Nickie Quaid Few of his early puck-outs were intercepted before natural order was resumed. He closed out Brian Hayes in the 27th minute when a goal looked on and made a brilliant late block to deny Pa Horgan. 8
Sean Finn: Kept Pa Horgan quiet in the opening half and had Alan Connolly for company in the second half. Did well on both. 7
Dan Morrissey It was damage limitation job on Brian Hayes who was unmarkable. 6
Mike Casey Had spells on Brian Hayes and Alan Connolly and conceded off both. Pa Horgan also grabbed two from play in the second half. 6
Diarmaid Byrnes Really struggled to contain Seamus Harnedy and was robbed for Cork’s goal. Nailed a couple of monster points but was a rare second best on the day. 6.5
Declan Hannon Trying to nail Shane Barrett was like trying to nail jelly. Pulled from pillar to post by the speedy Cork forward and was exposed when drawn out to the flanks. 6
Kyle Hayes Nothing came his way by way of puck-outs. Made one surging run towards the end of the first half and grabbed a second-half point. Condemned to the fringes of this semi-final. 6
Will O’Donoghue Had some good moments in possession but never got to grips with the outstanding Darragh Fitzgibbon who hit three points and had a hand in a glut of Cork’s scores. Replaced late on. 6.5
Cathal O’Neill One of the few Limerick players who was undaunted by Cork’s incredible start, hitting two points from the middle of the field. Less of an influence in the second period. 7
Gearoid Hegarty So often been the king of Croke Park but was never allowed to find his usual rhythm. Hit a bad first-half wide, managed a couple of decent passes into Limerick’s inside line, and his second-half goal chance was a nice height for Patrick Collins. 6.5
Cian Lynch Amid the anarchy, Limerick’s cerebral schemer played some wonderful stuff. Got away from Tim O’Mahony whenever he wanted. Clever, resourceful, a sixth sense for break ball. Still the Cool Hand Luke of the modern game. 8
Tom Morrissey A dog of war, the teak-tough wing-forward is also wonderfully accurate. Nailed two first-half scores that kept Limerick in touch but most of the play in the second half was down the opposite flank. 7.5
Aaron Gillane When Limerick needed him, he stood tall. A man-of-the-match contender. Dominated his man Sean O’Donoghue. Top-scored in four of Limerick’s Championship games and made it five in this semi-final with 0-10. Denied a goal by a brave Patrick Collins block and slipped at the vital moment when a goal seemed likely. 9
Seamus Flanagan Returned after missing the Munster final and converted from a difficult angle in the first half. Involved in a few of Limerick’s scores. A stretch to ask him to play a full game and was replaced. 7
David Reidy Got away from Niall O’Leary to open his account and added two more from play. Subbed off in the third quarter as Limerick looked to their bench to rescue the game. 7.5
Subs
Shane O’Brien He’ll remember his gilt-edged miss to make it a one-point game - not the two lovely efforts he converted earlier. 6.5
Adam English Improved the Limerick attack. Missed one and converted two. 7
Darragh O’Donovan Yellow-carded but set up Shane O’Brien for a score. 6
Aidan O’Connor Hit a wide late on. 5