Tipperary 2-22
Cork 1-21
JOHNNY CAROLAN REPORTS
CORK experienced their first loss of the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A campaign as a burst of 1-3 was key for Tipperary at FBD Semple Stadium on Saturday night.
In a game which ebbed and flowed before a crowd of 11,357, the sides were level at 1-17 each with 16 minutes left when the home side made the decisive move, as a trio of points were followed by a goal from sub Dylan Walsh.
The result moved them to the top of the table and left Cork on three points with three games remaining, the first of those at home to Kilkenny on Saturday night. Manager Pat Ryan felt that his side could have been ahead at half-time rather than trailing and having to chase the game.
‘We made some mistakes and some of that came from good Tipperary pressure,’ he said.
‘Any turnover they got, they punished us on it and that is just us needing to be a bit sharper on it. We were 1-11 to 1-9 up with two or three minutes to go before half-time and we gave away a bad ball and all of a sudden, it’s 1-12 to 1-11 whereas we should have been 1-12 to 1-9 in front going in.
‘We gave them that bit of momentum and even though we came out and got a score to level, we were poor for the next five or six minutes when they got four points.’
In the first half, Cork had led by 0-3 to 0-1 before the first of Tipp’s goal, Jake Morris with the finish after Alan Tynan’s puckout win and pass created an opening for him. The first of eight opening-half points for Darragh McCarthy followed but Cork came back well. They had a goal as Shane Barrett showed great skill before setting up Brian Hayes for a close-range finish and they led by 1-5 to 1-2 and 1-6 to 1-3 before Tipp replied with four straight points.
Cork's Brian Hayes wins this battle for possession with Tipperary's Eoghan Connollly.
Both sides had chances of more goals – McCarthy flashing a shot just over the bar after a defensive mix-up from Cork while Barrett tested Barry Hogan – before a pair of frees from Darragh Fitzgibbon and Robbie O’Flynn’s second point of the evening gave Cork a 1-11 to 1-9 advantage.
They couldn’t build on that though, with McCarthy and Jason Forde putting Tipp back in front by the break. Fitzgibbon levelled on the restart but Tipp – buoyed by a dominant half-back line – pushed on again, Gearóid O’Connor twice punishing loose clearances during a four-point run to open up the game’s biggest lead up to then.
Cork were boosted by an immediate impact from sub Patrick Horgan as he quickly scored two points – one from a free – and another replacement, Diarmuid Healy, grabbed a score on his debut. That left one in it and Fitzgibbon’s eighth tied the match.
However, Tipp had another push. A huge free from captain Ronan Maher was followed by a good Jake Morris point after a turnover and Craig Morgan made it a three-point game. Then, Morgan claimed a break from a puckout and a driving run helped to create a chance for sub Walsh, who finished well – 2-20 to 1-17 the lead, with Ryan concerned about how Cork were opened up for the goals.
‘It was wide open on the two of them,’ he said, ‘in fairness to Tipperary, they’re a very good side to finish those kinds of chances. They took those two opportunities brilliantly but we’ll have to look at that and see why we were so open.
‘There was probably a bit of miscommunication, two or three fellas going for the same ball, then all of a sudden you’re wide open at the back.’
Cork did eat into the lead but not enough and Tipp took the points. Nevertheless, Ryan took some positives from the way the subs introduced had an effect.
‘Yeah, we were very happy,’ he said.
‘In fairness to Robbie [O’Flynn], it was his first game back so we were trying to decide whether we’d start him or bring him on as a sub. We decided to start him and he was doing well but it was always pre-planned to take him off after 40 minutes or so. That got Dudsy [Diarmuid Healy] on the field and I thought he gave us a spark as well.’
Scorers
Tipperary: Darragh McCarthy 0-10 (5f), Jake Morris 1-1, Jason Forde, Gearóid O’Connor 0-3 each, Dylan Walsh 1-0, Ronan Maher (1f), Craig Morgan, Willie Connors, Alan Tynan, Oisín O’Donoghue 0-1 each.
Cork: Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-11 (6f, 1 65), Brian Hayes 1-0, Patrick Horgan 0-3 (1f), Robbie O’Flynn 0-2, Micheál Mullins, Cormac O’Brien, Shane Barrett, Jack O’Connor, Diarmuid Healy 0-1 each.
Tipperary: Barry Hogan; Eoghan Connolly, Michael Breen, Robert Doyle; Joe Caesar, Ronan Maher, Bryan O’Mara; Craig Morgan, Willie Connors; Alan Tynan, Jake Morris, Gearóid O’Connor; Seán Kenneally, Jason Forde, Darragh McCarthy.
Subs: Dylan Walsh for Kenneally (half-time), Oisín O’Donoghue for Connors (55), Michael Corcoran for O’Mara (56), John McGrath for Forde (67), Noel McGrath for O’Connor (70).
Cork: Patrick Collins; Ger Millerick, Eoin Downey, Niall O’Leary; Cormac O’Brien, Ciarán Joyce, Micheál Mullins; Tim O’Mahony, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Ethan Twomey, Shane Barrett, Robbie O’Flynn; Robbie Cotter, Brian Hayes, Jack O’Connor.
Subs: Patrick Horgan for Cotter (46), Diarmuid Healy for O’Flynn (47), Luke Meade for O’Mahony (49), Jack Cahalane for O’Connor (55), Brian Roche for Twomey (62, injured).
Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).
