Shane Dowling: Limerick will bounce back but Cork were deserving winners of astonishing match
Even watching on, the first 20 minutes nearly left you gasping for breath. It was electric, played at a frightening pace
It takes a very good team hitting the heights to take down great champions and that's what Cork managed yesterday.
It was the first full house for an All-Ireland semi-final, which added to the sense of occasion.
But who could have predicted a game with 99 shots for scores? That is astonishing.
The Championship needed a game like it too, as the first All-Ireland semi-final on Saturday was poor enough fare.
A disappointing crowd, and a game that was exciting at the finish but low on quality.
Nobody could argue that Cork weren't full value for their win.
They were the better team on the day and fully deserved their victory.
Even watching on, the first 20 minutes nearly left you gasping for breath. It was electric, played at a frightening pace.
By the break, I thought Cork should have been further ahead. I think the decision to give a free out for a thrown ball after Brian Hayes found the net was a wrong call by Thomas Walsh.
It was a reprieve for Limerick but it didn't take the wind out of Cork's sails.
It was the period after half-time that gave them the platform to kick for home.
Cork showed incredible character in the way they weathered the Limerick storm.
In the second quarter, Limerick outscored them by 0-10 to 0-3.
Cork's response told us a lot about them. They came out after the break and fired six of the next eight points.
That scoring blitz at the start of the second half was extraordinary.
In the first 11 minutes of the half, Cork had 10 shots and came away with 10 points, eight of those from play.
Limerick were chasing the game after that and there was incredible drama in the last few minutes.
Everyone was putting their body on the line. Every sinew was being strained in the pursuit of victory.
Cork just about held Limerick at bay, and this is a massive win for them.
They have plenty of players who stood tall for them.
Start with the goalkeeper, Patrick Collins. His puck-outs were a real weapon and he made two massive saves - one from Aaron Gillane and one from Gearoid Hegarty.
After the Hegarty one, Cork went up the field and pointed through Declan Dalton.
A Hegarty goal would have put Limerick just a point behind, instead they were five adrift within seconds. That was a hugely important minute in the game.
But rewind too to the first half save by Collins from Aaron Gillane. I'd love to get a video clip of that save and show it to people all over the world and ask them how much do they think Collins is paid to put his body on the line like that. I'd say they'd be astounded to hear he's doing it for the love of his county.
It was incredible bravery and it summed up the way Cork approached this game.
One of the keys to the Cork win was the performance of their half-forward line as a unit.
Limerick are very strong there but the Cork trio hurled up a storm.
If you go back to the 2021 All-Ireland hurling final and look at the Cork team that were well beaten by Limerick, they have made significant improvements in attack.
Brian Hayes and Alan Connolly didn't play in that final, they scored 1-7 between them yesterday.
Dalton and Shane Barrett didn't start that game, they shared 0-7 between them this time.
There is a good balance in the Cork attack now between scorers and workers - that wasn't always there in recent years.
Pat Ryan made a very clever move in getting Dalton to stand out on the sideline on the 65. Kyle Hayes had to mark him there and the ploy really meant Hayes wasn't as influential as usual.
Other teams have tried similar ploys, but it never worked as well. Limerick eventually moved Hayes to number six to try and get him more involved.
What Cork have going for them is savage pace in their team.
It's something that will give Clare manager Brian Lohan a few sleepless nights over the next fortnight.
Clare are a very hard team to beat but they can't match Cork's speed. Lohan will have to come up with a plan to try and counteract it.
Barry Nash was a big miss for Limerick, Peter Casey wasn't available, Sean Finn is only back from his cruciate injury and Darragh O'Donovan is just coming back from injury too.
It's not making excuses to point that out. Limerick aren't machines. There's always the philosophy of 'next man up' but Limerick were stretched.
Looking at the age profile of the Limerick team, you'd think they'll bounce back and be a real force again next year.
They do have a lot of mileage on the clock, though. On the go well into the Championship for years now.
So they need to tune out, go back to the clubs, hit the reset button over the winter.
We'll see what happens with the management. John Kiely agreed a one year extension last October. Limerick will be very keen to keep John and Paul Kinnerk on board, and I really hope they stay.
But nobody will be putting any pressure on them. It's their decision to make. They've given serious service to Limerick over the past seven years.
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