Cork 3-24
Tipperary 0-23
JOHNNY CAROLAN REPORTS
IT CAN’T have happened too many times that a league final-winning performance has featured what the victorious manager has described as the team’s worst half during his tenure.
Such are the increased standards demanded within the Cork senior hurling camp nowadays that, as satisfying as winning the Allianz Hurling League is, it can’t be savoured for too long.
The Rebels’ Munster SHC opener against Clare next Sunday week is fast approaching and so, after last Sunday’s win over Tipperary at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, manager Pat Ryan was eager to cite the need to improve.
‘I'm delighted to get a trophy, obviously after losing the All-Ireland final last year,’ he said. ‘Lads have knuckled on well and the league has been good to us, we've found a couple of players and we're in a very good place from an injury perspective as well.
‘That was a great performance in the first half, very disappointed with the second-half showing.
‘Our energy wasn't good enough, our standards weren't good enough and that's probably the worst half of hurling, I'd say, probably that the lads have delivered since my time here.
‘We’ll go up to Ennis in two weeks and that'll be a huge challenge for us.’
Darragh Fitzgibbon scoring Cork's second goal.
A key factor in Cork’s lacklustre second-half performance was the fact that they led by 13 points, 3-16 to 0-12, at half-time. While they did briefly push 14 ahead at one stage in the second half, a chastened Tipp improved slightly and, playing for pride, were able to at least get back to within single digits for a time.
However, that interval advantage masked the fact that, for much of the first half, Tipp looked to be well in the game and even briefly led, by 0-5 to 0-4 after a Sam O’Farrell point. It was 0-8 each when Jake Morris fired over on 19 but Cork soon set about establishing an advantage.
They had the next three points, through Darragh Fitzgibbon, Tim O’Mahony from his own 65 and Diarmuid Healy, rounding off a lovely move involving Shane Barrett, Brian Hayes and Patrick Horgan.
The three-point lead became six when O’Mahony’s low ball from midfield allowed Alan Connolly to collect possession and shimmy and shake his way through the Tipp defence before firing home. They had moved 1-14 to 0-9 in front when another goal chance materialised – Brian Hayes the creator when he claimed a loose ball close to the Tipp goal and fed Darragh Fitzgibbon for a smart finish.
Cork captain Robert Downey lifts the trophy after Cork's victory over Tipperary.
Cork could even afford a sloppy period after that, with Tipp unable to take advantage, and the third goal ended any notions of there being a contest. Again, Hayes was central to it, working hard to force a turnover and then passing to Diarmuid Healy, whose handpass set Ethan Twomey away.
While the midfielder’s game is not built around scoring, he had two points registered by then and bumped his tally further with a good low shot beyond Barry Hogan after driving forward. Tim O’Mahony’s second point opened up that 13-point lead to delight the bulk of the 43,243 crowd and the second half was never going to match what they had seen up to then.
Even so, Cork had done more than enough to reclaim the Croke Cup, ending another unwanted drought.
‘Since I became with Cork, we'd no minor titles, we'd no U20 titles and we'd no All-Irelands for 20 years and no league for 27 years,’ Ryan said, ‘so you're trying to stop all that chat and all that chatter because that doesn't help a county when you're trying to get better and trying to find wins.
‘Obviously, our job now is to get out of Munster and maybe get to that five points or six points that will guarantee you out of Munster and get into that top three and that's what the focus is.’
Scorers
Cork: Darragh Fitzgibbon 1-4; Patrick Horgan 0-7 (5f); Alan Connolly, Ethan Twomey 1-2 each; Shane Barrett, Tim O’Mahony, Diarmuid Healy 0-2 each; Brian Hayes, Ciarán Joyce, Tommy O’Connell each.
Tipperary: Jason Forde 0-7 (2 65, 1 f); Darragh McCarthy 0-4f; Jake Morris 0-3; Seán Kenneally, Darragh Stakelum, Sam O’Farrell 0-2 each; Andrew Ormond, Alan Tynan, Gearóid O’Connor 0-1 each.
Cork: Patrick Collins; Seán O’Donoghue, Eoin Downey, Niall O’Leary; Ciarán Joyce, Robert Downey, Cormac O’Brien; Tim O’Mahony, Ethan Twomey; Shane Barrett, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Diarmuid Healy; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes.
Subs: Séamus Harnedy for Healy (48), Mark Coleman for O’Brien (51), Declan Dalton for Hayes (52), Tommy O’Connell for Twomey (56), Luke Meade for Fitzgibbon (57, temporary), Shane Kingston for Barrett (66).
Tipperary: Barry Hogan; Michael Breen, Eoghan Connolly, Robert Doyle; Joe Caesar, Ronan Maher, Bryan O’Mara; Craig Morgan, Sam O’Farrell; Alan Tynan, Willie Connors, Gearóid O’Connor; Jake Morris, Jason Forde, Darragh McCarthy.
Subs: Darragh Stakelum for Connors (23), Seán Kenneally for Caesar (half-time), D Walsh for O’Connor (44), Andrew Ormond for McCarthy (46), Séamus Kennedy for Tynan (57).
Referee: Seán Stack (Dublin).
