Tipp happiest but Cork can take positives
I’m not talking about the bit of a shemozzle between Padraic Maher and Cathal Naughton — that was harmless stuff, not a blow thrown, not a drop of blood shed. I’m talking about the supporters, the pre-match rituals, the banter. On my way into Páirc Uí Chaoimh I met a group of fellas from Roscrea, Gerry Long and his gang, and they invited me to join them at their ‘diner’, the boot of the car — I didn’t have the heart to refuse!
Chicken, ham, the best of sandwiches, tay, a few bottles of beer; most of all though, the craic
I was looking for a place to put the chicken-bones — “Into the black bag here,” I was told, “That’s coming home for the soup for the dogs — we’re leaving nothing for these Cork fellas!”
And that was the Tipperary attitude on the field yesterday, Cork had to fight for every scrap they got.
And boy did they fight! Roared on by a huge crowd (over 30,000 attendance but most of those were Cork) they came at Tipp from the very start and never let up, which is exactly what you’d expect from a Cork team in the Munster championship.
It was fast, great first-touch control from both sides and early delivery of the ball which cuts down the chances of being caught by a defender, led to some very stylish scores.
It wouldn’t have happened against Kilkenny but then again Kilkenny don’t play in Munster!
Looking at Cork, this is a team people are expecting to deliver in the next few years but already I’d say the Cork supporters are happy with what they see. They’ll also know though this morning that this is a game they could have and probably should have won. They had an extra man for most of the second-half at a time when there was very little between the teams; they then brought it back to a point, could have driven on to win.
What cost them? The same failing of the Cork team of the past decade, an inability of the half-forwards to win their own ball, Pa Cronin an occasional exception, plus – a lack of composure on the ball
You hate to pick out a fella who played such a brilliant game but had Patrick Horgan waited a second before he pulled the trigger after a great catch, a few minutes to go, had Cian McCarthy steadied himself when he won possession, this game could well have gone the other way.
To Tipperary, and you have to admire the way they won this game. Great leadership shown by the three men on the sideline, Declan Ryan, Tommy Dunne and Michael Gleeson. First the timing of Lar Corbett’s substitution.
They didn’t wait til half-time but did it a couple of minutes earlier, which lifted both the fans and the team.
Then there was the way they reorganised themselves after losing John O’Brien.
Bringing on Shane Bourke was crucial, his pace was going to cause Cork problems, and it did. That was good management, though against that I couldn’t understand why they took off Brendan Maher.
The reason Tipperary won this game though was because of leadership on the field, when and where they most needed it.
Conor O’Mahony, Tom Stapleton and Padraic Maher in the half-back line, all stepped forward.
In midfield Shane McGrath had a great game but up front — special mention here to Bonner Maher. Worked really hard, involved in so much, makes all those around him look good. If only he could score, he’d have had maybe two goals to his name yesterday.
Mention also of Pa Bourke’s accuracy from frees and from play, and what about Noel McGrath. Above all it’s because of Noel’s return to form that Tipperary are in another Munster final. 1-4 from play, great movement, great workrate, this was the Noel McGrath of a couple of years ago.
A minus for Tipperary, they still have problems in their full-back line and unless that’s rectified, they will be in trouble yet this year. Probably not against Waterford (though I wouldn’t rule that out), but another Munster title isn’t the limit of this team’s ambition.
Overall, great entertainment again, just like last weekend between Waterford and Clare and that’s all people want, entertainment.
NOTE: I’m making a date now with that Roscrea gang again for the final — same place, same time!
