Munster SFC, round one: Tipperary 1-22 Cork 0-29
Cork ticked off the first item on their championship to-do list by avenging last year’s traumatic All-Ireland final defeat on a sunny afternoon in Thurles on Sunday. A strong second-half performance took them away from All-Ireland champions Tipperary and gave them an ultimately comfortable win.
For the home side, it wasn’t as humbling as the Páirc Uí Chaoimh blitz 12 months ago and they resisted to the end, cutting the margin to a modest four, but at no stage in the final half-hour did they look likely winners. The injury-time revival, triggered by Alan Tynan’s 71st-minute goal never got the necessary traction even though they closed to within three with seconds left.
William Buckley’s closing free restored it to a two-score contest just as referee Seán Stack whistled the end of the match.
Buckley was an appropriate player to sign off on the performance. The Finbarr’s corner forward also helped himself to five from play in a great display of close control and flawless shooting.
The starting point of any attempt to redress the historic grievance of last season would have been the awful second half last July when Cork were outscored 3-14 to 0-2 having led by six at half-time.
This time around, the improvement was obvious. Half of the attack had been reconfigured, switching captain Darragh Fitzgibbon from centrefield and introducing two championship newcomers, Buckley and Barry Walsh.
Both had debuts to remember. Walsh was part of a half-forward line that accumulated 0-12 from play, divided equally between them.
Inside, Alan Connolly discharged his free-taking duties with aplomb, missing just one from six. The only unwelcome reminder of the previous year was Brian Hayes being curtailed by Tipp captain Ronan Maher.
The critical phase of this forward supremacy came in a 14-minute spell from the 43rd minute. Jason Forde put Tipperary ahead by 0-16 to 0-15 and for the remainder of the period they were outscored by Cork by 0-8 to nil.
Asked about the key inputs after the win, Cork manager Ben O’Connor said: “I suppose we probably upped the work rate a small little bit and I think there was a slight breeze helping us in the second half, which does make a difference.
“The ball’s probably travelling an extra 15 or 20 yards, so we were on the front foot. Plus, we were winning a lot of the individual battles around us.”
Tipperary’s John McGrath in action against Cork. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho
That too was a significant indicator, nowhere more so than in defence. John McGrath tormented Cork last year, but on this occasion the transfer of Ciarán Joyce to full back solved that riddle, making it difficult for the Hurler of the Year to find space and opportunity. He was withdrawn shortly after half-time having scored one point.
Rob Downey moved from centre back to corner back to match up with Tipp’s latest hot prospect, Stefan Tobin, and acquitted himself very well, forcing Tobin’s replacement at half-time.
If there was one area of concern, it was discipline. Of Tipperary’s 1-22, 0-13 came from frees, converted by three different players – Jason Forde and after his withdrawal Young Hurler of the Year Darragh McCarthy, who was four from four in the second half, and Eoghan Connolly, banging over two from three long-distance awards.
Tipperary had only five wides; Cork three times that. But what should have been a cheering metric of accuracy in conversion was actually more a reflection of limited opportunity.
Attempts to get something going sometimes ran aground because of over-eagerness. Michael Breen at one point in the second half thundered on to a ball and drove out of defence and up the field only to get pulled up by the referee for over-carrying.
Cork had been frustrated in the first half. Play was scrappy and error-prone but Tipperary showed a modicum more economy and led by three on three occasions.
This was despite a blazing start by Fitzgibbon, who scored three of his team’s opening four points and ended the half with a quartet. Eoghan Connolly’s switch on to him helped stem the flow. More inclined to give away frees, the visitors were punished by Jason Forde’s accuracy, which yielded five points.
Jake Morris clipped a lineball into McGrath for a point and Oisín O’Donoghue, switched up front from his advertised position at wing back, was also lively and clever with the ball.
They went in at the break tied on 0-13 apiece.
Alan Connolly scores a point for Cork. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho
Tipp started in the same manner until hitting the wall in the 43rd minute. When they re-engaged on the scoreboard, they trailed by eight and Cork had found their rhythm. Their 20th point was a pickup in traffic by Buckley and a glorious dispatch from wide.
Liam Cahill has a week to get ready for the journey to Walsh Park, where both his current and former teams will be battling it out not to lose a second match on the bounce.
His bench supplied 1-6, the goal coming from a gallop by Tynan and a strike on the run. It shook up the remainder of the match without endangering the outcome.
Cork’s season also moves on and, as O’Connor noted, the best team in Ireland over the past decade is coming to town. Limerick have been a litmus test for Cork in the past couple of years and beat them comfortably in the league final earlier this month.
Another milestone on the county’s journey of redemption.
TIPPERARY: R Shelly; R Doyle, R Maher, M Breen; C Morgan, E Connolly (0-2f), B O’Mara; W Connors (0-2), C Stakelum (0-1); J Morris (0-1), A Ormond, O O’Donoghue (0-2); S Tobin, J McGrath (0-1), J Forde (0-7f). Subs: D McCarthy (0-4f) for Tobin (h-t), N McGrath for J McGrath (41 mins), A Tynan (1-0) for Stakelum (46), D Stakelum (0-1) for Forde (54), S O’Farrell (0-1) for Connors (58).
CORK: P Collins; S O’Donoghue, C Joyce, R Downey; E Downey, M Coleman, N O’Leary; T O’Mahony (0-2, 1f), T O’Connell; B Walsh (0-4), S Barrett (0-4), D Fitzgibbon (0-4); W Buckley (0-6, 1f), B Hayes (0-1), A Connolly (0-7, 5f). Subs: D Healy for O’Connell (59 mins), A Walsh (0-1) for Hayes (61), H O’Connor for O’Mahony (69), S Harnedy for Walsh (71), P Power for Connolly (72).
Referee: S Stack (Dublin).