Cork beat Limerick on penalties to win dramatic Munster final
Cork are the Munster SHC champions for the first time in seven years after putting their 16-point defeat to Limerick last month well and truly behind in a historic final in TUS Gaelic Grounds.
For the first time in Liam MacCarthy Cup history, a final went to penalties and when Darragh Fitzgibbon’s opening penalty for Cork was saved by Nickie Quaid things looked tight for the visitors.
However, Barry Murphy sent his strike wide and Tom Morrissey’s hit was saved. After Alan Connolly converted his penalty, Limerick needed to make their next but Declan Hannon’s effort dribbled wide and the realms of red in the 43,580 crowd were in raptures.
On the back of their wily replacements Shane Kingston and Conor Lehane, Cork drove for the finish but their toil seemed to be in vain when Damien Cahalane committed a tired foul on Shane O’Brien.
Aaron Gillane capitalised yet that was not the end. Nickie Quaid touched a ball out for a 65 and Darragh Fitzgibbon arrowed the placed ball between the sticks to force the unprecedented.
The teams couldn’t be divided at the turnaround of extra-time either. Opting to play with the wind for the first half of extra-time, Limerick went two up through substitute Declan Hannon in the opening seconds and Aaron Gillane converting a free he won.
Referee Thomas Walsh had to retire with cramp and was replaced by stand-by official and linesman James Owens. With a Darragh Fitzgibbon free and a Kieran Kingston angled point, Cork were back on level and then Lehane, who had won the free, broke a ball to himself and found his range.
After Kyle Hayes and Gillane wides, the latter sent over a free to make it 2-22 to 1-25 at the interval. Both teams went ahead in the second period and all the scorers were substitutes.
Kingston’s third point in the 88th minute was cancelled out by Cathal O’Neill after he had sent a strike wide before Cahalane’s foul on Shane O’Brien gave Limerick what seemed to be the match-winning free. But Fitzgibbon was able to send the Munster final into unchartered territory.
