Cork surge to secure McGrath final berth

Cork 3-15 Limerick 0-7

CORK romped into the McGrath Cup Final for yet another year after brushing aside Limerick in Rathkeale last Sunday.

In what would have traditionally be known as a David v Goliath clash, (not so much these days) Cork came to the Treaty side’s turf looking to get yet another season off to a positive start and thanks to a dominant display and a hefty return in the scoring stakes the men in red achieved all that could be expected of them considering it was only the sixth day of the new year.

Cork manager Ronan McCarthy put out an experimental side with plenty fresh faced talent on show, however, there was also a serious number of established stars looking to show their wares from the first to the final whistle.

From Mallow, James Loughrey and Mattie Taylor started with both putting in credible displays. Loughery left the field early, probably with a little knock, however, Taylor played all of the 70 plus minutes and showed well up the left side of the attack.

Kanturk’s Paul Walsh made his first team full debut and was impressive, defiantly an option going forward, bagging 1-1 against a Limerick defence that at times opened up far too easily for their own good.

Kilshannig’s Cillian O’Hanlon was another local to get the nod with Milstreet’s Kevin Crowley and Fermoy’s Tomás Clancy bringing a level of local experience to the Cork rearguard with the latter brace holding berths on either side of the half-back line.

The final scoreline may well have told one story of the game however for 35 minutes in this tie Limerick were well in the hunt, only trailing by a goal at the turn 1-6 to 0-6. Ruairí Deane hit the ground running with Cork’s first point but a quick response from Tommy Griffin had Limerick on level terms by the seventh minute.

Limerick were relatively competitive out the field and managed to stay in touch with their opponents thanks to the free taking exploits of Seán McSweeney (six in total) but their lack of a score from play for over 70 minutes of action was inexcusable at this or any other level.

Cork were much better in that regard scoring all but one point of their 3-15 tally from play. A clinical passing move inside 10 minutes saw Brian Hurley net Cork’s opening goal with Walsh, Ian Maguire and Loughrey rounding off the first half scoring action with a point a piece.

Cork came flying out o the traps on the restart bagging two goals in three minutes to end this one as a genuine contest. Walsh was first to raise green after receiving a terrific pass from Deane before Maguire blasted home while on the run to open up a nine point gap between the sides.

Cork started to play with a lot more confidence from that point on and chose to empty the bench to get as many players as possible some competitive game time. Newmarket’s Aidan Browne got over 20 minutes to show his wares as Cork tagged on the next eight points in a period of utter dominance.

The game will hardly go down in the memory banks of those that were there or listening from a far however the experience garnered by the younger, newer faces, should stand those potential players of the future in good stead as they attempt to nail down panel places in the coming weeks.

Cork will face stiffer competition this season, much stiffer in fact, however the county’s commitment to this third rate competition seems to be proving a good call with confidence and experience being gained by all concerned.

Clare will be a tougher prospect in the final but Cork will justifiably fancy their chances of retaining the McCarthy Cup.

Scorers

CORK: B Hurley 1-3, (0-1f); I Maguire 1-2; P Walsh 1-1; R Deane, D Gore 0-2 each; J Loughrey, K Crowley, J Fitzpatrick, T Corkery, E McSweeney 0-1 each

LIMERICK: S McSweeney 0-6f; T Griffin 0-1

CORK: M White; C Dennehy, J Loughrey, K O’Donovan; K Crowley, K Flahive, P Walsh; I Maguire, K O’Hanlon; T Clancy, S White, M Taylor; D Gore, R Deane, B Hurley Subs: T Corkery for K Crowley (22 inj); E McSweeney for S White (ht); A Browne for J Loughrey (39); J Fitzpatrick for K O’Hanlon (42); P Murphy for K Flahive (48)

LIMERICK: D O’Sullivan; P Maher, S O’Dea, M Donovan; B Fanning, T McCarthy, G Brown; D Treacy, T Griffin; J Liston, S McSweeney, M Fitzgibbon; P Nash, A Kearns, K Daly Subs: C McSweeney for B Fanning (39), D Lyons for K Daly (39); S Keely for M Fitzgibbon (46); J Lee for J Liston (55), L Murphy for P Maher (55)

REFEREE: D O’Mahoney (Tipperary)