Crowley is injured again as Cork power past Tipp

Cork 3-14 Tipperary 0-7

And it was a victory that came with a price. Centre-forward Denis Crowley, hugely influential in everything he did, limped out of the game with what looked like a twisted ankle and there will be some concern in the Cork camp about his availability ahead of the final in 10 days time.

Tipperary came into the game with high hopes of their first victory over Cork since the 1995 final success in Killarney, but their cause wasn’t helped by the loss of centre-forward David Lyne with a knee injury after just 90 seconds.

The greasy underfoot conditions as a result of the persistent rain which fell before the throw in, didn’t help either side, but Cork adapted better and after the sides exchanges early points, they took a firm grip in defence and midfield.

Far more sure with their passing, Cork scorched into an 0-4 to 0-1 lead after 10 minutes, David Kearney and Fiachra Lynch landing a couple of superb points between them. Lynch’s height and high fielding ensured Cork a firm grip on midfield and their forwards thrived on the plentiful supply of ball. Playing the short passing game to perfection, Cork stretched their lead to 0-7 to 0-2 after 20 minutes and Tipperary looked to be in for a drubbing. While the rain eventually stopped, Tipp’s problems continued all over the field and they were eventually punished for some slack marking in defence. Up in attack, wing back Sean Kiely picked out impressive corner-forward Colm O’Neill and he billowed the Tipp net to give his side a 1-8 to 0-4 half-time lead.

The second-half was purely target practice for Cork and when David Kearney belted home a second goal, after another excellent move, in the 40th minute, there was no way back for Tipp. To their credit they battled on but were denied a badly needed goal by an excellent save by ‘keeper Tom O’Connor. That save completely deflated the Premier County and Cork could afford the luxury of making five substitutes and still not upset the balance of their team. The scores continued to flow and Colm O’Driscoll put the seal on a workmanlike display with his side’s third goal.

Scorers: Cork: D. Kearney 1-5; C. O’Neill 1-3 (0-2 frees); C. O’Driscoll 1-1; F. Lynch (0-1 free), D. Crowley 0-2 each; R. Kenny 0-1. Tipperary: D. Darcy, T. Dalton (0-1 free) 0-2 each; D. O’Hanlon, B. Jones, R. Ryan 0-1 each.

CORK: T. O’Connor; J. O’Callaghan, E. Cotter, C. O’Brien; S. Kiely, M. O’Brien, A. Fenton; V. Lynch, A. Barry; C. O’Driscoll, D. Crowley, R. Kenny; C. O’Neill, D. Scannell, D. Kearney. Subs. KJ O’Sullivan for Scannell; D. O’Donoghue for Barry; B. Daly for O’Neill; R. O’Dwyer for Kiely; E.Hegarty for Crowley.

TIPPERARY: M. O’Donnell; T. Ryan, W. O’Dwyer, C. Morrissey; K. Harney, T. Stapleton, T. Dunne; G. Hannigan, R. Ryan; C. McGrath, D. Lyne, D. Darcy; T. Dalton, T. Kenneally, B. Jones. Subs. D. O’Hanlon for Lyne; K. O’Donoghue for Morrissey; D. Burns for O’Hanlon; M. Doyle for Kenneally; T. Hassett for Ryan.

Referee: R. Hickey (Clare).