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Irish Times
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Munster final tactical analysis: Cork must be sharper with puckouts against Limerick
A Rivalry Renewed The Limerick-Cork rivalry has grown fierce, with both sides trading wins in recent seasons. Limerick's recent display highlighted their clinical edge, while Cork 's two wins last year keep the rivalry burning. The passing network reveals Limerick 's familiar attacking shape, with O'Brien and Gillane inside and David Reidy playing a selfless role behind the opposition number 6, creating space on both inside flanks. Passing Network Snapshot Limerick's passing network The graphic shows Limerick's structured build-up, with Nicky Quaid linking frequently with Gearoid Hegarty on puckouts. Central players like O'Donoghue, English and Lynch drive the link play, while David Reidy connects midfield to inside forwards O'Brien and Gillane. The spread reflects Limerick's balance, width, depth and tactical cohesion. Primary Distribution Hub The graphic highlights Limerick's structured build-up, with Nicky Quaid central to restarts and frequently targeting Gearóid Hegarty – 13 times against Cork – to exploit his aerial strength. Midfielders like O'Donoghue and Lynch link play, while David Reidy connects the middle third to inside forwards O'Brien and Gillane. Cork's man-to-man puckout set-up below in picture left exploitable space, as seen when Tom Morrissey switched wings, dragging Mark Coleman across and freeing Hegarty to attack the open channel. On the Limerick puckout, Tom Morrissey creates space for Hegarty to run into Midfield Engine Cian Lynch, Adam English and Will O'Donoghue are central cogs in transition play. Their network links connect both flanks and drive Limerick's ball progression into attack. Adam English supports this pattern, with multiple interactions through the centre channel, particularly linking with Lynch. In the previous round, below we see Adam English support run which leads to Limerick's second goal. READ MORE Lynch's dummy pass has Cork's defence in trouble Half-Back Line Influence and Barry Nash's Role Limerick's half-back line continues to be the bedrock of their structured build-up, with Barry Nash playing a critical dual role – acting as both key focus in terms of distribution and transition from defence to attack. The passing network illustrates his positioning just behind the midfield line, where he receives and recycles possession efficiently. Nash's lateral passing and calm under pressure help maintain Limerick's shape, and his link play with Mike Casey and Tom Morrissey on the left channel allows Limerick to switch the point of attack fluidly. Injury Concerns and Squad Depth Cork face key injury concerns, with Ger Millerick ruled out and doubts over Niall O'Leary, Declan Dalton, and captain Rob Downey, raising questions about their defensive stability. In contrast, Limerick have a clean bill of health and a deeper bench – with Declan Hannon and Colin Coughlan in defence, Darragh O'Donovan in midfield, and impact forwards like Cathal O'Neill, Peter Casey, and Aidan O'Connor all contributing strongly off the bench. Limerick's Masterclass Limerick's performance was a showcase in structured aggression and controlled execution. The foundation was laid from deep, where Nicky Quaid once again proved pivotal in orchestrating restarts with precision and adaptability. Retaining 57 per cent of their own puckouts, Limerick controlled the rhythm of the contest from the outset. What made their puckout strategy so effective was its variation. When Cork pressed high, Limerick opted for short, sharp deliveries to players like Barry Nash or Dan Morrissey, allowing them to build through the lines. When space opened further out, Quaid had the vision and accuracy to target aerial runners like Gearóid Hegarty or O'Neill, both of whom are elite in contesting and winning primary possession. This dual-threat approach created constant uncertainty for Cork's defence and severely limited their ability to establish any sort of press. A telling example came in the second half: Mark Coleman, having drifted across the pitch to take a sideline ball, sent it wide – a wasted opportunity. Mark Coleman takes the sideline cut wide; O'Neill tracks him and stays facing the sideline From the resulting puckout, Cathal O'Neill loses Coleman in the middle third, gathered possession, and within seconds Limerick had turned that moment into a point. It was a passage that encapsulated Limerick's ruthless ability to punish even minor lapses – turning defensive restarts into scoring chances with minimal fuss. Quaid takes a quick puckout to O'Neill, Coleman has lost him and the move ends in a score Once in possession, Limerick were measured and efficient, converting 74 per cent of their shots – including 82 per cent from play – thanks to smart decision-making and shot selection. Aaron Gillane led the way with 2-7 (1-0 pen, 0-6 frees), while Tom Morrissey added 0-5 and Adam English struck 1-2. Impressively, 11 players scored from play, reflecting a team in full synchrony, with sharp link-up play and effective switching to break Cork's defensive shape. Cork's Collapse In contrast, Cork was overwhelmed in key areas. The most telling indicator was their puckout retention – just 47 per cent, meaning more than half of their restarts were either turned over or fiercely contested. Without clean possession, Cork struggled to establish rhythm or field position, and their defence was constantly under siege. Offensively, it was disjointed. Cork managed just 0-8 from play, a stark indicator of their struggles to create space or sustained attacking phases. Their 54 per cent shot conversion rate painted a picture of rushed, low-percentage attempts – many coming under pressure or from poor angles as the game began to slip away. Brian Hayes, who had been a key figure in Cork's earlier championship games, was completely nullified by Dan Morrissey, who dominated the aerial battle and repeatedly broke up Cork's attacking flow. With Hayes out of the picture, Cork lacked a focal point and failed to adjust, often resorting to speculative efforts from distance. What it means for the rematch Saturday's Munster final offers Cork a shot at redemption, but they'll need sharper puckout execution, stronger midfield link play, and more cutting edge up front. Limerick, re-energised and tactically sharp, will look to replicate their blend of control and ruthlessness. Last time, Cork was out-thought and outclassed – now they must respond with structure, leadership, and clinical execution.
