Rip-roaring Rebels return to All-Ireland final after Dublin demolition
Initially, the All-Ireland semi-final weekend was seen as a great festival of
hurling
and some elemental matches took place, as teams fought for a final place. This evening in Croke Park was a bitterly disappointing shadow of such occasions.
That's not to cast blame or aspersions on the teams.
Cork
turned up and did what they had to do whereas
Dublin
fought and flailed, trying to do what they could not – keep a lid on the relentless Munster champions and somehow drag the match back into the outer confines of a contest.
Try as they did to stay afloat, the waves kept crashing down on them and as they splashed frantically for safety, eventually the boat on which they had set out disappeared over the horizon.
This was only Dublin's third All-Ireland semi-final since they last reached the final 64 years ago. Achieved on the back of a sensational defeat of
Limerick
two weeks previously, there was a determination that they would substantiate that performance against the All-Ireland favourites.
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For Cork, the purpose was to reach another All-Ireland final. They had probably accomplished that by the 12th minute after Brian Hayes set up Alan Connolly for the team's second goal, 2-5 to 0-4.
Cork's Niall O'Leary tackles Dublin's Sean Currie. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho
There was more in it for manager Pat Ryan, however. He brought back three players after injury and all made strong impacts. From the early minutes when Rob Downey thundered through the air to claim the ball, the captain was in dominant form.
Little Dublin did threatened a reliable source of scores, whereas at the other end the Cork full forwards were back to their dynamic league form, plundering scores and building an overwhelming lead.
So, high summer, another full house for Cork and the goals crashing in – the perfect mise en scene for the red and white throngs. Dublin weren't where they had been in overturning Limerick two weeks previously.
A slight nervousness affected their play. Conor Burke, who had shot like a sniper from centrefield against Limerick, was relocated to centre back to replace the greatly missed Chris Crummey, who was suspended. Burke's first attempt in the sixth minute went wide and anxiety grew.
Cian O'Sullivan, valiantly leading the resistance, opened the scoring with a point in the first 10 seconds and Dublin attacked with abandon but what became a trend was immediately obvious – getting the ball to stick up front was a challenge as Cork defenders coped comfortably.
Another player returning after injury, Declan Dalton, who had been very effective a year ago when Cork beat Dublin in the quarter-finals, was again on form and opened his side's account with one of those howitzer frees he can hit from a neighbouring country. He went on to have a fine match and looked right back on form.
Dublin's Cian O'Sullivan challenges Cork's Mark Coleman. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
The opposite was happening to Dublin. Many of the players who had made such an impact on Limerick, were struggling to get into the game. Two defenders were gone by the 20th minute: Andy Dunphy and Conor McHugh, whose display marking Cian Lynch had been so lauded but who looked to have picked up an injury.
Two of the full-back line, which had resisted so manfully that day, Dunphy and Paddy Smyth were on yellow cards within the first 10 minutes. John Hetherton, who had terrorised Limerick in the air, couldn't get near ball to break it down, let alone catch.
Cork moved and moved too fast.
Diarmuid Healy and Dalton created a goal chance for Brian Hayes and he finished well.
Fergal Whitely riposted with two points within a minute but they kept the scoreboard clicking rather than reversed the momentum of the game. Hayes turned provider for Connolly and two minutes later Tim O'Mahony had a shot that was deflected into the air for Connolly to come in and bat to the net, one-handed.
Dublin appeared to stop the bleeding when Seán Currie within a minute had spotted Cian O'Sullivan unmarked across the square and the latter hit an unstoppable shot, 3-5 to 1-5.
In the maelstrom of scores that followed, the margin was expanding. Whitely defiantly crashed the ball off the crossbar but Dublin's grip was slipping all the time. Cork led by 10 points at half-time, 4-13 to 1-12 – Hayes having scored his second goal in the 32nd minute after more good work between himself and Connolly.
Dublin's John Hetherton in action against Cork's Eoin Downey. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho
Dublin may have hoped for one of those zone-outs that have afflicted Cork after half-time but the bristling occasion and the high stakes drove on the Munster champions. They rode out an unanswered 1-3 from Dublin – the goal a trick play after Currie lofted a straightforward free into the path of O'Sullivan, who had made a run. He rifled it to the net.
All it did was reduce the margin to nine points and Cork came back with 1-3 of their own.
By now this had all the urgency of a training run. Dublin desperately tried to move the ball around to see if they could engineer another goal, whereas Cork kept scoring them.
O'Mahony availed of a neat lay-off from Horgan and then had a second when he followed up a spilt ball. Connolly claimed another hat-trick, having been well set up by replacement Robbie O'Flynn in the 65th minute.
Dublin will be distraught to have slipped into a stereotypical meltdown when faced with a top team at an advanced stage of the championship. 'We have to be better,' said manager Niall Ó Ceallacháin afterwards.
Seven goals in an All-Ireland semi-final hasn't been seen in 39 years when Cork put them past Antrim. They may have wished for more of a test at this stage but semi-finals are for winning and there will be few complaints about such a rampant display with no injuries.
CORK:
P Collins; S O'Donoghue, E Downey, N O'Leary; C Joyce (0-1), R Downey (capt), M Coleman; T O'Mahony (2-1), D Fitzgibbon (0-3); D Healy (0-1), S Barrett, D Dalton (0-5, 2f); P Horgan (0-8, 6f), A Connolly (3-2), B Hayes (2-1).
Subs:
R O'Flynn for Healy (50 mins), S Kingston (0-2) for Horgan (55), T O'Connell for R Downey (59), Lehane (0-1) for Barrett (63), J O'Connor (0-1) for Dalton (67).
DUBLIN:
S Brennan; J Bellew, P Smyth, A Dunphy; P Doyle, C McHugh, C Donohoe; C Burke (capt; 0-3), B Hayes (0-1); R McBride, F Whitely (0-3), R Hayes; S Currie (0-7f), J Hetherton (0-1), C O'Sullivan (2-5).
Subs:
D Lucey for Dunphy (14 mins), D Power for McHugh (20), D Burke (0-1) for McBride (h-t), D Ó Dúlaing for R Hayes (46), C Ó Riain for O'Sullivan (67).
Referee:
J Murphy (Limerick).
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