'We're all fighting tooth and nail for the calls' - Ryan on half-time management clash with Walsh
Munster SHC final: Limerick 2-27 Cork 1-30 (AET, Cork win 3-2 on penalties)
Whatever of grotesque, this was unbelievable. Bizarre. And unprecedented. And Cork won't care a whit.
Never in elite championship hurling has the margin between winners and losers of a final been so slender. It's a fact that can't be stressed too often. Limerick's six-year domination of Munster and remarkable run of 16 victorious finals was ended by the indignity of penalties.
And yet that took nothing from Cork's accomplishment. Twenty days previous, they had been handed their asses by Limerick to the tune of 16 points. To come back to the Gaelic Grounds like that without the full complement of players that the home side boasted took some doing.
Cork's 55th Munster title and first capture of the Mick Mackey Cup were achieved on a Saturday evening too. The first provincial decider on the last day of the week in 15 years but that was a replay and while it also went to extra-time Cork were on the right side of the result this time.
Level on 18 occasions, ultimately, Declan Hannon's wide in the penalty shoot out confirmed Cork as champions but Patrick Collins had also been equal to Tom Morrissey's strike after Barry Murphy had sent his wide and Darragh Fitzgibbon's effort was kept out by Nickie Quaid.
As for the converters, there were Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston (just about) and Alan Connolly for Cork and the Patrickswell pair of Diarmaid Byrnes and Aaron Gillane finding the target into the Cork-dominated Ennis Road end of the 43,580-packed ground.
On the back of their wily if often maligned replacements, Shane Kingston and Conor Lehane, not to mention another industrious substitute in Tommy O'Connell, Cork stood their ground at the end of normal time and into extra-time.
However, their toil seemed to be in vain when Damien Cahalane committed a tired foul on Shane O'Brien. Aaron Gillane capitalised yet that was not the end. Nickie Quaid touched a long Darragh Fitzgibbon free out for a 65 and the Charleville man arrowed the placed ball between the sticks to force the unprecedented.
By that stage, James Owens was the man in the middle after starting referee Thomas Walsh was forced to retire in the first half of extra-time with cramp. Both sides, but particularly Cork in the first half of normal time, found fault with Walsh's laissez-faire approach to the game, prompting a half time clash between mentors.
Pat Ryan said he had approached Walsh at the break 'just to say he was doing a great job," but later he admitted: 'We're all fighting tooth and nail for the calls. The game is so fast. Thomas is a fantastic referee. We're fighting for calls. John Kiely's fighting for calls. That's just the nature of it.
'The referees are all doing their best. They're all trying to do it in an honourable and straight way. There were a couple of calls that we went against but I heard John shouting for plenty of scores that didn't go his way. That's just the game.'
In Walsh's time on the pitch, Limerick had two good shouts for penalties turned down by Walsh. However, it was in Owen's time that John Kiely bemoaned the amount of minutes (over three) at the end of the second half of extra-time in which Fitzgibbon's 65 sent the affair to penalties.
'Ultimately, it came down to efficiency,' he said of his team's shortcomings. 'Just a couple of small pieces. We have to go back and see exactly what the major turning points were but there is no doubt that Thomas Walsh getting injured had a big impact on the game.'
Winning the toss like they did last month but opting to play with the wind, Cork should have been further than four points, 1-14 to 1-10, ahead at half-time. More frees should have gone their way but their wide count was nine too.
Aidan O'Connor batted an ugly goal for Limerick in the 20th minute. Eoin Downey could have done a lot better in preventing him though and Collins's attempt to block was poor.
Brian Hayes had a goal attempt kept out in the 24th minute but he made amends less than three minutes later when he had the wherewithal to absorb a foul while passing out to Shane Barrett who found the net and Cork were back in front, two ahead.
In the absence of a blistering start in normal time, a typical power quarter by Limerick was expected after the break as they trailed by four points. However, it wasn't until the introduction of Shane O'Brien that they drew level in the 47th minute. Cork were caught sleeping with a Gearóid Hegarty free finding Gillane who controlled the ball and flicked to O'Brien to finish emphatically.
Limerick were unable to build on it, though. Five times Cork went ahead and each time Limerick cancelled out the lead. Darragh Fitzgibbon was the ringmaster in helping to keep Cork's noses in front but another Limerick alternation, Darragh O'Donovan, broke that pattern in the 69th minute.
When Kyle Hayes blocked down Patrick Horgan's shot, it seemed the initiative was with Limerick only for Cork's Hayes, Brian, to push the ball out to Horgan for the equaliser in the second minute of additional time.
There was time for Gillane to fling a free wide, Ciarán Joyce to do the same after Adam English had gifted him the ball and O'Donovan mishit an effort at the posts before the teams returned to dressing rooms to prepare for another 20-plus minutes.
Anybody for another 70 next month?
Penalty conversions for Limerick: D. Byrnes, A. Gillane.
For Cork: C. Lehane, S. Kingston, A. Connolly.
Scorers for Limerick: A. Gillane (0-9, 7 frees); S. O'Brien (1-2); A. O'Connor (1-1); D. Reidy, A. English (0-3 each); T. Morrissey, G. Hegarty (0-2 each); D. Byrnes (free), D. O'Donovan, D. Hannon, P. Casey (0-1 each).
Scorers for Cork: P. Horgan (0-7, 4 frees); S. Barrett (1-3); D. Fitzgibbon (0-4, 1 free, 1 65); D. Healy, S. Kingston (0-3 each); S. Harnedy, C. Lehane (0-2 each); D. Cahalane, T. O'Mahony, A. Connolly, B. Hayes, E. Downey, T. O'Connell (0-1 each).
LIMERICK: N. Quaid; S. Finn, D. Morrissey, M. Casey; D. Byrnes, K. Hayes, B. Nash; A. English, W. O'Donoghue; G. Hegarty, C. Lynch (c), T. Morrissey; A. Gillane, A. O'Connor, D. Reidy.
Subs: S. O'Brien for A. O'Connor (42); P. Casey for D. Reidy, C. O'Neill for T. Morrissey (both 55); D. O'Donovan for W. O'Donoghue (65); D. Hannon for D. Byrnes, B. Murphy for M. Casey (both e-t); T. Morrissey for G. Hegarty (79); S. Flanagan for C. Lynch (temp 90+1 to 90+3); D. Byrnes for C. Lynch (80+4).
CORK: P. Collins; D. Cahalane, E. Downey, S. O'Donoghue; M. Coleman, C. Joyce, C. O'Brien; T. O'Mahony, D. Fitzgibbon; D. Healy, S. Barrett (c), S. Harnedy; P. Horgan, B. Hayes, A. Connolly.
Subs: R. Downey for C. O'Brien (54); T. O'Connell for T. O'Mahony (59); S. Kingston for A. Connolly (65); R. O'Flynn for S. Harnedy (68); C. Lehane for P. Horgan (70+3); N. O'Leary for S. O'Donoghue (72); B. Roche for D. Healy (e-t h-t); A. Connolly for M. Coleman (inj 84).
Referees: T. Walsh (Waterford), J. Owens (Wexford).
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