Latest news with #TomMorrissey
Irish Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Limerick's devastating display against Cork was clinical, cohesive and composed
Limerick delivered a devastating statement of intent in the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday, tearing Cork apart in a one-sided Munster Championship clash that felt as much about settling scores as securing points. The defensive matchups by Cork, even though obvious − Robert Downey on Gearóid Hegarty and Ciaran Joyce on Cian Lynch − proved ineffective, as Lynch was back to his brilliant best. Throughout the first half, he showcased his full array of skills − sublime flicks, sharp offloads, and intelligent positioning that consistently unpicked Cork's defence. In the sequence leading to Limerick's first goal, Lynch exploited Cork's disorganisation. Joyce failed to track him, and neither Simon Donohoe nor Mark Coleman reacted in time to cut out the danger. Lynch was allowed to drift into space unmarked, receive the pass, and play the ball that fed Gillane. Cork too often allowed Cian Lynch to drift into space, where he was often not picked up. Here Lynch moves into space to pick up a pass from Barry Nash, which leads to the first Limerick goal. From the first whistle, the tone was set. Within three minutes, Limerick had 1-2 on the board − Tom Morrissey with two early points, before Gillane pounced on a Cork defensive slip and buried the ball past Patrick Collins. READ MORE Gillane was electric inside, while Adam English and William O'Donoghue dominated midfield. Cian Lynch was at his elegant best, linking attacks and picking passes at will. Limerick's second goal came in the 27th minute after a slick team move − English's run wasn't tracked by Ethan Twomey and Lynch opened the Cork defence with a perfectly-timed pass (see picture below). That saw the margin balloon to 13 points, and the contest was as good as over. Adam English's goal came from a slick team move that opened up the Cork defence. By half-time, Limerick led 2-15 to 0-9. All six starting forwards had scored from play, joined by Diarmaid Byrnes and Mike Casey from deeper. Cork, meanwhile, had lost the physical battles across the pitch and were relying almost entirely on Patrick Horgan's placed balls. Limerick's shot map below shows structured right-side attacks and inside-ball success; Cork on the hand struggled for efficiency and rarely threatened inside the D. Shot map from the first half of the Munster SHC game between Cork and Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds. The second half saw some spark from Cork. Seamus Harnedy came off the bench and added two points, while Cormac O'Brien won several turnovers. Between the 45th and 50th minutes, Cork hit four without reply and briefly cut the gap to 11. But Limerick, as ever, had answers. Even when Horgan struck a goal from a close-range free in the 61st minute – making it 2-22 to 1-15 – Limerick responded in kind. Gillane dispatched a penalty (dubious call against Eoin Downey) to seal his second goal and the game. In truth, Cork were never at the races. They lost almost every individual battle. Their defence struggled to live with Limerick's pace, power and variation, while their forwards were smothered by the full-back line of Finn, Morrissey and Casey. Below we can see how they struggled in front of the goal to make the ball stick and get shots off. Shot map from the second half of Limerick v Cork in the Munster SHC. Limerick's defence provided the platform for their dominance, matching Cork not only for pace but also for physicality. In the image below, we see Kyle Hayes in an excellent defensive position, sprinting back toward his own goal − a clear indication of Limerick's defensive discipline and transition work. This stood in stark contrast to Cork's first-half display, where their defensive structure was frequently unbalanced. Limerick's first-half performance was marked by their ability to bring Cian Lynch into the game between the lines, thus exposing gaps and creating scoring opportunities. Limerick worked incredibly hard during the game - here we see three defenders sprinting to cover the space. Limerick's Masterclass Puckouts as a platform: Limerick won 57 per cent of their own puckouts – Their ability to retain possession through short, sharp restarts or compete physically in the middle third suffocated Cork's options. Conversion efficiency: They converted 74 per cent of total shots, including 82 per cent from play – a testament to shot selection and patience in build-up. Even under pressure, they found scores from smart angles. Gillane hit 2-7 (1-0 from a penalty, 0-6 from frees), with Morrissey and English adding 0-5 and 1-2. Eleven Limerick players scored from play, underlining their depth and balance. Cork's Collapse Puckout disruption: Cork could only retain 47 per cent of their puckouts – meaning more than half were either turned over or contested. This limited their ability to build attacks and led to repeated pressure on their back line. Scoring struggles: Only 0-8 came from play. Their 54 per cent shot conversion showed signs of panic shooting, especially once they fell behind early. Brian Hayes was completely nullified by Dan Morrissey, thus denying Cork their primary ball-winner and link player. Ultimately, this was Limerick at their ruthless best − clinical, composed, and cohesive. They march on, with momentum fully restored. For Cork, the pressure now shifts to this weekend's do-or-die clash with Waterford. Jeffrey Lynskey managed Galway to three All-Ireland minor hurling titles. He is also a former Galway under-20 manager and is currently an MSc student in Sports Performance Analysis at Setu Carlow.
