Munster SHC final: Limerick look too far ahead to be caught on this occasion

Munster GAA SHC final

Limerick v Cork,

TUS Gaelic Grounds,

Saturday, 6pm

If the intrigue surrounding the counties’ earlier meeting centred on how convincingly Limerick could regain their form of old and how successfully their opponents could iron out troubling inconsistencies in their performances to date, the resolution made tough viewing for Cork.

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The champions got back within shouting distance of their pomp with as good a display as any since the 2023 All-Ireland. Cork, however, were a ghost of the rampaging unit that had swept to the league title only weeks previously.

For Saturday, the question for Pat Ryan’s team is not so much whether they can rediscover the defiance, cuteness and aggression that so bothered Limerick last year but whether they will even be in a position to do so, given injury problems.

Lingering doubts about the sustainability of the champions’ explosive performance will have to be addressed. To what extent did they simply unburden the frustrations and resentment at last year’s “drive for five” being unceremoniously derailed?

Such an interpretation – that fury spent, Limerick will revert to the mean of this year’s performances – would be wishful thinking.

The scale of their domination was jaw-dropping. From Nickie Quaid’s laser-guided puck-outs, which never relented – to the ruin of Cork, who frequently did – to the buccaneering Aaron Gillane up front, they were in irresistible form. There is every chance of some drop-off, but will that facilitate a turnaround?

To get where they posed such a formidable challenge, Cork needed an optimal blend of tactics, attitude and personnel. Taking on the champions’ half backs took brave puck-outs and a taste for attrition as well as the sharpness of Brian Hayes and Alan Connolly on the inside forward line.

Declan Dalton and Séamus Harnedy did the primary battling but three weeks ago, they managed just 43 minutes between them after the former was taken off injured in the eighth minute and is still missing.

There is further difficulty for them in the reconstituted power of the Limerick half backs. In last year’s All-Ireland semi-final, they managed to keep the ball out of Kyle Hayes’s orbit, but his switch to centre back, facilitated by the composure and clinical distribution of Barry Nash moving to number seven, restored the formidable platform of the whole line.

Darragh Fitzgibbon needs to get back to the form of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final and Cork will have to improve on retrieving fewer than half of their puck-outs.

Cork’s Tim O'Mahony and Brian Roche struggle for possession with Cian Lynch of Limerick. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho

There are complementary problems at the back. The Downeys were a powerful axis last year and even allowing for a slight downturn this season, the main damage has been Rob’s injury. Ciarán Joyce has performed far more effectively on the wing than when operating centrally and with Cian Lynch conjuring on the 40, a solution is needed.

On top of that, the old firm of Gearóid Hegarty and Tom Morrissey were back on the prowl, zipping around and scoring 0-8 from play at wing forward, half of the winning margin.

Lynch, though, is at the heart of the champions’ best play. Manager John Kiely said in reference to his captain that the best coaching allows for great players’ spontaneity.

After the recent victory over Cork, he eulogised: “I think Cian got the thing off to a really great start with his presence of mind in that first two minutes. He could see it and when the first couple get going, it encourages everybody to follow suit. Our use of the ball was very, very good.”

The other dog that hasn’t been barking is Cork’s goalscoring. Gordon Manning compiled on these pages the figures for the season to date, showing that Pat Ryan’s team has outscored their opponents by 27-8 so far. But going into the previous contest three weeks ago, the disparity was the same, 24-5, and still, Limerick outscored them by three goals to one.

Brian Hayes, their chief goal creator, was well marked by Dan Morrissey the last day and Connolly and Pat Horgan struggled to make their own arrangements.

Cork’s most pressing anxiety isn’t so much that they allowed Limerick such latitude last month but that, for all their fire-breathing, goalscoring of the past 12 months, they have in fact been wearing the emperor’s new clothes. Redress is essential.

Verdict: Limerick

Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Seán Finn, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey; Diarmaid Byrnes, Kyle Hayes, Barry Nash; Adam English, Will O’Donoghue; Gearóid Hegarty, Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey; Aaron Gillane, Aidan O’Connor, David Reidy. Subs: Shane Dowling, Peter Casey, Colin Coughlan, Seamus Flanagan, Declan Hannon, Barry Murphy, Shane O’Brien, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh, Darragh O’Donovan, Patrick O’Donovan, Cathal O’Neill.

Cork: Patrick Collins; Damien Cahalane, Eoin Downey, Seán O’Donoghue; Cormac O’Brien, Ciarán Joyce, Mark Coleman; Tim O’Mahony, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Diarmuid Healy, Shane Barrett, Seamus Harnedy; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes. Subs: Brion Saunderson, Niall O’Leary, Rob Downey, Tommy O’Connell, Ethan Twomey, Luke Meade, Shane Kingston, Jack O’Connor, Brian Roche, Robbie O’Flynn.