Forty years ago, in a third round FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Newcastle, a beautiful pass from Chris Waddle gave Kevin Keegan, the returning Liverpool legend, a glimpse of goal but he was easily outpaced to the ball by Liverpool’s Mark Lawrenson. “And Keegan is onside,” says the BBC’s John Motson on commentary, before a micro pause, “but Lawrenson is in control.” Keegan retired at the end of that season later citing that very moment as the reason.
Like many men of a certain age, I am part of a WhatsApp group. Ours is called “Hurling, Hurling, Hurling”. Out of respect for the Limerick member of the group (me), things went quiet on Sunday.
And then the “analysis” started. The biggest loss for Limerick this year, someone suggested ( as has John Fogarty of this paper ) was psychologist Caroline Currid. But like Keegan; it wasn’t heads but legs that beat Limerick.
Of course, it was not just Cork’s speed: the Rebels brought everything necessary - skill, athleticism, desire and fanatical support, as they had to. Napoleon once said that the battlefield is a scene of constant chaos, the winner is the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemy's. Cork prevailed in the anarchic, mesmerising chaos that was hurling at its best.
The next few weeks will, as John Kiely said, cut to the quick for Limerick. It already irks that despite beating them twice, Clare’s manager, Brian Lohan, has, in typically blunt fashion, said that the two best teams are .
