Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Kerry always gave Tipperary full respect. Can Cork say the same?

It was a massive opportunity for Cork to progress but instead they have gone in the other direction

CRESTFALLEN: Cork’s Michael Hurley dejected at the final whistle. Picture: James Crombie/Inpho

While the consensus was that Cork were going to win yesterday’s Munster Final in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Tipperary have been building towards this achievement for some time. 

In my time in charge we played them in the Munster Championship on three occasions, including the final in 2016. We always treated them with the utmost of respect. We knew the quality of player that they had throughout the field and knew if we were off it that our fate would have been the same as Cork’s.

When we won the games, as expected by the outside world, within the group we always understood the level of performance that we had produced to win. In our preparation and mental approach, we treated Tipperary the same as if we were playing Dublin. I’m not sure that Cork can say the same this morning.

Tipperary were full value for their win, were the better team throughout, and clearly showed their intent from the off racing into a three-point lead. Those opening passages of play set the tone for the match. Cork only led the game once, in the 16th minute. Tipperary had leaders all over the field.

Evan Comerford showed good composure late in the game when he successfully went short with a few kickouts when they badly needed to get hands on the ball and he kicked two crucial 45s in the second half. Jimmy Feehan was solid at full-back, Kevin Fahey was abrasive and aggressive at 6, Liam Casey and the returning Colin O’Riordan were immense in the middle of the field and Brian Fox, Conor Sweeney and Michael Quinlivan were all outstanding up front. 

When Tipperary had the ball they moved it at pace and mixed their running and kicking game well. Without the ball they worked ferociously hard and never allowed Cork to settle into any kind of a rhythm.

Huge credit to David Power and his management team. For an outsider to achieve a big result on the big day nearly everything has to be right. I was particularly impressed with the wall they constructed across their half-back line when they didn’t have the ball. Brian Fox and Conal Kennedy augmented the six backs and really disrupted Cork in this area of the field. 

They realised that Cork were going to try and punch holes with runners here but they targeted that area and made sure Cork weren’t allowed to do so. They forced turnover after turnover and broke at pace into the space at the other side of the field.

In the first half alone, Cork had eight of their 12 turnovers in that offensive area. Seán Powter was a loss to Cork in this regard but other players that did attack well in the league and against Kerry seemed to be stuck in gear yesterday. I also thought Power timed his substitutions brilliantly.

The type of game that Tipp were playing required huge fitness levels and energy as they moved up and down the field as a unit. Robbie Kiely, Brian Fox and Kevin Fahey were all replaced when they started to flag even though all of them were still playing well. Power understood the value of legs late on and was willing to trust his squad players to finish the job.

The victorious management team also deserve credit for having the courage to select O’Riordan from the start and he performed outstandingly. He kept it simple by moving the ball on and his kicking was crisp and accurate. He effortlessly worked up and down the field but most significantly he won a couple of huge kickouts at the end to take pressure off the Tipperary rearguard.

Having won a minor All-Ireland back in 2011, Power has now topped that with a Munster Championship victory a first for Tipp in 85 years, and he can look forward to having a cut off Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final in a fortnight.

This is a significant loss for Cork. It was a massive opportunity for them to progress but instead they have gone in the other direction. For the younger players, it is a hard learning experience, and will stand to them in the future, but for some of the more senior players it is a hammer blow. Luke Connolly was firing and was a major loss at half-time but too many of the other Cork players were stuck to the ground and made poor decisions.

I was shocked at their body language during the water break in the second half. They were three points down but Tipperary were starting to tire. This is where real leaders emerge and where the best teams get the job done regardless of the circumstances. Other than Ian Maguire, Cork lacked in this regard.

I wrote on Saturday about the challenge they faced playing as the favourite as opposed to coming into the semi-final as underdogs. They played like a team that believed the hype since the Kerry game. In terms of the metrics that they could improve on from the Kerry game, I mentioned that they would look at their conversion rate and their own kickout. Neither improved with both remaining roughly the same.

