Dunne ensures Rebels fall short

A MAGNIFICENT opening to the Munster senior hurling championship in Semple Stadium yesterday, with Cork’s power-packed challenge coming up short as Tipperary plundered their inside defensive line for three game-winning goals.

In fact, coming up short was the story of the game from the Cork point of view with five deliveries in a frantic second half falling safely into the hands of Tipperary custodian Brendan Cummins. Of more concern was the fact there was no Cork player within the red-zone to put pressure on the All Star keeper as he was left with all the time in the world to gather and clear.

A couple of those short-hit balls came late in the game at a time when Cork had Tipp under the most ferocious pressure, having battled back from a situation where they trailed at the break by seven points (2-11 to 0-10) and by six (2-14 to 0-14) in the 46th minute. Ten minutes later, however, after a series of inspirational points, Cork had it back to level pegging, and even with five minutes remaining of normal time there were just two points between the sides.