Cork manager Ben O’Connor has said that his players hadn’t been told before the final free that it had to be scored directly.

The Rebels lost their Munster crown to Limerick on Sunday, and were trailing by a point with the allotted injury time of five minutes having elapsed, when they were awarded a free well inside their own half.

Against the wind, the Cork players decided that a direct shot wasn’t the play and Goalkeeper Patrick Collins passed laterally to Mark Coleman, who popped a ball inside to Tim O’Mahony in a more advanced central position.

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Cork goalkeeper Patrick Collins lines up the final free of the game. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

That action from Cork took six seconds before referee James Owens wasn’t prepared to allow the move to play out and blew for full-time as O’Mahony was in the process of striking the ball towards the square.

After the full-time whistle, Cork players brought up the issue with James Owens as he left the field.

‘I met some of the guys there, and all they said to him going off the field was that he didn’t tell them it was the last puck of the ball,’ Cork boss Ben O’Connor told reporters in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

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Cork players attempt to speak to referee James Owens. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

‘I thought normally a referee just said, this is it, lads, you should go direct, but they said he didn’t. When you say they surrounded him, that’s a little bit much.

‘They were walking alongside him. He had his team of officials alongside him, stewards were walking alongside him, there was no one raised their voice. They just said, “why didn’t you tell us?” That was the only issue the boys had.’

It was then put to O’Connor that Limerick’s Will O’Donoghue confirmed he was told that it had to be scored directly.

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Tim O’Mahony of Cork is tackled by Gearóid Hegarty of Limerick. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

‘It’s great that he was told! But we weren’t told that when we got the free. It was brilliant that they told him [O’Donoghue]. Fair play to whoever told him.’

O’Connor added that he was ‘disappointed’ after the game and thought a few decisions went against Cork.

‘We were punished heavily for them. Small margins at this level…In general, I thought we should have got a few more frees. Whatever about their frees, but I thought we should have got a few more.’