Most damagingly from their perspective, their voracious appetite for hard work seen in the semi-final was simply not evident yesterday.

They stagnated and paid the ultimate price.

Cavan’s rollercoaster takes a glorious turn

Cavan’s Conor Smith celebrates. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

What a journey Cavan have been on since the resumption of action in October. 

They were relegated to Division 3 but bounced back the following weekend beating Monaghan in that extra-time thriller. They have gone on a roll since and have won some great battles, particularly last week against Down, coming back from 10 points down and again this week against a very fancied Donegal team, to win a first Ulster title since 1997.

They have clearly built a fantastic team spirit. Cavan played with ferocious intensity, throwing themselves into every contest and challenging for absolutely everything. Thomas Galligan epitomised this more than anyone but they had huge performances from many players including Gearóid McKiernan, Gerard Smith, Martin Reilly and Ciarán Brady. 

They deserved their win and I would argue that but for Barry Cassidy’s refereeing performance they would have won far more comfortably. Neither Cavan black card should have been awarded and plenty of the other little decisions went against them. While Cillian Brady was off on his first-half black card Donegal scored seven points to Cavan’s one. That is some differential in a low-scoring game.

Donegal played well in patches but again seemed to struggle with the favourites’ tag. They couldn’t match Cavan’s ferocity and absolute raw hunger for an Ulster title. It was highlighted once again that as the air gets thinner and the competition tougher any weakness in a player’s game will be exposed. 

Shaun Patton is an excellent keeper but as I have mentioned before he is uncomfortable under a high ball. He got away with an earlier punch but the game-breaking goal came from his reluctance to catch a high ball and Conor Madden pounced and finished.

Cavan now get a shot to nothing against Dublin. If they can get close enough to them they will certainly make them earn their victory if nothing else.

Dublin kill Meath challenge before it can materialise

Dublin captain Stephen Cluxton and team-mates place a wreath following the Leinster final to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

A couple of things stood out for me Saturday evening as Dublin pummelled Meath in the Leinster final. 

Firstly, their first-half performance was phenomenal. The statistics jump off the page and confirm what our eyes had witnessed — 2-8 of their 2-12 from play while conceding a paltry two points, 23 attacks which resulted in an incredible 22 shots, 100% on their own kickout, 42% on the Meath kickout, all six forwards scored from play and they led by 16 at the break.

Dublin do the simple things so well that it punctures the opposition’s spirit early. An underdog wants to force mistakes and hang on in the game as long as possible. Dublin don’t make mistakes and kill the challenge before it can materialise.

Secondly they defended with tenacity and discipline. Early in the game, Meath had a couple of half-chances and it looked as if they overplayed their hand. I view that differently. Dublin defended the situations so well in terms of their collective positioning, decision-making and discipline that they ensured a half-chance remained just that. Jonny Cooper was again central to this and he was missed in the second half. He is critical to them and Dublin will hope that his impact injury isn’t serious.

Scarily for Cavan and Mayo or Tipperary, Dublin won’t have been happy with the second half, which at times was uncharacteristically sloppy. Dessie Farrell will have plenty of ammo for his video review which will keep everyone on their toes for the next fortnight in the lead into the semi-final.

Dublin are in the eye of a perfect storm, as an incredible group of players that are well managed and well resourced deliver consistent performances. To beat them, teams have to match their football and athleticism, but what makes them different is the culture of their group.

Think of how far this Dublin group have come in the last 12 years. Bernard Brogan speaks about the early days of his career when the priority was to have a fridge full of WKD Blue for the post-match ‘celebrations’. Bit by bit, a culture of high performance coupled with humility has been built.

As Stephen Cluxton led his group over to the corner between Hill 16 and the Cusack Stand where Michael Hogan was shot 100 years ago, I shook my head to myself in admiration. The gesture was poignant, appropriate and classy. These values that shape their identity make Dublin so good and is why, even when they are below par, as they were in last year’s drawn All-Ireland, they can still salvage something out of it.

Add their physical and football prowess to this and it makes their dominance easier to understand. Matching it is another matter entirely though.