N.Y. GAA Cork hurlers can’t open Limerick’s Flood-gates

By Jack Flynn

Limerick 3-16, Cork 2-10

The final score in Limerick’s victory over Cork at Gaelic Park on Sunday may present an inaccurate picture to someone not in attendance for the match. Limerick was victorious by 9 points but was in some ways lucky to come away with the victory.

If not for a tremendous performance and several brilliant saves by Limerick keeper Finbar Flood, Cork might have walked off the pitch victorious. As it were, Cork hurlers were left shaking their heads, wondering what might have been had Flood taken the day off.

But if Flood was happy with his performance, he wasn’t about to let on to it. “I was just doing my job,” he said.

Morgan Burns, who spent his day up front for Cork, was one of many Cork players who must have wished Flood wouldn’t have done his job so well. Burns had several opportunities to score goals for his side, but Flood just kept repelling his attacks.

Limerick got out ahead early, as full forwards Tom and Dave Simms sparked the offense. They scored Limerick’s first three points, then Damien Fahey scored a goal from the extreme left corner. Burns notched a point in between, so Fahey’s goal made the score 1-3 to 0-1 for Limerick.

Cork began to get the better of play as the half wore on, scoring five of the match’s next eight points to narrow the gap to 3 points, 1-6 to 0-6.

Cork should have had the lead, but Flood’s acrobatics kept his side ahead. Burns, alone in front of the net, took a perfect shot at the upper corner of the goal, but Flood dove to his right and knocked the ball out of harm’s way with his hurley. He had an equally important save on Paddy O’Sullivan later in the half.

Just as seemed that Cork might be on its way to taking the lead. Limerick scored a timely goal to regain control of the match. Tom Simms put a ball into the net to give his side a 6-point advantage. John Mahoney scored a point for Cork just before the half-time horn sounded, making the score 2-6 to 0-7 in favor of Limerick.

As it turned out, Mahoney’s point was the last one Cork would score for quite a while. Limerick scored the first eight points of the second half to take a 2-14 to 0-7 lead and put the match out of reach.

Dave Simms started the run off by stealing a ball right off the hurley of a Cork attacker and converting it into a Limerick point. Dave and Tom Simms would each score three points during the back-breaking run.

Burns ended the scoring streak by finally getting the better of Flood and scoring his first goal of the match. Flood had stoned Burns yet again just minutes before, but the Cork man finally got his revenge by whacking the rebound of a shot past the Limerick keeper.

The Burns goal made the score 2-14 to 1-7 with 10 minutes to go in the match. It was a wild 10 minutes, as the two teams combined to score two goals and five points in the remaining time. When the smoke finally cleared, Limerick stood on top.

Limerick scorers: T. Simms 1-6, Fahey 1-2, Sullivan 1-1 Burns 1-2, O’Sullivan 1-1, Mahoney 0-4, Slattery 0-2, O. O’Connor 0-1.