this mouth-watering repeat of last year’s historic Munster final as the fierce rivals battled it out in front of 18,744 under lights with Limerick securing an eight-point win in this entertaining clash.
It was the hosts who held the narrowest of leads at half time – 1-09 to 0-11 – after an opening 35 minutes when both sides were level four times, before Limerick outscored Cork by 2-10 to nine points in the second half.
Just seven Cork players survived the starting 15 that defeated Limerick on penalties in last year’s Munster final – the last time these two sides met competitively – while a determined Limerick started with 12 of the side that started that historic game.
Both sides will clash again at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on 26 April 26 and even before throw-in, this game had a real championship feel to it, as red and green mixing outside the Ennis Road venue before sunset.
The game, as expected, started off at a ferocious pace – Cork’s Tommy O’Connell pointing after just 30 seconds, before Shane O’Brien picked up a superb crossfield pass from Kyle Hayes, with the Kilmallock youngster scoring past Patrick Collins after getting loose of Leesider full-back Dáire O’Leary.
The sides were level for the first time with five minutes on the clock, with O’Connell’s second followed by a well-taken Brian Hayes effort quickly cancelling out O’Brien’s goal.
In the 20th minute as Adam English pointed from midfield. Seconds later, Shane Kingston burst through the Limerick defence, but Nickie Quaid saved well before Mick Casey cleared his lines.
When the again impressive Aidan O’Connor pointed his third of seven frees on the half-hour mark, Limerick took the lead for the first time since the second minute.
O’Mahony and O’Connor exchanged frees as Limerick and Cork were level twice more before the break, not before a melee broke out in the midfield of the park as tensions heated up in a cold Limerick city.
By half time, all Cork’s six forwards had registered on the scoreboard as Ben O’Connor’s charges had a spread of seven different scorers, compared to five for Limerick.
Limerick recorded six wides in the opening half, with the visitors clocking up just two.
Two quick-fire points from Cork full-forward Brian Hayes after the restart had both sides level for a fifth time by the 43rd minute.
Limerick’s O’Connor responded with two of his own, putting John Kiely’s men ahead by two points 10 minutes into the second half – 1-12 to 0-13 in favour of the men in green and white.
Limerick raised the green flag for a second time with 14 minutes left on the clock as Treaty captain Cian Lynch took full advantage of a poor pass from Tim O’Mahony in midfield before playing through Cathal O’Neill with the Crecora-Manister man giving Collins no chance in the Cork goal.
Kiely’s men took full control of the game from here on in and when O’Connor’s penalty found the net with eight minutes to go, it was Limerick’s game to lose.
It was Gillane who won the penalty for Limerick, fouled by Seán O’Donoghue – only on the pitch two minutes – after jumping highest to win a long ball in by substitute Darragh Langan – also only on the pitch.
Limerick led by 10 points at this stage – 3-16 to 0-15 – a deficit narrowed to eight by the time referee Seán Stack blew for full time with Cork scoring five of the last eight points.
With it being six years since Cork completed a league campaign unbeaten, the Leesiders will no doubt be less than pleased in losing their 100% record, but with bigger things to come between these two sides, Ben O’Connor will quickly remind his players there’s a long spring and summer ahead.
It’s now increasingly likely that both sides will meet again in next month’s Division 1A final during the first weekend of April, although Galway will certainly have other ideas when they visit Limerick in two weeks’ time.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash; Diarmaid Byrnes, William O'Donoghue, Kyle Hayes; Adam English (0-02), Cian Lynch (0-01); Gearoid Hegarty, Aidan O'Connor (1-11, 0-07fs, 1-00 pen), Cathal O'Neill (1-02); Aaron Gillane (0-01), Shane O'Brien (1-00), David Reidy.
Subs: Colin Coughlan for Hayes (blood sub, 11-12 minutes), Tom Morrissey (0-01) for Hegarty (51), Hugh Flanagan (0-01) for Reidy (57), Darragh Langan for Finn (60), Donnacha Ó Dálaigh for O’Brien (65), Oisín Farrell for Gillane (65).
Cork: Patrick Collins; Eoin Roche, Dáire O’Leary, Ger Millerick; Damien Cahalane, Eoin Downey (0-01), Micheál Mullins; Ciarán Joyce, Tommy O’Connell (0-03); Barry Walsh (0-02), Tim O’Mahony (0-07, 0-06fs, 0-01 '65), Shane Kingston (0-01), Alan Walsh (0-01), Brian Hayes (0-03), Shane Barrett (0-02).
Subs: Séamus Harnedy for Kingston (40), Niall O’Leary for Roche (47), Darragh Fitzgibbon for Mullins (54), Seán O’Donoghue for O’Leary (60), Declan Dalton for Walsh (65).
Referee: Sean Stack (Dublin).
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