Irish Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Limerick lay down marker and reclaim status as All-Ireland favourites from Cork
Limerick 3-26 Cork 1-16 Any suggestions that this game would be something of a phoney war clearly didn't penetrate the Limerick dressing room. Having lost twice to Cork in last year's Championship, with their five-in-a-row ambitions perishing as a result, Limerick weren't looking to potential meetings further down the line to make their mark. After picking up three points on the road, John Kiely told the Limerick fans that he wanted to 'hear every single last one of them' in their two closing home games, and, in the brilliant sunshine, their supporters in the capacity 42,477 crowd were up for it just as much as the players. At a time when question marks were starting to hover around whether Limerick had just passed their peak, they delivered arguably their greatest half of hurling, standing comparison with the likes of their sensational second half comeback against Tipperary in the 2021 Munster final and the first half of All-Ireland final against Cork that same year. Tom Morrissey had two points scored within the first 80 seconds. Aaron Gillane quickly followed that up with the opening goal, making the most of Niall O'Leary's slip before turning Ciarán Joyce and recognising that he had enough time to turn onto his favoured left side to fire past Patrick Collins. Cork settled somewhat by hitting the next three points, but Limerick continued to carve them open with Barry Nash's fumble enough to allow a scramble defence as the ball squirmed wide from another goal chance. Later, Mark Coleman blocked on the line from Morrissey, but Limerick were still hitting a stream of points backed by the wind, one of them a collector's item from corner-back Mike Casey at the end of six consecutive hanpasses. Cian Lynch was piecing the play together in his own genial way and a second goal was inevitable, as was Lynch's involvement in it, as he put Adam English through 27th minute before following it up with a wonderful point of his own. The lead peaked at 16 points before half-time as Diarmaid Byrnes became Limerick's ninth different scorer, though Cork closed the half with the last score to trail 2-18 to 0-9 at the break. Limerick were afforded a standing ovation as they trotted off at half-time, while Cork moped to their dressing room with shoulders hunched. Naturally enough, perhaps, Limerick's intensity wasn't quite as acute in the third quarter but Cork weren't amounting to much either, with Seamus Harnedy's 0-2 their only source of second half scores outside of Patrick Horgan frees. Horgan drilled a free to the net in the 61st minute but it proved to be Cork's last score as Gillane won a penalty having been fouled by Eoin Downey and converted it to Collins's right, with further points from subs Peter Casey (two) and Cathal O'Neill ensuring that Limerick won the second half playing against the elements. 'We won the last quarter,' noted Kiely. 'For us to do that, it's a huge takeaway. The last day and the previous day, the fourth quarter was the weakest quarter so we'll take a lot from the final quarter and the impact from the bench I was delighted with that as well.' In the end, Cork's 1-16 was their lowest tally in a Championship match since the 0-13 they posted against Tipperary in 2016 and a sobering afternoon having largely been on an upward trajectory since their rousing victory over Limerick in last year's Munster Championship. They managed just 0-8 from play, 0-3 from their starting attack, albeit Declan Dalton was replaced through injury early on. Moving Darragh Fitzgibbon to centre-forward had worked extremely well for Pat Ryan, but Kyle Hayes lorded it at the heart of Limerick's defence, with Shane Barrett making minimal impact when restored to his old position. For all that happened here, the