Ray Dempsey reflects on comprehensive defeat against “serious outfit” Cork

There is little rest for Limerick who face into their third successive game this Sunday afternoon when welcoming Meath to the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

It was a forgettable day for Limerick in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday afternoon as they fell to their largest defeat in three years. Indeed, the last time they were beaten by more than 20 points also came on Leeside in the 2019 Munster Championship.

The 24-point defeat on Sunday makes it four defeats on the trot for Ray Dempsey and co with Limerick’s time to find points in a survival bid quickly running out.

The game was put to bed inside the opening quarter as Cork “blitzed” their visitors, ending the half with four goals. Reflecting on the contest, Dempsey spoke about the difference in the sides, particularly early on.

“Cork blitzed us in the first half. They were moving at a different pace to us and they got their reward for it. We’ve all seen when it goes wrong, it can go badly wrong and unfortunately for us they were just going for the jugular, they went for it and credit to them.

“We had a certain level of confidence but Cork are a serious outfit, they are moving very sharply and our backs were against the wall. Back-to-back games doesn’t give you a lot of time to prepare for things so we just have to go away again and prepare.”

After a pair of positive displays against the Rebels in the championship in 2021 and ’22, the upward trajectory of Cork was in full flow on Sunday afternoon while Limerick’s progress has taken a hit in the second tier.

But again, Dempsey was quick to highlight the gulf between the second and third tiers as shown by Limerick’s result against last year’s Division 3 champions Louth last weekend, a result that still stings.

“It’s a game in the second division and it’s played at a way higher tempo and we have to try and replicate that in training and freshen up lads. It’s not the biggest panel and it takes a while to replace lads that have moved on. That’s a challenge especially when you’re against a team like Cork who are on the road a few years.

“The Louth game was the one we were targeting and we gave a good account of ourselves. We have to be realistic about expectations and I’ve said that since day one.”

There is little rest for Limerick who face into their third successive game this Sunday afternoon when welcoming Meath to the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

As solace for the Shannonsiders, Meath were also beaten by Louth at the weekend with the clash against the Royals increasingly looking like a last-chance saloon to stay afloat.


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