Munster SFC: Cork leave it late

June 15, 2008
Limerick will be left wondering how they lost this Munster semi final clash as goals by Daniel Goulding and Graham Canty in the last 90 seconds saw Cork through to the provincial decider. Cork 2-9 Limerick 0-12 It looked as if Limerick had done enough at the Galeic Grounds to earn a place in the final, but two errors by Limerick goalkeeper Sean Kiely gifted Cork two goals and saw them snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. Cork manager Conor Counihan caused a major surprise during the week by dropping James Masters, Derek Kavanagh and Michael Cussen for the start of the match, while he handed four debuts to Diarmuid Duggan and Brian Regan, wing back Paudie Kissane and midfielder Alan O'Connor. Limerick counterpart Mickey Ned O'Sullivan made four changes to the side that defeated Tipperary in the quarter-final as Shane Gallagher replaced Stephen Walsh at corner back, Jim O'Donovan came in for Thomas Cahill at midfield, while John Cooke takes over the centre forward position from James Ryan. The fourth change saw Ger Collins introduced for Dermot Phelan in attack, while Stephen Kelly moved from full forward to wing forward with Kieran O'Callaghan going into the opposite direction. Limerick started the brighter and got off to a wonderful start when Michael Crowley opened their account with a fine point after just 30 seconds. However, the crowd had to wait for another eight and a half minutes for the next score and once again, it was Limerick who raised a while flag when Ian Ryan scored an excellent point. A nervous looking Cork finally got off the mark in the 11th minute when Pearse O'Neill fired over, but it was Limerick who looked the more comfortable early on as Cork wasted their possession on numerous occasions. Limerick had a decent goal chance when Stephen Kelly stole in around the back of the Cork defence but his shot blazed across the goal and the danger was averted much to the relief of the Cork following. Points from Donnacha O'Connor, John Hayes (2) and Nicholas Murphy helped Cork settle a bit better, but Limerick were matching them in all areas as Ryan found the range once again to help reduce the deficit to one-point. Limerick realised the game was there for the taking when Crowley scored his fourth point of the match and a further one by John Galvin helped stretch their lead with only a Murphy point to improve Cork's tally. A second yellow card for Seanie Buckley reduced Limerick to 14 men and gave the impetuous back to Cork, but the Shannonsiders were willing to battle for every ball as the game wore on. Cork's numerically advantage was taken away from them when Donnacha O'Connor received his second yellow of the afternoon and Limerick pressed on as the impressive Ryan scored two points to leave it 0-10 to 0-9 as the game entered its final quarter. Limerick pushed ahead to lead by three points as the crowd started to leave, but Kiely lost possesion as he soloed out of defence and Goulding was on hand to fire to an empty net. A high ball in from James Masters was then fumbled by the shell shocked keeper and Canty was on hand to flick the ball home to stun Limerick. Cork - A Quirke; D Duggan G Canty (1-0), B O'Regan; N O'Leary, G Spillane, P Kissane; N Murphy (0-2), A O'Connor; P O'Neill (0-1), F Goold, S O'Brien; D Goulding (1-1), D O'Connor (0-2, 2f), J Hayes (0-3). Subs - K O'Connor for Kissane, J Masters for A O'Connor, C McCarthy for Goold, P Kelly for O'Brien, M Cussen for Goulding. Limerick - S Kiely; D Carroll, J McCarthy, S Gallagher; P Browne, S Lavin, P Ranahan; J O'Donovan, J Galvin (0-1); S Kelly (0-1), J Cooke (0-1), S Buckley; M Crowley (0-4, 1f), K O'Callaghan, I Ryan (0-5, 2f). Subs - S Walsh for Carroll, D Phelan for O'Donovan, J Ryan for Cooke, E Keating for O'Callaghan. Ref - G O'Conamha (Galway)

Most Read Stories