Cork now just a game away from ending League drought

CORK’S goal glut continued on Leeside as they stormed back into the League final with a clinical dismantling of Galway.

- BY PAT NOLAN

After hitting All-Ireland champions Clare for six in their last outing, Cork raised another four green flags in this rout to set up a final against Tipperary on the weekend of April 5/6, in what will be the counties' first meeting at this stage of the competition since 1960.

Patrick Horgan became the Championship’s all-time leading scorer last year and now he holds the same honour for the League as he surpassed Eddie Keher's scoring record with his tally of 1-9 in front of 20,010 at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, amid very sparse visiting support.

Brian Hayes, Darragh Fitzgibbon and Tim O'Mahony also netted as Cork moved into their first League final since 2022 as they bid to bridge the gap to their last title in 1998.

For Galway, who would have gone through to the final themselves with a win, they end the League on a whimper having suffered a similar beating from Limerick two weeks earlier.

Indeed, each of their three losses in the competition have been by 12 points, with Tipperary having dished out a drubbing in Salthill on the opening weekend.