Resilient Limerick celebrate thrilling Munster junior camogie final win over Cork

"ONE OF our targets for the year was to win Munster silverware and it's tremendous credit to the team that put in such a savage effort to deliver it,” was manager Dave Deady's reaction as his Limerick junior camogie team snatched a hard-fought 1-11 to 0-13 Munster Junior Camogie final victory over Cork in Kilcommon on Bank Holiday Monday.

Recovering from the disappointment of losing out to Dublin in the National League decider, a side mostly made up of teenagers showed their determination to hang in against Cork's dominance of the first half by regaining the lead with minutes to go and then hold on to it in the face their opponents' all-out attempts to reply.

Although they made it over the line by the narrowest of margins, Limerick were full value for their success as they recovered from Cork's blitzkrieg start and might have gone in level at half-time had they taken the chances coming their way.

What turned the game in their favour was the only goal of the hour when Ella Hession inspired her colleagues with the aggression of her retrieval of a seemingly lost chance and the clinical precision of how she finished it.

Cork could have had the dream start as, straight from the throw-in, the sliotar found Erin Curtin only for her shot was to be spectacularly saved by Naomi Ryan but that didn't stop the Blackrock corner-forward from making an explosive early imprint on the game as she split the posts three times in the following three minutes.

However, once that particular storm had blown over, Limerick found their shape at the back and used the clearances to set up a series of attacks which, after putting the first pair of opportunities wide, got them off the mark when Carla Griffin converted a free after they failed to finish off two goalmouth scrambles.

Limerick's Ella Hession followed up with a point from a tight angle and, although Thea Coleman, off a '45' replied for Cork, the Shannonsiders kept up the momentum as Valerie Shanahan and Kate Feasey finished off sustained passing movements with further scores.

However, when the Leesiders rediscovered their grip on the middle third, Coleman pointed another '45' and the score was was followed by Ella Wigginton Barrett striking a point on the run and a long Ava Houlihan free before Carla Griffin sent over a free in reply for Limerick to narrow Cork's lead to 0-7 to 0-5 at the break.

The gap was back to three points when sustained Rebel pressure on the restart yielded Kate O'Keeffe's strike. However, the score was immediately met by Hession's reply and was followed by Griffin's pointed free before Sinéad Hurley raised a white flag at the other end to bring the gap back to two.

However, just as Cork were looking to take it from there, a long Limerick delivery appeared to be drifting wide of the target. The alert Hession broke through the challenge to prevent the sliotar going wide, before lifting it under pressure and cutting in along the end line and finally rifling to the back of the net.

The Limerick lead was retained despite fierce Cork pressure until Coleman's pointed free equalised for the Leesiders.

It looked to be going Cork's way when Eimear Hurley and Amy Fowley put them back in front going into the final quarter, before Griffin pounced on a chance to reply.

With the play getting bogged down in crowded challenges in the middle third, Limerick ended eight scoreless minutes with Griffin's equalising '45' but were immediately brought back to earth by another Coleman free.

However, the Shannonsiders regained the momentum with Tori Smith's equaliser, before Valerie Shanahan sent over a monster injury-time free to ultimately secure the victory despite Cork's best efforts to bring the game to extra time.

SCORERS: LIMERICK: Carla Griffin 0-5 (3 frees, 1 '45'), Ella Hession 1-2, Valerie Shanahan 0-2 (1 free), Kate Feasey, Tori Smith 0-1 each; CORK: Thea Coleman 0-4 (2 frees, 2 '45's), Erin Curtin 0-3, Kate O'Keeffe, Ella Wigginton Barrett, Ava Hallihan, Sinéad Hurley, Eimear Hurley, Amy Fowley 0-1 each.

LIMERICK: Naomi Ryan; Muireann Leahy, Tara Lenihan, Elaine Frawley; Megan Ryan, Ciara Houlihan, Lauren O'Connor; Ann Kennedy, Saoirse Fitzgerald; Valerie Shanahan, Kate Feasey, Amy Burke; Zara White, Ella Hession, Carla Griffin. SUBS: Emma English for Saoirse Fitzgerald (49 minutes), Abbie Murrihy for Elaine Frawley (53 minutes), Noelle Curtin for Fara White (56 minutes), Tori Smith for Carla Griffin (56 minutes).

CORK: Chloe Lane; Stephanie Punch, Sarah O'Keefe, Cliona Martin; Shauna Hayes, Áine Ring, Ellen Maguire; Ava Hallihan, Nicola Olden; Thea Coleman, Sinéad Hurley, Amy Fowley; Erin Curtin, Kate O'Keeffe, Ella Wigginnton Barrett. SUBS: Eimear Hurley for Shauna Hayes (half-time), Julie Tarrant for Kate O'Keeffe (44 minutes), Sarah Morrison for Áine Ring (47 minutes).

REFEREE: Mike Ryan (Tipperary).