Niall Moran: Cork were inhibited by fear of failure
The Munster champions led by six points at the break after an edgy first-half performance but incredibly mustered just 0-02 in a surreal second half capitulation which saw Tipperary canter to a 15-point victory in a fixture in which they had already suffered two double-digit margin losses in 2025.
The wretched display has been attributed to both tactical and psychological factors, with Moran saying that Cork reacted poorly to Tipperary's deployment of Bryan O'Mara as a sweeper but arguing that mental baggage from previous All-Ireland final losses were in the mix.
"I suppose in the analysis of this game, people are going to either take two approaches. They're going to laud the Tipperary performance and rightly so, or they're going to criticise the Cork performance," Moran said on Game On on RTÉ2fm.
"And I think for me, the overall capitulation gave me the sense that Cork, with a half an hour left to go, were looking for the finish line.
"That is a consequence sometimes of the scar tissue from losing All-Irelands. And it just seemed, even in the first half, they definitely didn't play with the flow that they had (in previous games).
"They were poxxed to be six points up. A drawn game at half time would have been a very, very fair reflection.
"People spoke about the sweeper. Cork knew what was happening. They knew that Bryan O'Mara was was flooding one side and it's nearly 101 in terms of coaching there. You're being given a spare man in the full-back line. What you have to do is work it through the lines.
"But I think they were completely inhibited after 10 minutes by a fear of failure. No one wanted to take that responsibility of making that big play.
"And what I was amazed at in real time, and I don't think it was picked up even last night on the Sunday Game, Cork for a lot of the game actually went five-on-five in their own backs.
"In the second half, Eoin Downey had very little cover in front of him. He was forced into a situation where he was forced to play John McGrath from the front. And that left the door open for him to go in the back.
"So psychologically, yes, there'll be a big focus on it. But tactically as well, they just got it really wrong against what is essentially a basic tactical concept in today's game."
Like many others, Moran highlighted a crucial moment as the opening free of the second half, when Cork's legendary inside forward Patrick Horgan pushed a relatively straightforward free wide of the right hand post.
Within ten minutes of that, Tipperary had rattled off 1-05 without reply and the game had been turned on its head.
"That Cork team contained seven of the first eight (1-8 on the team) that played in 2021 (against Limerick.
"And that doesn't leave you. Like, when you lose big games, that stays with you for a very, very long time. You can try and plaster over it and have good leagues and various semi-finals and quarter-final performances.
"But ultimately, until you have to cross that Rubicon to do something that you've never done before, that's only when you know if the scar tissue is healed.
"I think the confidence just seeped out of Cork after Hoggie's free. And it's not really fair to put that blame on a guy like Patrick Horgan.
"But I suppose the reality is a similar situation occurred last year when they'd a chance to go eight up on Clare. And within 15-20 minutes, Clare had them level.
"And again, yesterday, within 10 minutes of that, Cork were in arrears.
"Did an element of complacency set in deep, deep down to copper-fasten it? I definitely think so.
"And it's very, very hard to guard against that in an amateur or professional environment. And look, I suppose that's what Cork have to pour over."
While it's a second successive All-Ireland defeat under the management of Pat Ryan, Moran doesn't believe the Cork manager should walk but suggests that there may need to be a turnover in personnel and a further push towards youth.
"What do you do if you're Pat Ryan here now? Do you jump ship? I don't think you jump ship. I think he's done an exceptional job. Their performance was still among the best of any county this year.
"Maybe you just probably have to pore through some of your personnel. And maybe there has to be slight changes.
"And look, there is a bedrock of youth coming through with success from Cork as well.
"And maybe he'll just have to maybe copy that model from Liam Cahill and just say, hey, we need four or five changes here. Thanks very much. You've been brilliant servants.
"That process starts now. I just think they have to be public. They have to address it. Let it be open wound for now.
"And the sooner you kind of go towards healing, the sooner you get over it."
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