The Cork genie came out of the bottle with a vengeance. That should probably never have been doubted once it had appeared in Páirc Uí Chaoimh two long months ago, whatever its whereabouts since. That ability to cast magic was the only way Limerick were going to be beaten and it was conjured up in one of the finest hurling matches you could ever see.
Ireland rugby international Hugo Keenan was sitting in front of me and he couldn’t have chosen a better match.
It was carnival time in Croke Park. Cork supporters created one with the volume of their support as the match moved through different phases, culminating in the carnival being over for Limerick’s history chasers.
History is hard done and in my lifetime I have seen four teams try to complete the five-in-a-row but only Dublin succeeded.
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Cork’s win was built on a couple of things. Their defence was determined not to concede a goal and their excellent goalkeeper Pa Collins was at the heart of that. His save from Gearóid Hegarty in the second half and Kieran Joyce’s follow-up on Aaron Gillane was one example.
But he also did it in the first half, denying Gillane with a great stop and then getting up to throw his body at Flanagan and block a second shot when unaware that the referee had awarded a free out.
The Downeys, Robert and Eoin, were a formidable spine to the defence and Mark Coleman had one of his best matches in a long, long time.
There was also the strategy of hitting long ball and hitting it quickly. There were complaints after the Páirc Uí Chaoimh victory that Cork had been taking the puck-outs too quickly but that ferocious urgency was unabated.
After Cathal O’Neill, who was otherwise outstanding for Limerick, had hit one of two successive wides, the ball was returned to play so quickly that Declan Dalton had it over the bar at the other end before most of the crowd had even registered the miss.
There’s no point simply driving long ball into your attack unless you have the personnel to make it stick, as Kilkenny found on Saturday. Cork had the receivers, particularly Alan Connolly and Brian Hayes, who was unlucky not to finish with two goals because of a refereeing error in judging a thrown handpass.
The middle third where the champions are so strong became more of a war zone where they struggled to establish the usual dominance, particularly in the half-back line where Diarmaid Byrnes put in a valiant display but there was no taking control.
Ultimately, Limerick fought hard. They lost by only two points and had crucial wides from subs Aidan O’Connor and Shane O’Brien, who otherwise played very well and scored a couple of points. But they were inexperienced at this level when it came to saving such a vital match.
From the time of Alan Connolly’s yellow card in the 63rd minute, it became nerve-racking for Cork. Limerick were completely on top and as time wound down it looked for all money like it was going to be a draw and extra time. They just couldn’t close the two-point gap.
It was for all the world like one of the finest Munster finals, transported to Croke Park and it was great for the Cork people present because hurling means so much to them and they have had a thin time of it for a number of years.
Limerick had that Páirc Uí Chaoimh match in their hands, four up, before Cork’s late onslaught. As soon as that happened, they became dangerous potential opponents later in the championship for John Kiely.
A restless genie was released that now has an All-Ireland in its sights.
It is great for Clare finally to get to the All-Ireland but for a long time in the first half Kilkenny just looked better. They enjoyed a pile of possession and Eibhear Qulligan in the Clare goal kept his team alive with some very good saves.
Another major contribution came from Aidan McCarthy, whose free taking was unerring and who also added 0-2 from play. After the frees had gone so badly for him in the Munster final, he was taken off them and then dropped. It was a big call for Brian Lohan to reinstate him for Croke Park and he repaid that trust.
They looked heavy-legged and Kilkenny ran them ragged but didn’t take the chances that could have had them out the gate by half-time. Mikey Carey left 1-1 behind him after a couple of great breaks and TJ Reid unusually added a very poor wide.
Eoin Cody did score a resourceful goal just after Mark Rodgers had missed a chance to reduce the margin to one – a four-point swing and it was hard to see how Clare were going to win at that stage.
The breeze was hard to judge but Kilkenny’s big first half came with it at their backs.
After half-time, the picture changed considerably and very early it was a portrait of Clare’s improvement.
I don’t think Tony Kelly hit a ball in the first half. After half-time, he got better and began finding space and opportunities to score, including a great strike to put two between the sides at the very end.
John Conlon improved on some wayward first-half distribution. Adam Hogan got on top of Eoin Cody under the hanging ball, although he had played him well and wasn’t primarily at fault for the goal conceded. David McInerney snuffed out Adrian Mullen, who I had expected to have a significant impact, and Ryan Taylor came on and got to grips with Cian Kenny, who had been one of Kilkenny’s better players.
They ratcheted up the pressure and their forwards started to dominate. Shane O’Donnell became again the recognisable menace he has been all championship and Peter Duggan was winning hard ball and making something of it.
Momentum was all with Clare and Kilkenny had to live off scraps.
Unfortunately for Quilligan, he made the mistake that gave away the second goal at a time when Clare were right back in it. But equally, he had made the second-half turnaround possible.
If it wasn’t for that soft goal, Kilkenny would have been beaten well before the end.
They all but imploded. It was very surprising to see them put in such a poor second half and so evidently run out of ideas.
Calculations that they had gone up a gear in the Leinster final may have had more to do with Dublin’s poor performance. The Leinster champions’ display was more in keeping with the levels they had shown earlier in the provincial championship when they drew with Carlow and Galway.
Overall, it was an at-times lifeless match, characterised by mistakes. The second half improved and by the end it was an exciting finale. From a Clare perspective, there is plenty to work on for the final.
