![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4923560_5_articleinlinemobile_3317471.jpg\" "\\"John")
John English of Limerick has a shot on goal despite the efforts of Colm McCarthy of Cork. Picture: Brendan Moran\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n\n
Limerick 1-28<\/p>\n
\n
Cork 0-16<\/p>\n
Experience counted heavily as Cork\u2019s Co-op SuperStores Munster Hurling League campaign began with defeat to Limerick at TUS Gaelic Grounds on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
With the starters from last year\u2019s All-Ireland final still in cold storage and college players preluded from lining out, Ben O\u2019Connor\u2019s side was again a mix of newcomers and those pushing for greater game-time. However, a crowd of 2,362 witnessed a Limerick team featuring more big names play with a greater slickness \u2013 though the visitors were not helped by a worrying turnover rate on their own puckouts, both long and short.<\/p>\n
While Colin O\u2019Brien did have the game\u2019s opening score in the first minute, it was the only time Cork led, with a pair of Tom Morrissey points putting Limerick in front. Morrissey, Peter Casey and Cian Lynch provided ten first-half points between them as the Shannonsiders amassed a 0-16 to 0-7 half-time lead \u2013 and that despite having 11 wides to just two for Cork, the first of those coming five minutes before half-time.<\/p>\n
The closest either side came to a goal in the opening period was when a turnover afforded Jack O\u2019Connor the chance to run at the Limerick defence \u2013 his low effort was well-placed but Colin Ryan in the Limerick goal did well to keep it out. Colm McCarthy did ensure that Cork took a point from that phase of play to leave it 0-4 to 0-2 with seven minutes gone but by the 16th it was 0-10 to 0-4 in favour of the hosts, for whom Will O\u2019Donoghue was able to dictate matters at centre-back.<\/p>\n
Long-range efforts in quick succession from wing-back Matthew Fitzgerald and Lynch moved them seven ahead and, while Cork wing-back Tom Hanley \u2013 who did show up well for the most part \u2013 replied, the hosts had four of the last five points of the half.<\/p>\n
John English of Limerick has a shot on goal despite the efforts of Colm McCarthy of Cork. Picture: Brendan Moran\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
The lead might even have been more had John English\u2019s surging run not been halted illegally following a good catch from Gear\u00f3id Hegarty.<\/p>\n
The 2020 hurler of the year was playing at corner-forward and had been influential in the first half despite not being among Limerick\u2019s eight scorers. That statistic looked like changing in the 35th minute when Donnacha \u00d3 D\u00e1laigh\u2019s pass across gave him a goal chance; while he sidestepped goalkeeper Brion Saunderson, Ger Millerick \u2013 excellent throughout – was there to make an intervention.<\/p>\n
By that stage, Limerick had outscored Cork by 0-4 to 0-1 since half-time and Morrissey converted the 65 that accrued and another from a free immediately afterwards.<\/p>\n
The lead stretched to 14 points, 0-23 to 0-9, before Cork had a mild flurry with points from Se\u00e1n Desmond, Cathal McCarthy (free) and Jack Cahalane (sideline cut) but it was only brief respite.<\/p>\n
Limerick led by 0-23 to 0-12 when sub Hugh Flanagan \u2013 who had gone close shortly beforehand \u2013 set up \u00d3 D\u00e1laigh for a goal and 15 points separated the sides at the end.<\/p>\n
\n Scorers for Limerick: T Morrissey 0-6 (0-3 f, 0-2 65), D \u00d3 D\u00e1laigh 1-3, P Casey 0-4, C Lynch, J English 0-3 each, P O\u2019Donovan 0-2, D O\u2019Donovan, C Thomas, M Fitzgerald, G Hegarty, M Casey, J Finn, J Cosgrove 0-1 each.<\/p>\n
\n Cork: C McCarthy 0-3 (0-2 f), S Desmond, R O\u2019Flynn, B O\u2019Sullivan (0-2 f) 0-2 each, T Hanley, C Tobin, Colin O\u2019Brien, J O\u2019Connor, J Cahalane (0-1 sl), M Barrett 0-1 each.<\/p>\n
\n LIMERICK: C Ryan; E Stokes, S Finn, B Murphy; C Thomas, W O\u2019Donoghue, M Fitzgerald; C Lynch, D O\u2019Donovan; J English, P Casey, T Morrissey; G Hegarty, D \u00d3 D\u00e1laigh, P O\u2019Donovan.<\/p>\n
\n Subs: J Fitzgerald for O\u2019Donovan, M Casey for O\u2019Donoghue (both half-time), E Hurley for P Casey (43), D O\u2019Shea for Thomas, H Flanagan for Lynch (both 46), J O\u2019Connor for Hegarty, J Cosgrove for P O\u2019Donovan, J Finn for Fitzgerald (all 56).<\/p>\n
\n CORK: B Saunderson; C Doolan, E Roche, G Millerick; T Hanley, E Twomey, C Tobin; C Darcy, J Kearney; Colin O\u2019Brien, C McCarthy, J O\u2019Connor; R O\u2019Flynn, S Desmond, J Cahalane.<\/p>\n
\n Subs: B O\u2019Sullivan for Colin O\u2019Brien, Cormac O\u2019Brien for Kearney (both half-time), J Casey for Tobin, B O\u2019Flynn for Darcy, M Barrett for McCarthy (all 52).<\/p>\n
\n Referee: T Walsh (Waterford).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Limerick 1-28 Cork 0-16 Experience counted heavily as Cork\u2019s Co-op SuperStores Munster Hurling League campaign began with defeat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":{"0":"post-233117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}