JOHN Cleary won’t overcomplicate the message to his Cork players this week, but will keep it to the point: this is a great opportunity to qualify for a Munster football final.

The Rebels haven’t been involved in a senior provincial decider since 2021, but with All-Ireland champions Kerry on the opposite side of the draw, the door has opened.

It’s up to Cork to make the most of this chance, as they face Tipperary in Semple Stadium this Sunday (2pm).

‘The message is simple – there’s a big prize there for us,’ Cork boss Cleary says.

‘Cork haven’t been in a Munster final in the last five years, so that’s what we’re going after. Tipp are standing in our way and we know if we’re not on our game, they can match anyone.’

The expectation is Cork, bound for Division 1 next season, will have too much for Tipperary who are down in Division 4, but Cleary just points to the last provincial meeting between the counties.

In 2020, after Cork had knocked Kerry out of the championship, the Rebels – under previous manager Ronan McCarthy – were fancied to win a first provincial senior title since 2012.

Tipp had other ideas, and stunned Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, winning 0-17 to 0-14. That is one that got away, but also a reminder of what can happen in the championship.

‘The last time Cork met them in a Munster final, they won. They had exceptional players, but on their day Tipp can perform,’ Cleary says.

‘Our objective is to reach a Munster final and, hopefully, we’ll perform and get the job done.

‘We took Limerick very seriously and we’ll do the same with Tipp. In any game, if you’re not at it or you take your eye off the ball, momentum can swing very quickly. With the way the game is now, if you let a team get on top, you can be punished very fast.

‘So we’ll be taking Tipp very seriously. It’s a championship game and we’ll approach it like any other.’

The Cork boss will also remind his players of their second-half performance in the recent Munster SFC quarter-final win against Limerick. While the Rebels won 4-16 to 1-16, they had led by 15 at the break, but produced a frustrating second period, with Division 4-bound Limerick on top for spells.

Cleary doesn’t want a repeat of Cork’s second-half inconsistency this Sunday.

‘Yeah, and it’s not just us. You see it in other games too – teams can get on top and put together runs of eight, nine or ten scores,’ he points out.

‘We did it ourselves against Limerick in the first half. It’s about trying to limit that when you’re under pressure and finding a way out from defence.

‘Every day you go out you learn something. We learned a lot the last day and hopefully that will stand to us in the weeks ahead.

‘We were outstanding in the first half and, in truth, the game was probably over at half-time. Looking back, we played with 14 men for maybe 23 or 24 minutes of the second half and, in the modern game, defending 10 against 11 attackers isn’t easy.

‘We were a bit sloppy at times. We’ve addressed that during the week and, if we’re in a similar position again, hopefully we’ll have learned from it.’

Stopping a team’s momentum when they hit a purple patch has become a real head-scratcher in football. Look at Cork’s Division 2 league final with Meath, when the Royals reeled off eight points in a row to turn a deficit into a match-winning lead. Breaking the opposition’s momentum is firmly on Cleary’s mind.

‘That’s the million-dollar question, really. We’ve been working on a few things in training – some are working, some aren’t,’ the Cork boss says.

‘We know ourselves when we get momentum, we try to keep it going. With kick-outs now, especially if a team is under pressure and facing a full press, it’s very hard to get out.

‘The attacking team probably has the advantage in those situations. It’s difficult for the team taking the kick-out to work it out under that pressure, but it’s something we – and every team – are trying to improve.’

One area Cork have improved in recent games is their ruthlessness in front of goal, scoring four against Limerick.

‘Yeah, without a doubt. Over the last couple of years we were coming out of games talking about missed chances, especially goal chances. So everyone was very pleased with how clinical we were. When the chances came, the lads took them and buried them. That was a big positive,’ Cleary adds.

There is an added incentive to Sunday’s semi-final: provincial finalists will have home advantage in the first round of the revamped All-Ireland series. It’s another reason Cork need to perform. There’s an opportunity here on several fronts.