WITH a couple of sublime late scores, Peter Casey pointed Limerick to an historic 1-21 (24) to 2-17 (23) win over Cork in Sunday’s thrilling Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Minutes earlier, minors from Diarmuid Byrnes and Gearóid Hegarty tied matters.
Cork then hit the front again through Alan Connolly, before Casey came up trumps and helped Limerick regain the Mick Mackey Cup.
“Peter Casey topped up with a couple of great scores when it counted, he really did show great composure, great accuracy, great nerve,” said a complimentary winning boss John Kiely, for whom this fixture was his 40th in the provincial championship arena.
Limerick had trailed 1-11 to 1-9 at the turnaround, and the contest was tight for much of the closing period until a flurry of excitement near the end of another pulsating contest.
There were many, many stars, among they Limerick netminder Nickie Quaid, who earned the Man of the Match accolade.
Of concern to Kiely will be an injury sustained by Adam English, but there’s a break of a month before an All-Ireland semi-final tie at Croke Park.
Sunday’s win was a first ever by Limerick over Cork in a final at the venue.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Seán Finn, Dan Morrissey, Barry Nash (0-1), Diarmaid Byrnes (0-3), William O’Donoghue, Kyle Hayes, Cian Lynch (0-1), Darragh O’Donovan, Gearóid Hegarty (1-1), Aidan O’Connor (0-8), Cathal O’Neill (0-1), Aaron Gillane, Shane O’Brien (0-1), Peter Casey (0-3).
Substitutes used: Tom Morrissey (0-2), Adam English, David Reidy.