Limerick have reasserted their dominance over Cork with a crushing victory over the Rebels at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Rocked by a poor start as they fell five points behind within six minutes, Limerick ultimately made light of it and coasted to victory in the end to fire out a warning shot to all pretenders to their All-Ireland crown as they bid for an unprecedented third title in-a-row.
The victory was their first over Cork in the Championship at Pairc Ui Chaoimh since 2001 and it was the heaviest defeat inflicted on Cork on their home ground since Limerick left with a 16-point win back in 1996.
If Limerick had lingering doubts as to their standing after a poor League campaign, Cork’s flying start would surely have multiplied them but it’s a testament to how seasoned a team the All-Ireland champions now are that they held their nerve after conceding 1-2 without reply and shooting three wides before they got off the mark early on.
The Cork goal came straight from the throw-in as Shane Barrett sent Conor Cahalane away to place Shane Kingston, who beat Nickie Quaid after just 12 seconds.
Barrett tagged on a point and Patrick Horgan added a free but Limerick got a foothold through wing-back Diarmuid Byrnes, who slotted their first three points from distance into the stiff breeze, two of them frees.
Another defender, albeit one with plenty of experience up front, Barry Nash, notched their fourth point without reply and though Cork had their moments between then and half-time, you felt that the game was largely being played on Limerick’s terms from there.
Kyle Hayes’s versatility once again proved a potent weapon following his switch to full-forward from the off. His physicality, strength and pace proved too much as he outwitted Damien Cahalane for a 15th minute goal to put Limerick in front for the first time.
With the breeze behind them, Cork pushed two in front again with three successive points but Gearoid Hegarty’s influence was increasing and, after Tom Morrissey had finally found his radar, he drew Limerick level five minutes before the break.
At times, the Cork defence had looked ill at ease building from the back and they paid the ultimate price when Sean O’Donoghue was caught in possession by Graeme Mulcahy. Hayes snapped up the break and released Aaron Gillane in acres of space for Limerick’s second goal in the 34th minute.
Cian Lynch tagged on a point from distance to push Limerick four clear, with Conor Lehane denied a goal just before the half-time whistle as the champions led 2-9 to 1-8.
Like the first half, Cork started the second half with an encouraging scoring burst but, once again, it wasn’t sustainable.
Robbie O’Flynn’s point 10 seconds after the restart was added to by Barrett, who drew a great save from Quaid, and Lehane with two to draw the sides level but Limerick hit back with five on the bounce and that was effectively that.
The home side’s resistance waned considerably from there, with Limerick picking off a flurry of points from various distances at will, with 0-10 of their final tally coming from their defence.
There was little let up as they ran in the bench either, with Cathal O’Neill, David Reidy and Pat Ryan all getting in on the act as they streaked to an 11-point victory to sit alongside victories by eight and 16 points over Cork in last year’s Championship.
Limerick now welcome Waterford to the Gaelic Grounds next Saturday evening having very much rediscovered their mojo.
It’s very much back to square one for Cork as they prepare to face Clare on Sunday week in Thurles.
CORK: Patrick Collins; Niall O’Leary, Damien Cahalane, Sean O’Donoghue; Tim O’Mahony (0-1), Mark Coleman, Ciaran Joyce; Darragh Fitzgibbon (0-1), Ger Millerick; Conor Lehane (0-2), Shane Barrett (0-2), Conor Cahalane; Shane Kingston (1-0), Patrick Horgan (0-9, 0-8f), Robbie O’Flynn (0-2).
Subs: Seamus Harnedy for Conor Cahalane (HT), Robert Downey for O’Donoghue (BS, 41), O’Donoghue for Damien Cahalane (53), Jack O’Connor for Kingston (55), Alan Connolly for Barrett (55), Luke Meade for Lehane (61).
LIMERICK: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash (0-2); Dan Morrissey (0-1), Declan Hannon (0-1), Diarmaid Byrnes (0-6, 0-3f); Darragh O’Donovan, William O’Donoghue; Tom Morrissey (0-1), Cian Lynch (0-2), Gearoid Hegarty (0-3); Aaron Gillane (1-4, 0-2f), Kyle Hayes (1-1), Graeme Mulcahy.
Subs: Cathal O’Neill (0-2) for Tom Morrissey (57), David Reidy (0-1) for O’Donovan (60), Oisin O’Reilly for Hayes (63), Conor Boylan for Hegarty (69), Pat Ryan (0-1) for Mulcahy (69).
REFEREE: John Keenan (Wicklow).
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