DARRAGH FITZGIBBON denied Limerick a winning start to their season by nailing a free for Cork with the last puck of a tetchy NHL Division 1A encounter at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The 2024 Hurler of the Year nominee earned the hosts a share of the spoils with his tenth point of the night in the tenth minute of stoppage time.
On a woeful night for hurling when every score was hard-earned, Limerick were in the driving seat with a 1-11 to 0-9 lead early in the second half.
However, their momentum was halted by a brilliant Shane Barrett goal.
Pat Ryan’s side then showed their resolve in the closing stages to add another point to the two they collected last weekend in Wexford.
This was Limerick’s first outing since their dreams of a historic All-Ireland five in a row were dashed by Cork last summer. But the greasy conditions and swirling wind ensured that the fare on offer here was never likely to match what was conjured up in the most recent meetings of the Munster rivals.
Limerick are in ‘a building process’, manager John Kiely said earlier this week.
With one eye on their Championship opener against Tipperary, the first proper opportunity to respond to whispers of their demise is still 11 weeks away.
Nevertheless, there was enough evidence in their season opener to suggest that the foundations are still strong.
A crowd of 23,402 braved the weather to witness the latest instalment of a rivalry that produced a few thrilling tussles last year.
Cork salvaged their season with a home win over Limerick in Munster, before repeating the dose when the teams met in an All-Ireland semi.
Rebels boss Ryan included eight members of the side that started in that Croke Park victory.
Nickie Quaid and Declan Hannon were among the notable Limerick absentees, with Kiely retaining seven starters from the loss to Cork.
Having ruptured his ACL in November, ace goalkeeper Quaid is in danger of being ruled out for the year.
Doubts have also been raised about Hannon’s involvement after he relinquished the captaincy to Cian Lynch.
In the absence of the 32-year-old Adare man, Kyle Hayes started at centre-back. Quaid’s place was taken by debutant Jason Gillane, the younger brother of 2023 Hurler of the Year Aaron.
More than five years since he made his last appearance for Limerick, 2014 All-Star forward Shane Dowling was on the bench as back-up goalie.
Both sides also made injury-enforced changes inside the opening quarter. Limerick’s Gearóid Hegarty had to make way for David Reidy, while Cork stalwart Patrick Horgan launched his 18th season by replacing Pádraig Power.
The hosts were on top early, with Fitzgibbon leading the way as they raced into a 0-7 to 0-2 lead.
But with Limerick gaining supremacy in the middle third, Cork added just one more point — a Tim O’Mahony free — to their tally for the rest of the first half.
TURNING THE TIDE
A rare William O’Donoghue goal on 19 was the catalyst that turned the tide in Limerick’s favour.
An O’Mahony clearance was gathered by Kyle Hayes, who found O’Donoghue unmarked. Although his shot lacked venom, he did enough to beat Patrick Collins.
Patrick O’Donovan seized his opportunity to stake a claim for Championship consideration by reeling off three points from play in seven minutes as Limerick took control.
Cork had a chance to regain the upper hand just before the break, only for Shane Kingston’s shot at goal to be brilliantly blocked by Reidy.
Leading by 1-7 to 0-8 at the change of ends, Limerick increased their advantage to five points before the home support found their voice thanks to Barrett. Brian Hayes found the 2024 All-Star on the overlap and he rattled off a superb finish to find keeper Gillane’s net.
Limerick’s goalie responded by firing over a couple of frees and the visitors were four points to the good with 12 minutes to play.
Cork introduced Conor Lehane in an effort to fashion the scores they needed. But the Midleton forward’s chance to make an impact was almost immediately snatched away as he was forced off with what appeared to be an arm injury.
A brace of Brian Hayes points had Cork back within two. The seven additional minutes at the end of normal time offered the Rebels ample time to rescue it. During a feisty finale, Fitzgibbon converted a couple of placed balls either side of an Adam English free.
And after Brian Hayes was fouled by Reidy, the clock had ticked beyond 79 when Fitzgibbon nailed the equaliser.
A home game against Tipp this coming Sunday is next for Limerick. Cork now head into a three-week break before travelling to Thurles to face the Premier on February 22.
CORK: P Collins; N O’Leary, G Millerick, E Roche; T O’Mahony 0-1f, C Joyce, C O’Brien; E Twomey 0-1, D Fitzgibbon 0-10, 9f; L Meade 0-1, S Barrett 1-0, S Kingston 0-1; A Connolly, P Power, B Hayes 0-2. Subs: P Horgan for Power 17 mins, M Coleman for Kingston 49, C Lehane for Connolly 59, B Roche for Lehane 61, R Cotter for Barrett 68.
LIMERICK: J Gillane 0-2f; S Finn, D Morrissey, B Murphy; D Byrnes 0-1f, K Hayes, C Coughlan; A English 0-4, 3f, W O’Donoghue 1-0; G Hegarty, C Lynch 0-2, A O’Connor 0-2; D Ó Dalaigh, S O’Brien 0-1, P O’Donovan 0-4, 1f. Subs: D Reidy for Hegarty 15 mins, F O’Connor for Finn h-t, C Scully for Byrnes 45, S Flanagan for Ó Dálaigh 49, M Houlihan for O’Donovan 49, E Stokes for O’Donoghue 57.
REFEREE: S Stack (Dublin)
