Cork 4-18

Tipperary 1-12

MATTHEW HURLEY REPORTS

JOHN Cleary praised Cork’s impact off the bench after the Rebels powered into their first Munster SFC final in five years.

After a sluggish opening, Cork’s substitutes helped swing this semi-final decisively, with the Rebels outscoring Tipperary by 3-13 to 0-8 in a dominant second-half display in Thurles on Saturday.

Cork subs – Ruairí Deane, Brian Hurley, Colm O’Callaghan and Conor Corbett – combined for 2-4, as Cleary’s side set up a Munster final showdown with Kerry in Killarney. It marked a sharp turnaround after a first half in which Cork struggled and led by just a single point at the break.

‘With teams like Tipp, who are in Division 4, I would like to think we have a better reservoir of fitness built up. It told in the end. Look at our bench coming on – we had fresh legs and they made a difference. Fair play to Tipp. Their set-up was good and it took us a long time to break them down,’ Cleary said.

‘Would we have been pleased with the first half? No, we wouldn’t. But we had another half to make it right. We spoke at half-time about lads needing to up their game, and that’s what they did. Thanks be to God, we got there.’

Midfielder Colm O’Callaghan added: ‘We try to take the positives from these games. Winning the second half is a massive plus. Against Limerick we had a strong first half and dropped off; this time it was the opposite. Delighted that we finished strong.’

Emma Downey (Scoil an Chroí Ro Naofa Castletownbere), who played for Cork in the Primary Game against Tipperary in Thurles on Sunday, with Cork footballer Ruairí Deane, from Bantry Blues and who is the acting vice-principal at Scoil Phobail Bhéara in Castletownbere.

It took Cork time to find their rhythm. Tipp struck early, with Seán O’Connor goaling after ten minutes to make it 1-1 to 0-0.

Cork didn’t register until the 17th minute when Steven Sherlock opened their account. That was followed by a crucial spell where three lost Tipp kick-outs led to three Cork scores. The momentum shifted, and Chris Óg Jones finished to the net after a pinpoint Mark Cronin pass to edge Cork 1-3 to 1-1 ahead on 21 minutes.

Sherlock added further scores as Cork nudged 1-5 to 1-4 in front at half-time.

Cleary admitted he was puzzled by his side’s slow start.

‘I can’t put my finger on it. We’ll have to look at it. Maybe fellas had one eye on Killarney and thought that playing a Division 4 team meant you’d stroll through it. We knew in the backroom that wouldn’t be the case,’ he said.

‘This was Tipp’s All-Ireland. They were on top of their game. We were a bit flat and that evened things up very quickly. At half-time we said, “lads, unless you match their level, we’re going to be in a dogfight down the straight.”’

Even by the 48th minute, the sides were level at 1-7 apiece, and Cork were fortunate when Tipp’s Cian Smith was penalised for a double hop in a promising position.

Moments later, substitute Brian Hurley kicked a two-pointer to push Cork ahead, and from there they took control. Goals from O’Callaghan, Jones and Corbett added a gloss to the final scoreline.

‘It’s nice to get on the scoresheet, but the three goals in the last 15 minutes are really positive,’ O’Callaghan said.

‘We broke them down by being a bit more patient in our attacks and waiting for the gaps to open. Earlier on we were forcing it too much. We took our goal chances well in the end.’

A win is a win, but Cork will know a much sharper 70-minute performance will be required when they face Kerry on May 10th.

OUR STAR: The bench made the difference, and none more so than Bantry Blues’ Ruairí Deane, who scored 0-1 and assisted 1-3.

Scorers

Cork: Chris Óg Jones 2-2; Steven Sherlock 0-7 (3f, 1 2pt); Luke Fahy, Brian Hurley (1 2pt) 0-3 each; Colm O’Callaghan, Conor Corbett 1-0 each; Mark Cronin, Brian O’Driscoll, Ruairí Deane 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Seán O’Connor 1-6 (1f, 1 2pt); Micheál Freaney 0-2 (2 pt); Cian Smith (f), Daithí Hogan, Eoin Craddock, Killian Butler 0-1 each.

Cork: Micheál Aodh Martin (Nemo Rangers); Maurice Shanley (Clonakilty), Daniel O’Mahony (Knocknagree), Seán Meehan (Kiskeam); Brian O’Driscoll (Carrigaline), Tommy Walsh (Kanturk), Luke Fahy (Ballincollig); Seán Walsh (Mitchelstown), Ian Maguire (captain, St Finbarr’s); Paul Walsh (Kanturk), Seán McDonnell (Mallow), Conor Cahalane (Castlehaven); Mark Cronin (Nemo Rangers), Chris Óg Jones (Uibh Laoire), Steven Sherlock (St Finbarr’s).

Subs: Ruairí Deane (Bantry Blues) for C Cahalane, Brian Hurley (Castlehaven) for S McDonnell (both ht); Colm O’Callaghan (Éire Óg) for S Walsh (47); Conor Corbett (Clyda Rovers) for B Hurley (55, inj); Seán Brady (Ballygarvan) for S Meehan (60).

Tipperary: Shane Gartland; Jack O’Neill, Eoin O’Connell, Mark Corcoran; Kieran Costello, James Morris, Charlie King; Joe Higgins, Paudie Feehan (captain); Eoin Craddock, Micheál Freaney, Emmet Maloney; Cian Smith, Seán O’Connor, Daithí Hogan.

Subs: Killian Butler for E Craddock (51); Paddy Creedon for C Smith (52); Paddy O’Keeffe for E Maloney, Mark Russell for P Feehan (both 55); Mícheál Lowry for J Morris (62).

Referee: Fergal Kelly (Longford).