Cork reclaim Munster title but Paudie Murray not happy with performance
Cork reclaim Munster title but Paudie Murray not happy with performance
Cork 0-19
Tipperary 0-6
SHIRLEY MOLONEY REPORTS
PAUDIE Murray is always chasing perfection.
Even after Cork got their hands back on the Munster senior camogie title on Saturday, Murray was quick to point out that this far from the complete performance.
In fact, he was disappointed with the second-half offering from his side at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
‘Our work-rate in the first half was quite good. When Ashling (Thompson) went through in the first half there were two players either side of her, running off her shoulder, so that made it easier for her to pop the ball over the bar.
‘We had a lot of unselfish runs and that’s important that we keep making those,’ Murray said.
‘I was disappointed a bit with our finishing in the first half, we had six or seven poor wides and we need to be more ruthless in front of goal.
‘I thought our second-half performance was very poor and I am bitterly disappointed with it in one way. We didn’t keep the scoreboard ticking over and we tried to walk the ball into the net. We need to do better than that with the All-Ireland series coming up.’
Murray and All-Ireland champions Cork won’t celebrate this Munster success too much – they lost last year’s provincial final but won the All-Ireland – but what will stay in the memory for the Cork manager is that they won the title in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the first Cork team to win a title in the new grounds.
‘What was important was that we were playing in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and it was important to win there,’ Murray said.
‘It’s always important to win your home games but especially being the first female team to play in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and then to be the first Cork team to climb the steps and lift a trophy there.
‘Later on in the year this won’t matter and we proved that last year. The Munster championship is a separate competition and has nothing to do with the All-Ireland
series in anyway.’
Player of the match Ashling Thompson, who finished with five points, impressed from the outset and she scored Cork’s second point after Linda Collins had opened the scoring.
Tipperary responded through Cait Devane, who accounted for all but one of Tipp’s scores of the afternoon, when she struck for a brace to tie the sides.
Three unanswered points from play had Cork exerting their dominance via Thompson, Julia White and Katrina Mackey before an Orla Cronin 45 had Cork four clear on the quarter mark.
After Orla O’Dwyer cut the deficit for Tipp, points from Amy O’Connor, Thompson, Cronin (after Aoife Murray’s penalty was saved) put six between the sides.
By half-time Cork led 0-12 to 0-4 with Mackey, Collins and Thompson all on target for the home side.
Within two minutes of the restart Tipperary were reduced to 14 when Mary Ryan was shown a second yellow card. A brace from Mackey and Thompson saw Cork open up a ten-point lead.
Tipp’s job became mission impossible with the dismissal of Ereena Fryday for a second yellow which saw them reduced to 13 for the final 15 minutes.
The game was over as a contest and Cork picked off three unanswered points through O’Connor, Sigerson and Pamela Mackey to push Cork 0-19 to 0-5 ahead before Devane’s late penalty for Tipp was deflected over the bar.
Scorers
Cork: A Thompson 0-5, O Cronin 0-4 (2f, 2 45), K Mackey 0-3, L Collins, A O’Connor 0-2 each, J White, C Sigerson, P Mackey 0-1 each.
Tipperary: C Devane 0-5 (2f, 0-1 pen), O O’Dwyer 0-1.
Cork: A Murray (c); L O’Sullivan, L Treacy, L Coppinger; H Looney, G O’Connor, P Mackey; C Sigerson, A Thompson; A O’Connor, O Cronin, K Mackey; L Homan, L Collins, J White.
Subs: N McCarthy for L Homan (15, inj), S McCarthy for J White (49), N O’Callaghan for L O’Sullivan (49), A Sheehan for C Sigerson (55), S Hutchinson for H Looney (60).
Tipperary: S Quigley; L Loughnane, G Grace, C Walsh; C Quirke, K Kennedy, M Ryan; R Cahill, E Fryday; M Ryan, O O’Dwyer, S Fryday; G O’Brien, C Devane, C Hennessy.
Subs: C Maher for R Cahill (29), S Buckley for M Ryan (29), C Mullaney for S Fryday (ht), J Kelly for G O’Brien (46), A McGrath for C Quirke (48).
