Limerick suffer heavy defeat to holders Cork in All-Ireland senior camogie championship

“WE KNEW what we were up against, but we just didn't get the chance to settle into the game when Cork hit us right from the start.”

Going into battle against the reigning All-Ireland champions with a team filled with newcomers, Limerick senior camogie manager Joe Quaid was under no illusions as to what lay in store for his charges when they opened their championship campaign in Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday.

And so the afternoon ran to form as Cork rattled up 2-5 against them in the opening five minutes and maintained the pressure in the red zone right to the end in recording a runaway 6-25 to 0-5 victory in the qualifying group one encounter.

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Maybe it was the losers' misfortune to come up against opponents fired up from prominent role they had taken in the skorts controversy as both sides took to the field wearing shorts for the first time following the previous Thursday evening's Special Congress that resolved the issue.

For those Limerick players making debuts at his level of competition, at least it gave them an appreciation of what is demanded in senior camogie championship which they can draw on for their upcoming clashes with Clare and Wexford.

Limerick found no reward in their opening attacks before Saoirse McCarthy's free got Cork off the mark and, with that, the sliotar remained in the visitor's end of the field for almost the entire remainder of the half.

Turning on the gas, the Rebels added Katrina Mackey's point, Amy O'Connor's low shot to the net after bearing in from the left corner. Cork increased their advantage with Emma Murphy's point from distance and Mackey's overhead double for the second goal off Orlaith Cahalane's pass all within two torrid minutes to put nine points between the sides.

The tempo dropped after that despite Cork monopolising possession. After shooting three wides in a row, the scoreboard was pressed back into action as Emma Murphy, Clodagh Finn and McCarthy's free found the target for the home side. .

A brief pause was followed by O'Connor's pointed free and McCarthy's score from play. Cahalane then caught high and blasted to the net on the turn before following up with a point to stretch the Cork lead to 18 after twenty minutes.

Coming up to the break, scoring was more spread out. A pair of O'Connor pointed frees either side of a Finn point followed,  before Limerick finally won a free which was converted by Caoimhe Costello to leave score at 3-12 to 0-1 at half-time.

The Rebels tore into the second half exactly as they had in the first. With a pair of substitutes already introduced to prevent any complacency setting in, a ferocious series of attacks resulted in Cork points for Maedhbh Ring and Mackey, while Finn pounced on a defensive turnover to lift and strike to the net.

Mackey and O'Connor then split the posts before their opponents had a chance to find their bearings. Another O'Connor point  followed before Limerick found a reply as Laura Southern ran onto the pass, opened up the space, before pointing on the run.

O'Connor answered immediately from a free and, after Ciara O'Sullivan ran onto the pass to send over, Cork added another to stretch the lead out further by the three-quarter mark.

After stoppages for injuries and substitutions interrupted the play, the pace picked up again when Cahalane collected off a quick free and flashed into the space, opening drilling the sliotar to the net. Cahalane blasted home her second goal soon after.

With the watch ticking towards the finish, Southern pointed in reply on the turn off a long delivery to which Costelloe added a point from a '45'. Back came Cork and Mackey and Ring found the target at the other end before scoring ended with Costelloe converting a second '45' for the Shannonsiders.

SCORERS: CORK: Amy O'Connor 1-7 (0-5 frees), Clodagh Finn, Orlaith Cahalane 2-3 each, Katrina Mackey 1-4, Saoirse McCarthy 0-3 (2 frees), Emma Murphy, Maedhbh Ring 0-2 each, Ciara O'Sullivan 0-1; LIMERICK: Caoimhe Costelloe 0-3 (1 free, 2 '45's), Laura Southern 0-2.

CORK: Amy Lee; Maedhbh Murphy, Pamela Mackey, Maedhbh Cahalane; Aoife Healy, Laura Treacy, Laura Hayes; Hannah Looney, Ashling Thompson; Emma Murphy, Saoirse McCarthy, Orlaith Cahalane; Clodagh Finn, Katrina Mackey, Amy O'Connor. SUBS: Kate Wall for Aoife Healy (half-time), Maedhbh Ring for Laure Treacy (half-time), Cliona Healy for Emma Murphy (37 minutes), Ciara O'Sullivan for Saoirse McCarthy (37 minutes).

LIMERICK: Sarah Gillane; Orlaith Kelleher, Muireann Creamer, Emily O'Halloran; Ciara O'Riordan, Sophie O'Callaghan, Shauna Cunningham; Ailbhe Larkin, Mairéad Ryan; Lizzie Boylan, Stephanie Woulfe, Ciara Neenan; Dearbhla Egan, Laura Southern, Caoimhe Costelloe. SUBS: Teresa Dore for Muireann Creamer (42 minutes), Áine Ó Tiarnaigh for Ailbhe Larkin (49 minutes), Áine Foley for Stephanie Woulfe (49 minutes), Lisa English for Ciara Neenan (49 minutes).

REFEREE: Joe Mullins (Clare).