The Echo Sport Podcast: Cork cruise past Tipp but red card madness has to be a concern

A great week for Cork hurling saw the minors, U20s and seniors victorious but what was expected to be a belter against Tipp on Sunday afternoon was overshadowed by the belting off the ball.

Darragh McCarthy got a red card in the first play and his departure meant there was only going to be one winner. 

There was a lot of niggly nonsense going on, just as there had been in the draw with Clare.

Up in Ennis, Cork would certainly have beaten Clare if it wasn't for Shane Barrett's dismissal so the Premier hadn't a prayer down to 14 after a minute.

Cork still hurled up a storm across the first quarter at the weekend, banging in three goals but the game was lifeless for long spells after. Ref Johnny Murphy gave the visitors a few soft frees for a while and Cork lost their focus.

It took the likes of Declan Dalton, who got the crowd off their feet with a cracking fourth goal, Seamie Harnedy, Ciarán Joyce and Niall O'Leary to get the Rebels back on track when Tipp trimmed the gap. Robbie O'Flynn returning from injury to slice over a couple of points off the bench was another highlight while Ger Millerick excelled again as a sub.

Cork have a couple of weeks to breathe now before heading up to Limerick. Keeping the head with all the red card madness around will be crucial.

TERRIFIC

The U20s take on Waterford this week with a chance to set up a Munster semi-final, most likely against Clare, while the minors have been terrific in their three games, qualifying for the provincial decider with a game to spare. Joe Deane's son Cormac has been a standout in every outing but there's a great balance to the squad.

On the football front, the seniors are waiting to find out who they'll face in the All-Ireland group phase but Meath's victory over Dublin just reinforces the feeling they missed a great chance in their extra-time loss to Kerry.

The minors have their first outing this week but the U20s will be really up against it in the Munster final with Kerry.

Now in its third season, every week Éamonn Murphy will be joined by The Echo team including Barry O'Mahony, Denis Hurley, Rory Noonan, John Horgan and more to discuss all the latest Cork GAA news on and off the field.

You can listen to the Echo Sport Podcast every week wherever you get your podcasts or on www.echolive.ie/podcast