Tipp hearts broken by Cork smash and grab
They were two points up in a low-scoring tie and Cork were struggling everywhere, particularly up front.
The upset wasn’t on the cards: it was happening in front of our eyes.
A fright for Cork isn’t a fair description, because it suggests an early wobble before the pre-game odds were justified. Tipperary were the better side for over threequarters of the game and had the finishing line in their sights when Aidan Walsh took charge.
In the last five minutes he hammered over three points, and Barry O’Driscoll grabbed one to haul the hot favourites over the line. Tipp were heartbroken at the final whistle: it wasn’t a brave defeat, but an opportunity lost.
“It’s a game we should have won,” said Tipp manager Peter Creedon. “I’m exceptionally proud of the lads to have raised their game, because we walked out of a hiding and an embarrassment against Kerry last year, but people forget that we were only three points down after 40 minutes.
“From our point of view, things we could control could have gotten us over the line. People can argue whether Cork were at full pelt or not, but I felt we took the game to them as best we could.”
Creedon was correct. Tipp were energetic and sharp, Cork weren’t. With the game winding down the home support in the 4,152 crowd would have bitten your hand off for a draw, but home manager Brian Cuthbert had detected a slight change in the amount of space available in the last few minutes.
“We could have easily lost but when we got level, I thought Tipperary had to come out a small bit to chase the game. They had put so much into it they had to get something out of it, and once they pushed out, that last four or five minutes was a different game.
“It didn’t look good, but I never felt it was game gone or anything. I’ve had a lot of these younger guys before and we’ve all seen the older guys, fortitude and heart isn’t something they lack.”
The visitors were well worth their three point lead, 0-5 to 0-2, early on, having been driven on by the dynamic teenager at wing-back, Colin O’Riordan.
Cork took ten minutes more to overhaul them, aided by Tipperary’s indiscipline: Brian Hurley and Daniel Goulding (two) had three frees between them, and by the 22nd minute the hosts were two ahead, 0-7 to 0-5. Tipperary kept in touch, but with over 34 minutes on the clock and Cork still two up, John Hayes had a clear goal chance for the Rebels: Peter Acheson cleared off the line, however, and Tipperary swept upfield.
A long Steven O’Brien delivery found Conor Sweeney alone near the small square, and he finished coolly to the corner. Tipperary went in at the break one ahead, 1-7 to 0-9.
The blue and gold were as sharp on the resumption, hitting three points and five wides to Cork’s single score. On 48 minutes they were a goal clear and winning battles all over the field, while the Leesiders’ wayward passes and poor shooting was emblematic of their misfiring night. Tipperary’s nine second-half wides looked immaterial when sub Brian Mulvihill nudged them two up on 64 minutes. The game seemed beyond the home side, only for Walsh to strike late and decide the game.
“He has three training sessions done in six or seven weeks of football,” said Cuthbert of dual star Walsh afterwards.
“You could see him powering away from them as the game went on. He has a physical ability most fellas don’t have but because he’d only three sessions done we couldn’t start him tonight. He pulled the game out of the fire for us and we’re delighted to have him. He’ll be with us for the next two weeks now.”
The numbers make ugly reading for Cork. Four of their starting forwards were taken off, including Brian Hurley. Tipp’s nine second-half wides were the killer statistic but Cork’s three points in almost 30 minutes of second-half play was a striking indictment.
The tactical lessons on offer were equally clear, and it was hardly surprising when Cuthbert said of Tipperary’s approach: “I think if someone plays us now there’s a template there for how to play us.”
The man who came up with that plan didn’t overstate its complexity. “There was no rocket science to it,” said Creedon. “We told the lads to have a cut and to attack Cork off the half-back line. We felt we could run through their half-back line, that we could get a grip in the middle of the field. Maybe we rushed a few things at times, but when you’re playing at a lower level of football your decision-making needs to be speeded up. But we got stuck into the second or third-best team in the country and it was within our own hands to win that match.”
Cork through to another Munster final, then. But that wasn’t the headline from a sunny Saturday evening in the Páirc. Tipperary left with their heads high but hearts broken.
Dual star Aidan Walsh’s late heroics off the bench.
Tipperary’s driving performance, and their heartbreak at the final whistle.
Cork misfiring in the second half: some of the blind alleys found and misplaced passes defiedbelief.
Conor Sweeney of Tipperary got the vital goal and tormented Cork throughout, though Aidan Walsh’s late, late show also deserves a mention.
None produced.
Tipp’s Peter Creedon was the master for most of the tie, with his side flying forward toquestion Cork at every turn, though Cork’s Brian Cuthbert could point to significantsubstitutions, Walsh included.
Fergal Kelly from Longford was consistent, particularly when it came to dissent, penalising both sides for that offence.
Cork face Kerry in the Munster final; Tipperary face the qualifiers.
Scorers for Cork: A. Walsh, D. Goulding (fs) 0-3 each; C. O’Neill (0-1 f), M. Collins, B. O’Driscoll 0-2 each; F. Goold, P. Kerrigan, J.
Hayes, B. Hurley (f) 0-1 each.
Scorers for Tipperary: C. Sweeney 1-6 (0-5 fs); B. Grogan 0-3 (fs); M. Quinlivan, B. Mulvihill, P. Acheson, C. O’Riordan, S. O’Brien 0-1 each.
Subs for Cork: A. Walsh for A. O’Sullivan, 33; E. Cadogan for D. Goulding HT; C. O’Neill for P. Kerrigan, 45; C. O’Driscoll for M. Collins, 50; D. Og Hodnett for B. Hurley, 52; C. Vaughan for T. Clancy, 62.
Subs for Tipperary: B. Mulvihill for I. Fahey, 43; J. Coghlan for P. Austin, 57; C. McCullough for B. Grogan, 60; H. Coghlan for G. Hannigan, 66; A. Campbell for G. Mulhair, 68.
Referee: Fergal Kelly (Longford).
CORK: K O’Halloran; M Shields, T Clancy, N Galvin; J Loughrey, P Kelly, J O’Rourke; A O’Sullivan, F Goold; M Collins, P Kerrigan, B O’Driscoll; D Goulding, B Hurley, J Hayes. Subs: A Walsh for O’Sullivan (34), E Cadogan for Goulding (half-time), C O’Neill for Kerrigan (46), C O’Driscoll for Collins (51), D Óg Hodnett for Hurley (53), C Vaughan for Clancy (62).
TIPPERARY: P Fitzgerald; P Codd, C McDonald, G Mulhair; C O’Riordan, R Kiely, P Acheson; S O’Brien, G Hannigan; P Austin, I Fahey, B Fox; C Sweeney, M Quinlivan, B Grogan. Subs: B Mulvihill for Fahey (44), J Coghlan for Austin (58), C McCullough for Grogan (60), H Coghlan for Hannigan (66), A Campbell for Mulhair (69).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
