Cork take more than a point out of Limerick draw after chaotic end game at the Páirc

NHL Division 1A: Cork 1-16 Limerick 1-16

It ended in a tizzy. Cork had drummed up a head of steam, Limerick were digging in, everyone was up in arms with the referee, the crowd were pogoing up and down out of their saturated seats, bodies were falling everywhere, the ball was darting in all directions, often out of control, and in the 10th minute of stoppage time Darragh Fitzgibbon levelled the game for the first time in nearly an hour with a free from 45 metres out. Seconds later, the chaos ended.

While it was going on it was hard to imagine that none of this will matter when the teams meet again in the Munster championship in three months’ time. The only pause for second thoughts was that neither team played like losing would be inconsequential.

Limerick made an investment in winning that was reminiscent of Kilkenny’s first league game in 2010, when they turned up in Thurles with murder on their minds. The common cause was that Kilkenny and Limerick were both meeting the team that had speared their attempt at five-in-a-row the previous summer. Nobody starts a new year with a clean slate.

The home team came up with six of the last eight scores when it looked like Limerick had done enough to win, and it will bother Limerick that, just like their meeting last May, they couldn’t hold on to a four-point lead going down the stretch. One of Pat Ryan’s significant achievements since he took over as manager has been to change Cork’s standing in Limerick’s mind. Cork are no longer a team that Limerick can roll over.

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“I think that was a game that we would have lost before,” said Ryan. “I think it shows the resilience and determination of our lads. That was a game we needed not to lose.”

By the finish on Saturday night the game had descended into a blizzard of incidents and accidents. The wind seemed to make it easier to score at the City End, but in reality it didn’t help anybody. Shots and clearances were landing miles from their intended destination, suddenly losing altitude, like a shuttlecock in badminton. Simply controlling the ball was incredibly tricky in the spilling rain and swirling wind and the difficulty was elevated by the relentless tackling and body hits from both teams.

Seán Stack elected to referee the match like it was the middle of summer, when players have a higher tolerance for being hit and it is easier to ignore fouls without losing control. He issued a rash of yellow cards in the last 15 minutes, but by then everyone had been roiled up for a long time and the general crankiness only escalated when the game was in the balance.

Limerick manager John Kiely issues instructions from the sideline. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho

In a 20-minute spell in the middle of the game Limerick went from five points down to five points up and at the height of Limerick’s powers in recent years that would have been an end to the argument. They will wonder about that new vulnerability.

After a blistering start Cork were 0-7 to 0-2 in front after just 12 minutes but, astonishingly, they only scored once more in the first half and went nearly half an hour without scoring from play.

Limerick’s goal after 19 minutes was against the run of play, but it had an exaggerated impact on the mood of the game. Tim O’Mahony, who was one of Cork’s best players, made a loose clearance that landed at Kyle Hayes. When he looked up Will O’Donoghue was all alone 20 metres from the Cork goal. The Limerick centrefielder is unaccustomed to being in such positions, and though his shot lacked conviction it eluded Patrick Collins.

After that Limerick dominated the second quarter and rattled off 1-4 without reply. Patrick O’Donovan landed three sweet points from play and another from a free, a remarkable feat of marksmanship in the conditions. Limerick’s half-back line got a grip, Cian Lynch came into the game too and Cork looked bewildered for a while.

When Adam English scored his only point from play after 40 minutes Limerick were 1-11 to 0-9 ahead and in control. Shane Barrett’s goal three minutes later, though, reignited Cork. It was a brilliant move that started with a turnover by O’Mahony 100 yards from Limerick’s goal. Ethan Twomey and Luke Meade – both of whom were outstanding – moved the ball through the middle and when Barrett took the final pass it was his second involvement in the move. His bouncing finish was clever and emphatic.

Limerick still managed to stay in front until the final puck and when English landed a brilliant free in the fourth minute of stoppage time it felt decisive. Cork, though, kept going.

A draw always belongs to somebody. Cork will take more than a point out of this.

CORK: P Collins; N O’Leary, G Millerick, E Roche; T O’Mahony (0-1, f), C Joyce, C O’Brien; D Fitzgibbon (0-10, 9f), L Meade (0-1); E Twomey (0-1), S Barrett (1-0), S Kingston (0-1), B Hayes (0-2), P Power, A Connolly.

Subs: P Horgan for Power (17 mins); M Coleman for Kingston (49); C Lehane for Connolly (59); B Roche for Lehane (61); R Cotter for Barrett (68).

LIMERICK: J Gillane (0-2 2f); S Finn, D Morrissey, B Murphy; D Byrnes (0-1, f), K Hayes, C Coughlan; A English (0-4, 3f), W O’Donoghue (1-0); G Hegarty, C Lynch (0-2), A O’Connor (0-2); D Ó Dálaigh, S O’Brien (0-1), P O’Donovan (0-4,1f).

Subs: D Reidy for Hegarty (15 mins); F O’Connor for Finn (h-t); C Scully for Byrnes (45); S Flanagan for Ó Dálaigh (49); M Houlihan for O’Donovan (50), E Stokes for O’Donoghue (57).

Referee: Séan Stack (Dublin).

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