Irish Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Wounded Cork must put meltdown behind them or the season is over
A standout moment from last week is Cork 's Mark Coleman crossing the pitch to take a lineball under the Mackey stand in the 54th minute. In the end it goes wide. Nobody has stepped in for Coleman and Nicky Quaid pucks the ball back out to Cathal O'Neill, who was free and open with no one picking him up. It's not as if Quaid had spotted O'Neill there and was racing to get the ball to him. He had time to look up, see him there, fire out the ball and watch as it was flashed over the bar. That's a desperate reflection on a team. Dublin were 15 points down to Kilkenny, on a par with what was happening to Cork, but at least they maintained their shape; they tried. Cork completely disbanded – which is the right word. They became a collection of individuals. READ MORE I had expressed some doubts about Cork and was disappointed when I went to Páirc Uí Chaoimh to see them play Tipperary only for Darragh McCarthy to get his red card. That was the kiss of death for Tipp, who had no chance from that moment, but it also meant that Cork couldn't address the question marks still hanging from their second-half collapse against Clare. Even the league final second half against Tipp raised issues, as Pat Ryan said at the time. Now, I accept last Sunday was a much more important match for Limerick, which was obvious even before they – most unusually – suspended the omerta afterwards for long enough to acknowledge that they had gone after Cork in response to last year's defeats. Maybe Limerick won't play as well again this year, who knows, but they blew Cork asunder. I can't imagine what Monday night recovery or training on Tuesday night must have been like. It can't have been easy. On the face of it, a match with Waterford to decide if you reach the Munster final is a quick chance of redemption, but they have to have big doubts about themselves. They have also picked up injuries. O'Leary and Downey are two of their best defenders and both are out. As a result, their bench this weekend looks quite light, particularly on backs. It's a huge test for Cork. A fighter who has just taken a heavy shot is 100 per cent vulnerable, but the question is, have Waterford the punching power to finish them off? Probably not. They remain very dependent on Stephen Bennett and even with his heroic application, cracks have appeared. Dessie Hutchinson has declined to the point where has hasn't been selected to start. They simply don't score enough. Munster GAA Senior Hurling Championship Round 3, Waterford vs Limerick: Darragh Lyons of Waterford and Mark Fitzgerald with Cian Lynch of Limerick. Photograph: Inpho It's all very well to point out how, at the other end of the pitch, Waterford have conceded just one goal. On the face of it, that sounds great but Tadhg De Búrca has been sitting back to defend the D and in the last two matches, the centre forward for Limerick and Tipperary has been the man of the match. So, Waterford are not conceding goals, but Cian Lynch and Andrew Ormond ran amok in the two matches because of the space that was allowed to them. An improving Limerick put them away and after a bad start, Tipp were still able to beat them convincingly. Cork should win with their greater spread of scorers but if Waterford stay in this until the last 10 minutes, the home contingent in Páirc Uí Chaoimh will be sweating and not just in the crowd. The big match in Leinster is in Parnell Park. Dublin v Galway might even help to spotlight the province after a really low-key campaign, not helped by the preponderance of Saturday matches. Galway have improved, no doubt, after the opening weekend in Kilkenny . Cathal Mannion was their best player that day and he has maintained that form. Conor Whelan can come alive at any stage, so there are two outstanding forwards. They've become more serviceable around the middle of the field. Cianan Fahy, Tom Monaghan and Gavin Lee have all started to play but I still have reservations, having watched them all year from the league through until now. Virtually any time they played what you might call a benchmark team they were well beaten. So far in the championship, Kilkenny are the only side they have played at that level and they were very poor. Dublin right now look closer to that benchmark. They conceded calamitous goals on their visit to Nowlan Park – such as defenders running into each other and a player dropping the ball in front of goal with Adrian Mullen standing by. I would argue that those mishaps are relatively easy to address, like ensuring that the goalkeeper takes control in those situations. Leinster GAA Senior Hurling Championship Round 4, Kilkenny vs Dublin: Chris Crummey of Dublin attempts to block a shot from Luke Hogan of Kilkenny. Photograph: Inpho Hard as it is to make the distinction, they played well apart from that. Their forward play was sharp and precise. Donie Nealon used to emphasise taking the easy score and there's actually a skill in that. They're not spectacular but if you're missing them, you're putting yourself under pressure. For example, an inexperienced Shane O'Brien in last year's semi-final was caught in two minds. Either take a chance for goal or the easy point but thinking about going for the goal meant that he missed the easy point. Dublin have been very good at focusing on the easy score. They're not complicating it as much up front as they have historically. The likes of Cian O'Sullivan, Seán Currie and AJ Murphy, when he came on, just hit routine points. They actually played better in the first half when conceding four goals than they did in the second, when launching their comeback. I think they have a good chance of winning this even though Micheál Donoghue has an improving team and knows this group of Dublin players very well.
