Neil McManus hails Cork's spirit as they keep their season alive

Former Antrim hurler and RTÉ analyst Neil McManus hailed the battling spirit shown by Cork as they kept their season alive with a thrilling last-gasp victory over Limerick.

Cork supporters flooded onto the pitch at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh to celebrate with their team as the final whistle went on their 3-28 to 3-26 victory over the four-in-a-row All Ireland champions.

The Rebels looked a beaten docket with four minutes to play as they fell four points behind to an irresistible Limerick surge, inspired by 3-03 from Séamus Flanagan.

However, Cork dug deep and rallied back, scoring 1-04 to 0-01 in the closing stages with Patrick Horgan's penalty proving to be decisive.

Speaking on Morning Ireland, McManus enthused over the quality of play from both sides, but was most impressed by the attitude shown by the Rebels when it really counted.

"It was absolutely incredible, an out-and-out classic and good for the soul," he said. "

"It was brilliant, the pitch invasion at the end really described how much it meant to Cork, their championship was over if they didn’t pull off a famous victory against possibly the best team of all time.

"Cork had to win to stay in the championship so we were going to see what they were made of, everything was on the line.

"They needed leaders and they had them all over the field. I was calling them the big four up front, Hayes, Harnedy, Connelly and Dalton, they brought a level of physicality we haven’t seen from Cork in years.

"At six as well, Rob Downey was exceptional, especially in the absence of Ciaran Joyce, who has been such a key player for Cork over the last number of years.

"Cork really dominated the first 40/45 minutes but Limerick just did not go away, they’re not chasing five in a row for