All-Ireland SHC final: Tipperary take the title as Cork flounder in second half
Mark Coleman of Cork looks to challenge Andrew Ormond of Tipperary during the All-Ireland SHC final at Croke Park. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Cork’s wait for an All-Ireland SHC goes on after they were swept aside by a second-half Tipperary fightback in Sunday’s final at Croke Park.
Shane Barrett’s goal in first-half injury time put Cork into a 1-16 to 0-13 interval lead but a resurgent Tipperary took control on the restart. They had moved three points in front, 1-20 to 1-17, when the awarding of a penalty for a foul by Eoin Downey on John McGrath led to the Cork full-back receiving a second yellow card, despite appearing to have been pushed under the dropping ball.
Darragh McCarthy’s penalty goal opened up a six-point lead and, with an extra player, they were not going to be overhauled. McGrath’s second goal, brilliantly touching home an Eoghan Connolly delivery, move them into a 3-23 to 1-17 lead and by the end, 15 points separated the sides.
Where last year’s extra-time defeat to Clare came down to fine margins, the magnitude of this turnaround will take some unpacking for Cork, especially as they looked to have asserted themselves in the closing stages of the first half.
Tipp had opted to play with Bryan O’Mara as a sweeper as Willie Connors dropped from midfield to wing-back and Sam O’Farrell switched to the middle. It made for a lot of congestion and Cork struggled to find their fluency early on but they still avoided trailing at any stage in the first half.
While Darragh McCarthy’s second point, which had been referred to HawkEye, tied things at 0-4 each on 12 minutes, it was the last time in the opening half that parity prevailed. A mix of lax Tipperary shooting – nine wides before the break – and Cork’s better creation space allowed them to move 0-8 to 0-6 ahead after Patrick Horgan’s second free, though Tipp did go close to a goal in response, Eoghan Connolly found in space by O’Farrell only to flash a shot wide.
Horgan’s third, a beauty set up by the ever-energetic Barrett, opened up a three-point lead and when Diarmuid Healy, betraying few signs of jitters, had his third on 23 minutes, the lead was 0-11 to 0-7.
Captain Robert Downey, often found in space due to Tipp’s extra man in defence, set up points for Brian Hayes and Barrett in quick succession around the half-hour mark to make it 0-16 to 0-11, but there was never a sense that the Rebels were out of sight.
Indeed, after McCarthy had his fifth, Tipp looked to have got a goal to cut the deficit to a point as Jason Forde touched an Eoghan Connolly free to the net but Gordon ruled it out for a square ball.
The gap was down to three when McCarthy added another in injury time, but that lead was doubled just before the whistle. Once again, Robert Downey was involved, his pass allowing Mark Coleman to find his Blarney clubmate Barrett in space and he made no mistake with his low finish.
It made for a 1-16 to 0-13 half-time lead but, by the time they scored again, they were behind.
Conor Stakelum set the Tipp fightback rolling while Andrew Ormond had a pair of points as Cork found their avenues blocked at the other end. McCarthy flashed over a point when a goal might have resulted but that and a free had them within a point, 1-16 to 0-18, by the 43rd minute.
After Darragh Fitzgibbon saw an effort come back off the post, Tipp’s Jake Morris had a point attempt that was taken down by Patrick Collins – but John McGrath was on hand to send the rebound to the net.
Barrett produced an initial strong response but Tipp forged three ahead through McGrath and McCarthy’s ninth, a free from halfway.
Then came the definitive moment, with no way back from the penalty. Cork did try to engineer something even after the third Tipp goal but sub Seámus Harnedy saw an effort come back off the crossbar while Alan Connolly did well to force a turnover but then couldn’t find Hayes with the pass.
Even when Hayes was fouled for a penalty at the death, Conor Lehane saw his shot saved by Rhys Shelly, who had got on the scoresheet moments before that with a massive free.
After McCarthy brought his tally to 1-13 in the dying moments, he set up Noel McGrath to cap it all with a point. A fourth medal for him, while the quest continues for Cork.
D McCarthy 1-13 (1-0 penalty, 0-8 f), J McGrath 2-2, J Morris, A Ormond, J Forde 0-2 each, R Shelly, R Doyle, E Connolly, W Connors, C Stakelum, N McGrath 0-1 each.
S Barrett 1-4, P Horgan 0-4 (0-3 f), D Healy 0-3, D Fitzgibbon 0-2, D Dalton (0-1 f), A Connolly, B Hayes, S Harnedy, N O’Leary 0-1 each.
R Shelly; R Maher (c), R Doyle, M Breen; E Connolly, C Morgan, B O’Mara; W Connors, C Stakelum; S O’Farrell, A Ormond, J Morris; J Forde, J McGrath, D McCarthy.
S Kennedy for O’Mara (50), A Tynan for Morgan (56), N McGrath for O’Farrell (59), D Stakelum for C Stakelum (65), O O’Donoghue for Ormond (66).
P Collins; N O’Leary, E Downey, S O’Donoghue; C Joyce, R Downey (c), M Coleman; T O’Mahony, D Fitzgibbon; D Dalton, S Barrett, D Healy; P Horgan, A Connolly, B Hayes.
S Harnedy for Dalton (44), D Cahalane for Healy (56), C Lehane for Horgan (58), S Kingston for Connolly (64), T O’Connell for O’Mahony (67).
L Gordon (Galway).
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