likelihood is that Cork will be back at the Gaelic Grounds for a Munster final against the same opposition on June 7, when it should be a rather different contest, though this defeat was so comprehensive that there is likely to be lingering scar tissue. Barring aberration against already-eliminated Clare next Sunday (they would have to lose by 26 points to not reach the final), Limerick will bid for a record-extending seventh Munster title next month. Beat Waterford next Sunday and Cork will be their opponents, and it would be ridiculous to suggest that Pat Ryan's side won't have a big say in this Championship yet. But on the strength of this game alone, Limerick have replaced them as the bookies' All-Ireland favourites and, more importantly, laid down single biggest marker of this Championship season yet. LIMERICK: Nickie QUAID 8; Mike CASEY (0-1) 8, Dan MORRISSEY 8, Sean FINN 8; Diarmaid BYRNES (0-1) 7, Kyle HAYES 9, Barry NASH 8; Adam ENGLISH (1-2) 8, William O'DONOGHUE 7; Gearóid HEGARTY (0-3) 7, Cian LYNCH (0-1) 9, Tom MORRISSEY (0-5) 8; Aaron GILLANE (2-7, 1-0 pen, 0-6f) 8, Shane O'BRIEN (0-1) 6, David REIDY (0-1) 6. Subs: Séamus Flanagan for O'Brien (51), Cathal O'Neill (0-2) for Tom Morrissey (51), Peter Casey (0-2) for Reidy (59), Colin Coughlan for Mike Casey (67), Aidan O'Connor for Byrnes (68), Barry Murphy for Dan Morrissey (70+3, HIA). CORK: Patrick COLLINS 6; Niall O'LEARY 6, Eoin DOWNEY 6, Sean O'DONOGHUE 6; Mark COLEMAN (0-1) 6, Ciarán JOYCE 6, Robert DOWNEY (0-1) 5; Tim O'MAHONY 5, Ethan TWOMEY 5; Declan DALTON N/A, Darragh FITZGIBBON 5, Shane BARRETT (0-1) 5; Patrick HORGAN (1-9, 1-8f) 6, Alan CONNOLLY 5, Brian HAYES (0-1) 6. Subs: Brian Roche (0-1) for Dalton (8), Cormac O'Brien for Downey (HT), Séamus Harnedy (0-2) for Twomey (HT), Damien Cahalane for O'Leary (55), Robbie O'Flynn for Connolly (66). REFEREE: Liam Gordon (Galway). QUOTE ME ON THAT 'We got beaten by Cork twice last year. You're at home in the Gaelic Grounds in the championship, you only have two games here so we have to deliver on days like today.' Limerick manager John Kiely. STAR MAN - Kyle Hayes (Limerick) Limerick conceded only 0-8 from play, 0-6 of that from the Cork forwards, as their defence ruled supreme, with Hayes the pillar at the heart of all in a really commanding performance. AN OTHER - Cian Lynch (Limerick) Lynch's command of the ball and spacial awareness in the first half in particular was jaw-dropping at times. Indeed, you could argue that he's too unselfish in possession. UP NEXT LIMERICK: Clare (h), May 25. CORK: Waterford (h), May 25.
Extra.ie
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
GAA stars to swap pitch for festival stage this weekend
Limerick hurler Tom Morrissey and Galway camogie player Niamh Mallon will swap the pitch for a festival stage this weekend. They will be teaming up with Solgar to put attendees through their paces at WellFest. The two-day festival is taking place at the IMMA at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, on May 10 and 11. Galway camogie player and Solgar brand ambassador Niamh Mallon. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Festival-goers will have the chance to meet the stars, explore the secrets behind their training regimes and take part in interactive GAA skill challenges. The coveted Liam MacCarthy and Sam Maguire cups will also feature at a specially designed 360-degree Croke Park-themed photo booth. Limerick hurler Tom Morrissey and Solgar brand ambassador. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Earlier this year, Solgar announced a three-year partnership with the GAA and GPA. It is now the official vitamin partner for both associations. Team Solgar will be completed by performance nutritionist and gymnastics coach Nicole Shaw who will be on-site throughout the festival offering expert advice on nutrition, performance and wellness.
