Cork seize Munster crown with historic shootout triumph

(Cork win 3-2 on penalties)

More magical Munster madness.

Cork spoiled the seven-in-a row party in Limerick, winning their first provincial title since 2018 after a historic penalty-shootout success.

The sides were level 15 times over a painfully tense 94 minutes of action before penalties were required to separate two teams for the first time in top-tier hurling.

Hammered by 16 points here just three weeks ago, Cork were much more energetic and aggressive, and led 1-14 to 1-10 at half-time following goals from Aidan O'Connor (Limerick) and Shane Barrett.

The Treaty men drew level when Shane O'Brien hit the net shortly after replacing O’Connor and you expected them to pull clear but the Rebels kept fighting, Limerick only retaking the lead in the 69th minute.

Patrick Horgan’s last action of the day was to level it up at 2-19 to 1-22 as both sides missed opportunities to clinch it ahead of the additional 20.

The lead see-sawed back and forth in draining extra time. The scoreboard stopped working. So did ref Thomas Walsh's legs.

Limerick thought they had won it with Aaron Gillane’s late free but there was still time for a Fitzgibbon 65 to take us to a novelty decider.

Fitzgibbon missed their first effort in the shootout, or rather Nickie Quaid saved it, but Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston and Alan Conolly scored before former Limerick captain Declan Hannon sent the decisive strike wide.

It is the first final Limerick have lost under John Kiely but even that will come with an asterisk.

The thousands of Cork fans who swarmed the pitch to celebrate Munster number 55 - increasing their lead at the top of the roll of honour to 13 over Tipperary - couldn’t care less how they won it.

Cork now have a four-week break until a Saturday All-Ireland semi-final against Tipperary, the Joe McDonagh runners-up or the Leinster runners-up.

Limerick will be back out in a quarter-final against Dublin or the Joe Mc winners in a fortnight.

Cork opted to play with the reasonable breeze in the opening half and hit the first three scores, through their talisman Horgan, after just 25 seconds, his fellow veteran Seamus Harnedy and Horgan's first free, one of only three scoreable placed balls awarded by ref Walsh in the first half.

The hosts hit back with the next three, Tom Morrissey twice finding space, O’Connor pointing in between, on his first championship start after Collins had saved from Adam English.

Another man making his first start, Diarmuid Healy, scored two in as many minutes – not bad when your marker is Kyle Hayes.

Cian Lynch was running the show as usual but the recalled Damien Cahalane drove one from distance after the otherwise excellent David Reidy (0-03) spilled a pass from the Maestro.

Seán O’Donoghue did well to rob English but Limerick were finding more space and a goal was starting to look inevitable.

Eoin Downey had brilliantly dispossessed Gillane earlier but after O’Connor took a precision Lynch pass, he was allowed up the line far too easily to bat past Collins, 1-05 to 0-08 after 20.

Reidy then put Limerick ahead for first time but Cork, having tightened up at the back, responded, stand-in captain Barrett rattling a bouncing ball to the bottom corner from Brian Hayes’ handpass.

Gearóid Hegarty went for goal immediately afterwards but perhaps hit it a little early and Collins was able to make a diving stop.

Cork finished the half stronger, Connolly, Barrett (1-03) and Horgan all scoring from play, and Kyle Hayes having to make a crucial block with his back before Reidy made it a four-point contest at the break.

The management teams clashed as they both converged on Walsh at the half-time whistle. Frees had been harder acquired than €50 tickets.

English started the comeback 15 seconds into the second period before Walsh tried to calm rising tensions by flashing a series of yellows, including for Mike Casey catching Fitzgibbon high as he unloaded a low shot that Quaid diverted around the post.

'The Bull’ O’Brien came off the bench in the 43rd minute and immediately caused chaos in the Cork China shop, setting up English for his third point and then crashing the ball past Collins after Gillane had brilliantly kicked it into his hand.

The youngster added a point - the first of seven times the teams were level in the second half - but Cork continued to wriggle ahead. Hayes got their first from play in 20 minutes. Gillane levelled it up and though Horgan missed a free, his second of the day, Fitzgibbon inched the challengers back in front on the hour.

Gillane was off-target from a free himself but he was first to every ball now, having been very well marshalled by Sean O’Donoghue until the Corkman picked up a cheap yellow for throwing away his hurley.

