The draw that both teams hoped for sees Munster neighbours lock horns with a place in an All-Ireland quarter-final for the victor. Neither side would have been expected to make the final eight and both will see tomorrow’s game as a huge opportunity to advance. Cork will have been doubly delighted with the home advantage meaning two home ties against Division 3 opposition has to be seen as a couple of fortunate draws.
Cork had eight points to spare when these two sides met eleven months ago in a Munster semi-final, but Limerick’s stock has risen since with promotion to Division Two where they will join Cork who survived by the skin of their teeth. Looking for a more recent barometer of where these two teams are at then one would look at their meetings against Louth (Division Three final for Limerick) and Kerry (Munster Championship) and deduce that Cork are still a bit ahead of Billy Lee's side.
An interesting facet of Sunday’s game will be how both teams setup and where they decide to apply pressure. The contrast between how both approached playing Kerry was noticeable and was probably telling in the margin of defeat.
Cork had Seán Powter at centre-forward but he played as a full-time sweeper on the D, while all of Cork’s half-forward line (and often full-full forward line) made sure they were facing Kerry when out of possession as opposed to looking back at the play. Limerick in contrast in the Munster final played with the standard plus one approach with everyone else pretty much tracking their men. This tactic inevitably led to a huge concession of scores over the 70 minutes as Kerry’s class and athleticism was too much to handle.
How much Cork will have learned from last week’s victory over Louth and the type of game that unfolded is hard to tell. Limerick, as all modern teams do, will at times defend with everyone behind the ball but that is unlikely to be too often given they didn’t resort to it against Kerry. While Louth may have feared Cork and perhaps showed more respect than was warranted in their ultra-defensive approach, I don’t think Limerick will do the same. Cork will again look to free up Powter as their free man to coordinate their defensive setup but will Limerick be brave and occupy Powter by playing with six forwards high up the pitch?
One area that Limerick will surely look to target is the Cork kickout. Chris Kelly had the fortune (or misfortune depending on your outlook) that Louth inexcusably retreated inside their own 45-metre line when facing a goalkeeper making his senior championship debut. That was until Brian Hurley’s goal and from then on in we saw Kelly looking short with one success to his club mate John Cooper while being forced to go long to contests with his other three, two of which were lost. Limerick will have noticed Cork’s difficulty on their own kickout when pressed by Kerry and I’m hoping for the sake of a spectacle this will lead to a lot more aerial duels than we have been seeing of late.
At the other end Limerick goalkeeper Donal O’Sullivan played with the confidence and composure of an experienced number one with his display of short kickouts against Kerry’s aggressive press. Limerick’s movement is frantic in their backline on kickouts with O’Sullivan looking for a short dink pass with his favoured left foot to the edge of the D or corners but also showing the ability to drill passes over the press to space outside the 45. He also showed he is adept at a right foot swinger to the left corner back position which few keepers are brave enough to try under that sort of pressure. It must be said that this short kickout tactic proved attritional as the effort required to work the ball out took its toll on Limerick. This high-risk strategy almost proved costly on a few occasions with turnovers that Kerry spurned with a goal at their mercy.
Opposition kickouts is something which Cork have struggled with throughout the year so their efforts here will be interesting.
The big difference between the sides as I see it is that Cork have a collection of three scoring forwards that I’m not sure Limerick can match or hold. Brian Hurley and Stephen Sherlock were outstanding against Louth and despite being called ashore at half time Cathail O’Mahony has shown enough previously to warrant another go. Limerick relied on rampaging defenders Iain Corbett and Cian Sheehan to make any headway against Kerry but their forwards showed far more in the league final against Louth earlier this year. The imposing physical presence of Josh Ryan is likely to pose Cork some food for thought as Niall McNamee and Louth substitute Conor Grimes have both punished Cork from long deliveries in recent months.
Cork will look to get more from their midfield and half forward line as an attacking threat on Sunday than they have in the two championship matches of 2022. All five have performed the work of tracking and defending diligently with Colm O’Callaghan’s late goal against Louth and Eoghan McSweeney’s point off the bench their only scoring contributions to date. If Limerick have the man markers and defensive structure to stifle Cork’s inside line, this quintet will be needed to kick scores from distance and penetrate the defensive line with powerful runs which Ian Maguire excels at.
This may be bonus territory for Cork but the draw has been kind and opportunities like these haven’t come around too often lately for Cork footballers. The psychological situation reminds me of two years ago as Cork faced Tipperary in the Munster final on the back of a huge victory over Kerry previously. Will the lessons of 2020 have been learned? Can Cork handle the favourite’s tag and deliver again at home? We’ll know the answers come three o’clock on Sunday afternoon.