SOME games need to be analysed and studied in depth to see where and how matters transpired and the result was decided. Other games are rather more straightforward.

Cork v Limerick fell very much into the latter category – Cork knocked in four goals between the 13th and 31st minutes of the first half, and that was enough to ensure the rest of a forgettable encounter was much ado about very little.

The Cork goals were all there was to warm the cockles of the hardy few Cork football followers who braved protests on the roads, high fuel costs and unseasonable cold April weather.

The performance outside that goal bonanza in the first half was as pedestrian as some of the slow-moving convoys that made their way towards the city as we made our way home.

Cork were sluggish in the opening exchanges, trailing by a point before Dara Sheedy took matters into his own hands and darted through the centre of a Limerick defence that parted all too easily to bury goal number one. The green sea would part similarly obligingly three more times in the following 18 minutes as Tommy Walsh, Sean McDonnell and Ian Maguire all repeated Sheedy’s trick.

The net result was that Cork went from one point down to 15 points in front at half-time and the game was all but over as a contest, with Cork turning to play with the aid of stiff breeze.

Cork, though, have a bad habit of taking their foot off the pedal in such instances, as they did against Offaly in the league campaign. Concentration and intensity levels drop and the fall in standards here almost gave Limerick a sniff of a chance. The recalled Micheál Aodh Martin in goal coughed up a couple of short kick-outs and one interception resulted in Limerick coming clean through on goal.

From the stands, it looked as though Martin himself rugby-tackled Robbie Childs to the ground and would spend ten minutes in the sin-bin. For some reason, referee Seamus Mulhane decided to consult with his umpires and between them they decreed that Brian O’Driscoll was the guilty party. It was O’Driscoll, then, who took his leave for the following ten minutes, Pa Doyle remained in his seat and James Naughton converted the penalty beyond a decidedly fortunate Martin.

Wind-assisted Cork did not score until the 51st minute, as Limerick made further inroads on the Cork lead. The margin was eight when otherwise impressive long-range free-taker Eliah Riordan had a free from the edge of the arc for a Cork three-up breach. Riordan, who converted four 45s in the game, was wide to the right and Cork finally started to emerge from their half-time slumber.

Cork's Brian O'Driscoll breaks away from Limerick's Cormac Woulfe. (Photo: Paddy Feen)

Conor Cahalane had come on at half-time for Sheedy, who picked up a heavy knock to the ribs in the first half, and the Castlehaven man was one of the few to make a positive contribution in the second half with three points from play.

Apart from Cahalane in the second half, very few Cork players will remember this one too fondly. The goalkeeper debate is a mite tiresome but won’t go away after Martin’s struggles. Ultimately, Cork don’t have a top-class goalkeeper right now and it is a problem. I said last week I thought it was worth giving Doyle a championship outing to prove himself, and now management will have to have another conversation about the position before the semi-final versus Tipperary. This is far from ideal: goalkeeper is the one position you want to have the most confidence in.

Tipperary, and everyone else, will be going after the Cork kick-out and a good press will mean going long more often than not, which becomes a scramble for breaks. Cork are not the only team struggling with the issue, however the best teams don’t have the same level of uncertainty around their number ones generally.

Maguire and Colm O’Callaghan do tend to win their fair share around the middle, and Paul Walsh was another who can be pleased with his afternoon’s work on Sunday, however we have seen Cork overrun around the middle for prolonged periods in the recent past and it could prove costly if there is no improvement.

Cork’s defence had a comfortable outing for the most part other than the 15 minutes after half-time, and the marauding Tommy Walsh and Luke Fahy were about the best of the group.

The full back-line was relatively solid but will face far sterner tests. Brian O’Driscoll was wronged on the black card but compounded the situation by crashing into a Limerick player after releasing possession later in the half. A yellow card was issued and a red one followed. The gap was eight points at the time and the 14 Cork players on the pitch raised their game sufficiently to cover O’Driscoll’s departure.

Cork had several opportunities to punish Limerick on the break as the visitors tried to chase down the Cork lead, however Limerick goalkeeper Jeffrey Alfred denied Maurice Shanley with the best of the goal chances created.

As well as Cahalane, only Conor Corbett and Brian Hurley got sufficient time to make an impression from the bench. Hurley scored a point and Corbett ran at the Limerick defence but was a little too eager and kicked a bad wide as well as coughing up a poor turnover. He did place Conor Cahalane for a point and the Castlehaven man had the last word for Cork to seal the nine point success.

This was not a game that will live too long in the memory of many, save perhaps for my two nephews and niece who attended their first Cork football match. Hopefully, there will be many more and many better, as this was not a game to convert any new followers to the game. Cork have struggled against Limerick before, so John Cleary and Co will look at this as a job done and a box ticked before moving on to the semi-final against Tipperary.

Cork have not faced the Premier County since that ill-fated (for Cork at least) Munster final late in the winter of 2020. That was a very different time and these are very different teams, with Tipp in particular having a high turnover since their glory day in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Suffice to say that with the memory of that November evening fresh in the minds of many of the Cork squad, motivation won’t be a concern for Cork this time out.

Cleary and his team will have ample ammunition to concentrate the minds in training this week and next, and they will need to do so to get the improvements that will be needed in order to secure a place in the Munster final.

Cork are a good team, but not good enough to saunter through any game at half-tilt. That could well be the key message Cleary and co will be drilling into his charges right now, and we will look at the clash with Tipp in more detail next week.

Job number one in the Munster championship has been completed successfully, even if the performance was patchy in the extreme. For now, it’s on to the next.