An eleven-point victory over Kilkenny on Saturday secured Cork’s place in the Electric Ireland All-Ireland MHC semi-finals. Following up on their comeback win against Wexford, the Rebels maintained their momentum and never trailed at any stage of the match.

Stephen McHugh delivered an excellent performance at midfield, while Dave Nolan provided a strong presence at centre-back. Up front, Bobby Power was highly accurate, contributing 10 points to the scoreboard.

Cork established an early advantage and extended their lead when Callum Coffey coolly finished a well-worked team move for the game’s opening goal. Although Kilkenny responded with a goal from James Kavanagh just before half-time to narrow the gap, Cork remained composed after the restart.

Seán Riordan secured Cork’s second goal in the second half, rebuilding an eight-point cushion. From there, impact from substitutes like Liam O’Regan, Tadhg McCarthy, and Tom Huggins helped Cork finish strongly and book a semi-final clash against Munster champions Tipperary.

Cork: M Walsh; J Batterberry, F Cahill, N Coffey (0-1); E Considine, D Nolan (0-1), G Kingston; A Hennessy, S McHugh (0-2); C Murphy, S Riordan (1-2), R Cagney (0-3); C Coffey (1-1), B Power (0-10, 0-9f), S McCarthy (0-3). Subs used: T McCarthy (0-1), L O’Regan, C Ronayne, T Murphy, T Huggins (0-1).

Kilkenny: E O’Gorman; M Meany, S Kavanagh, S Corcoran; P Grace (0-2), J Treacy, O Phelan; J Bolger (0-1), M Corr; J Dowling (0-10, 0-6f), C O’Neill Pembroke (0-1), J Walsh (0-1); R Power, B Walsh, L Corcoran. Subs used: J Kavanagh (1-0), R Lacey (0-1), C Franks, D Lawlor.