Limerick are still unbeaten in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship after a stunning draw with Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Having been reduced to 14 men after 25 minutes, Limerick faced an uphill task but they put the shoulder to the wheel to come out with a 0-28 to 1-25 draw.
Darragh Fitzgibbon looked to have sealed a one point win for The Rebels but Kyle Hayes popped up with a vital point that earned Limerick a well-deserved point.
Limerick were hit with an injury to their captain Declan Hannon after just six minutes and then lost Aaron Gillane to a red card.
The first half yielded 26 scores – 14 for Cork and 12 for Limerick. It was an open and entertaining contest that left the 34,607 in attendance at the edge of their seats.
Cork v Limerick Full-Time highlights pic.twitter.com/6xRQQi5Z5F
— The GAA (@officialgaa) June 2, 2018
Cork led by three by the time Gillane saw red for striking Cork corner back Sean O’Donoghue, who received a yellow card for his part in the incident.
With the game heading towards half time, Cork retained that advantage but a sterling Tom Morrissey point gave Limerick a huge boost at the break.
Limerick started the second half brightly with excellent scores from Tom Morrissey, Cian Lynch and Graeme Mulcahy but the excellent Patrick Horgan buried a goal to put Cork three ahead once again.
However, John Kiely’s men didn’t wilt. Two Seamus Flanagan points and one from Morrissey incredibly had Limerick 0-21 to 1-17 with 20 minutes remaining.
Limerick then led by three going into the final stages but Cork came back with Horgan leading the charge.
A stunning effort from Fitzgibbon looked to have finally put the nail in Limerick’s coffin but 19-year-old Hayes had other ideas and the game finished all square.
Limerick and Cork also faced off in the Munster Minor Hurling Championship, with Antoin Power’s men making it two wins from two. They beat the hosts 1-20 to 0-17.
Scorers – Limerick: Tom Morrissey 0-9 (5fs), Seamus Flanagan 0-5, Cian Lynch 0-3, Darragh O’Donovan, Graeme Mulcahy, Diarmaid Byrnes (2fs) and Kyle Hayes 0-2 each, Gearoid Hegarty, Dan Morrissey and Aaron Gillane (1f) 0-1 each; Cork: Patrick Horgan 1-11 (7fs, 1 ’65), Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-4, Conor Lehane 0-3, Shane Kingston and Daniel Kearney 0-2 each, Colm Spillane, Mark Coleman and Luke Meade 0-1 each.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Richie English; Diarmaid Byrnes, Declan Hannon, Dan Morrissey; Darragh O’Donovan, Cian Lynch; Gearoid Hegarty, Kyle Hayes, Tom Morrissey; Aaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan, Graeme Mulcahy; Subs: William O’Donoghue for Hannon (6 mins), David Dempsey for Hegarty (55 mins), Paul Browne for O’Donovan (61 mins), Barry Murphy for Mulcahy (62 mins), Pat Ryan for Flanagan (64 mins).
Cork: Anthony Nash; Sean O’Donoghue, Damien Cahalane, Colm Spillane; Mark Ellis, Christopher Joyce, Mark Coleman; Darragh Fitzgibonn, Bill Cooper; Conor Lehane, Dean Brosnan, Daniel Kearney; Patrick Horgan, Seamus Harnedy, Shane Kingston; Subs: Tim O’Mahony for O’Donoghue (h-t), Luke Meade for Brosnan (h-t), Michael Cahalane for Kingston (60 mins), Jamie Coughlan for Lehane (70 mins).
REFEREE: James Owens (Wexford).