Eoin Downey put Cork ahead, Gillane pegged them back. Healy put Cork ahead. Gillane pegged them back.

Brian Hayes flashed a goal chance wide and in the 69th minute Cork fumbled the ball out of a ruck and Limerick sub Darragh O’Donovan sent his side in front for the first time in over 40. Kyle Hayes brilliantly blocked Horgan. The Gaelic Grounds roared its approval. Four more minutes, or so we thought.

Horgan levelled it up but Gillane couldn’t convert a free from a tight angle. Ciarán Joyce and O’Donovan both missed decent chances to settle it.

And so to extra-time. Limerick were back out on the pitch a good five minutes before Cork. The scoreboard took even longer to restart.

Six-in-a-row captain Hannon announced his arrival with a point. Gillane quickly added another. It was the first time either team had led by more than one in almost half an hour of action.

Referee Walsh went down with what looked cramp, and was forced off despite the assistance of English.

James Owens replaced him and frees became marginally easier to win. Fitzgibbon, with Horgan off, missed one but landed the next. Limerick hit a couple of bad wides and substitute Shane Kingston levelled it at the break – 2-22 to 1-25.

The teams were now two exhausted sluggers trading shots, mostly through their replacements.

A Gillane free put Limerick back ahead; Kingston levelled over the shoulder. O’Brien took his tally off the bench to 1-02; Lehane scored the first of his two points. Peter Casey swerved Joyce; Tommy O’Connell got away with a nudge on Cathal O’Neill and converted.

Cork briefly went back in front as Kingston got his third of extra-time but O’Neill quickly replied.

Then in the 90th minute, disaster for Cork. Cahalane lost the ball in the clouds and ran into O’Brien. Gillane took his time before splitting the posts.

One additional minute signalled turned into three and a half. They do say ‘at least’. Casey penalised for over-carrying on the Cork 45. The long delivery bounces off Quaid and wide.

A 65 to force the first top-tier hurling championship penalty shootout. Fitzgibbon nails it. Final whistle. There’s an anti-climactic murmur. We’ll be here all night.

Byrnes shoots low and hard with the first penalty and past Collins.

Fitzgibbon is denied by Quaid.

Gillane also goes low but Collins goes the other way.

Lehane drills it.

Murphy bobbles his effort wide right.

Kingston sends Quaid the wrong way.

Tom Morrissey goes too close to Collins.

Connolly finds the bottom corner.

Hannon has to score. Left and wide.

The cruelty of it. Unless you’re from Cork. Pitch invaded. Freed from Desire on repeat.

There will be no stopping the hype now.

Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Seán Finn, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey; Diarmaid Byrnes (0-1f), Kyle Hayes, Barry Nash; Adam English (0-03), Will O'Donoghue; Gearóid Hegarty (0-02), Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey (0-02); Aaron Gillane (0-09, 7fs), Aidan O'Connor (1-01), David Reidy (0-03).

Subs: Shane O’Brien (1-02) for O’Connor (42), Peter Casey (0-01) for Reidy (55), Cathal O’Neill (0-01) for T Morrissey (55), Darragh O’Donovan (0-01) for O’Donoghue (65), Declan Hannon (0-01) for Byrnes (70), Barry Murphy for M Casey (70), Seamus Flanagan (Blood sub for Lynch).

Cork: Patrick Collins; Damien Cahalane (0-01), Eoin Downey (0-01), Seán O’Donoghue; Cormac O’Brien, Ciarán Joyce, Mark Coleman; Tim O’Mahony (0-01), Darragh Fitzgibbon (0-04, 1f, 1 65); Diarmuid Healy (0-03), Shane Barrett (1-03), Seamus Harnedy (0-02); Patrick Horgan (0-07, 4fs), Alan Connolly (0-01), Brian Hayes (0-01).

Subs: Rob Downey for O’Brien (54), Tommy O’Connell (0-01) for O’Mahony (59), Shane Kingston (0-03) for Connolly (65), Robbie O’Flynn for Harnedy (68), Niall O’Leary for O’Donoghue (72), Conor Lehane (0-02) for Horgan (73), Brian Roche for Healy (80).

Referees: Thomas Walsh (Waterford) and James Owens (Wexford)