Tom Kenny insists Cork shouldn't beat themselves up for having a weaker bench than Limerick's.

The comparative strength of the Treaty County's substitutes was ultimately the difference between the teams in Sunday's epic All-Ireland semi-final, with Limerick quartet Shane Dowling, Barry Nash, Pat Ryan and David Reidy registering 2-6 between them while three of the Rebel County replacements were U21s.

"Cork are a young team. We just didn't have the experience on the bench and that's nobody's fault," former All-Ireland winning midfielder Kenny states in The Irish Examiner.

"The younger lads will have gained experience by being on the bench and seeing what happened, seeing the level of commitment on the field that was needed. That'll stand to them in the league and Munster round-robin next. It is a case of just waiting.

"Hopefully, over the winter, they'll get another pre-season under their belt. They'll hopefully then be a bit stronger and more physically able for the game.

"In twelve months' time, hopefully, we'll be talking about someone who came off the bench to guide Cork to a final. That will be as a result of bearing witness to a great game on Sunday and working through the winter, spring and into summer next year."

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