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Munster Championship left wide open with Cork upset over Limerick
Shane Meehan of Clare, Declan Hannon of Limerick, Ronan Maher of Tipperary and Sean ODonoghue of Cork at the launch of the Munster GAA Senior Hurling and Football Championship 2024 at Cahir Castle in Tipperary. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Cork pulled off an incredible upset in a game for the ages against Limerick in the 2024 Munster Hurling Championship winning out 3-28 to 3-26
The Rebel County came out on top of a thrilling encounter at Pairc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday, May 11 in a match which kept fans on the edge of their seats until the final whistle.
Cork fell short against both Waterford and Clare in this year’s championship and were in need of a win to keep their chances of a Munster Championship final in 2024 in reach, held on in what was another classic in this year’s round-robin series of matches.
The game got off to a flyer from the throw-in with Limerick getting on the scoreboard first with Aaron Gillane slotting over an early free and Patrick Hogan quickly levelling things up from the 65-metre line. The intensity from the beginning of the game was a sign of things to come with the back-and-forth continuing as both teams showed their attacking nature and skill.
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It looked as though Limerick would have a tough day at the office as early on, with the score tied 0-2 to 0-2, Cork saw the Limerick net rattle on the fifth minute from an incredible Shane Barrett strikeinto the bottom corner. It seemed as though Cork’s early goal energised the team as they pulled away to a 7-point lead, the scoreline kept close by some brilliant Nicky Quaid goalkeeping.
Scores from Kyle Hayes, David Reidy, Tom Morrisey, and Gillanne kept Limerick within distance, as they proved in recent games there is no such thing as a comfortable lead against the Treaty men.
Cork made life hard on themselves as Gillanne intercepted a ball in the Cork defense before laying it off to Seamus Flanagan, who had an incredible game, making the most of the mistake and putting the ball past Nash, making it 1-11 to 1-08 to Cork ten minutes before the half.
As the game progressed, Cork continued to impress, with Horgan and Gillane showcasing their accuracy from frees, but Cork would go in at the break eight points up, and deservedly following a second Cork goal by Shane Barrett, with Nicky Quaid being put to work picking up another number of saves on the way, making it Cork 2-15 to Limerick’s 1-10 at the half.
Limerick came out in the second half showing they wouldn’t be put away easily, taking their scores as they came, and in the 52nd Seamus Flanagan popped up once again rattling the net for Limerick making it 2-20 to 2-18 and a nervy time for Cork.
Seamus Flanagan again popped up when needed, completing his hattrick in the 59th minute, giving Limerick a lead and leaving Cork wondering what needed to be done to stop this incredible Limerick team.
The final period of the game was a display of why Hurling is one of the country’s greatest sports with fans treated to a nail-biting finish and a game neutrals wouldn’t look away from.
With Limerick leading 3-26 to 2-27 in the 72nd minute, a late penalty converted by Horgan sent the home crowd into raptures, sealing Cork’s much-needed win in what has been the game of the championship so far finishing Cork 3-28 to Limerick’s 3-26.
Limerick remain at top of the group with a visit from Waterford up next for the Treaty men on Sunday, May 26 at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.
Scorers for Cork: Patrick Horgan 1-11 (1-0 pen, 10fs), Shane Barrett, Séamus Harnedy 1-2 each, Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-5, Declan Dalton (2fs), Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes 0-2 each, Ethan Twomey, Shane Kingston 0-1 each.
Scorers for Limerick: Séamus Flanagan 3-3, Aaron Gillane 0-7 (7fs), Gearóid Hegarty 0-4, Cathal O’Neill 0-3, Diarmaid Byrnes (2fs), Tom Morrissey 0-2 each, Kyle Hayes, Cian Lynch, David Reidy, Adam English, Aidan O’Connor 0-1 each.
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