A second half that will have Cork searching for answers saw Tipp's record of winning All-Ireland's in every decade intact

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

All-Ireland SHC final: Tipperary 3-27 Cork 1-18
The consequence of this result will be judged in units of time. Decades, to be precise.
In an unlikely turn of events, and nothing to do with the 21-point turnaround, Tipperary have ensured their proud record of winning an All-Ireland every decade continues.
A sixth consecutive victory in the one championship, a record for the county, they were absolutely fabulous in a second half they didn't so much play as own. All the faith Liam Cahill had put in youngster Darragh McCarthy was repaid here. All the class John McGrath has shown when he is not bothered by an injured ankle was put on display once more.
In an unlikely turn of events given how pretty Cork looked at half-time, their wait to get their hands on the cup so named after one of their own now enters a third decade. And the pain will be excruciating and the question must be asked did they jump too far ahead in seeing themselves bracing the finishing line when their advantage was only on the back straight.
Tipperary blew them out of the water and if their change of style was a key component to thwarting the Cork attack in the first half, it was their audacity and willingness to keep shooting and not be deterred by a myriad of earlier mistakes.
From coronation to capitulation, the fallout from this game won't be easy for Cork. At half-time, leading by 1-16 to 0-13, they turned to face the wind in great shape. Tipperary's game of containment had worked reasonably well and the inside Cork full-forward line has posted just three points from play and then Shane Barrett, his team's best player on the day, drove low a goal that undid some of Tipperary's solid work.
Combining with Mark Coleman for that score, Barrett's tally jumped to 1-3. His final haul was 1-4 but in that second additional minute of the first half his was Cork's last score of the game. He was the final starting player to score for his team.
A 1-5 blast without reply. In nine early second-half minutes sent Tipperary two points clear. After Patrick Horgan missed a free to send Cork clear, Tipperary had begun to uncoil themselves. With two on the bounce, Andrew Ormond followed a Conor Stakelum score and McCarthy followed it up with two converted frees.
Then came the goals. John McGrath followed up on a Jake Morris shot that Patrick Collins brought down and showed a cool head to beat the Cork goalkeeper in the 46th minute.
For the second goal, and Michael Breen delivering long, McGrath had pushed into Eoin Downey before he was fouled and Downey sent off for a second booking but he had been infringed upon and McCarthy's 55th minute penalty strike was superb.
There was nothing dubious about Tipperary's third and McGrath's second goal in the 60th minute, a phenomenal finish after Eoghan Connolly again airmailed towards him. The touch to foil Collins was exquisite and Tipperary were in raptures.
Seamus Harnedy, who provided Cork's last point in the 66th minute and first for almost 20 minutes, was buzzy when he came on but no electric current could revive Cork.
They struck post or bar four times in the second half but they were completely outclassed by a team whose were still keen on keeping them out at the death when Rhys Shelly denied Conor Lehane from the penalty line. And how appropriate it was that Noel McGrath picked off a point at the conclusion.
One of Cork's few star men, Barrett's goal on the cusp of the break put a better complexion on the scoreboard for Cork following a half where they were the better team and largely for their efficiency.
The greatest trick Liam Cahill ever pulled was convincing the world he would never play a sweeper. Here, stationing Willie Connors at wing-back and Bryan O'Mara as the sentinel between the full and half-back lines he did just that.
'We had contemplated maybe after 15 minutes of the second half, it wasn't going our way, reverting to plan B, which had been three across midfield and abandoned the plus one and try and kick on,' Cahill said. 'But we got great traction in the first 15 minutes with the plus one still. And a few chances that maybe we didn't convert in the first half started to go over and gaps started to appear.'
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Tipperary were shadowing the Cork runners on Collins's puck-outs and Tim O'Mahony, Darragh Fitzgibbon and Barrett weren't running onto ball in space whereas Tipperary's runners were leaving their markers.
Barrett had earlier strung together a couple of points to help Cork into a two-point lead by the 10th minute. McCarthy cancelled that out with a free followed by a score from play that required HawkEye's assistance.
That 13th minute leveller was the last time Tipperary were on equal terms in the half. Niall O'Leary popped up for a score and Diarmaid Healy restored Cork's two-point lead when he sent over a strike after a Patrick Horgan pass.
Tipperary were creating opportunities but five wides in the first 15 minutes was a dreadful statistic, akin to their start in the second half of the All-Ireland semi-final when they also faced into Hill 16.
Connolly, a sixth-minute point scorer, hit an ambitious goal chance wide in the 20th minute. Cork's lead grew to four by the 23rd minute when Healy added a third and was as wide as five after Declan Dalton followed up a Horgan free with a long-range version of the same.
Twice Tipperary brought it back to a three-point game, corner-back Robert Doyle contributing to his team's total in the 29th minute, but Cork were five up once more on the half-hour mark.
After McCarthy's fourth converted free, Jason Forde goal was rightly ruled out for square ball when he touched it into the net before the ball had arrived from the long-range free.
McCarthy double his personal score from play in additional time but then Barrett landed that first goal of the game from Cork's first sight of Shelly's net. It was to the last time he was beaten on Tipperary's phenomenal day.
Scorers for Tipperary: D. McCarthy (1-13, 1-0 pen, 8 frees, 1 65); J. McGrath (2-2); J. Morris, A. Ormond, J. Forde (0-2 each); E. Connolly, W. Connors. R. Doyle, C. Stakelum, R. Shelly, N. McGrath (0-1 each).
Scorers for Cork: S. Barrett (1-4); P. Horgan (0-4, 3 frees); D. Healy (0-3); D. Fitzgibbon (0-2); N O'Leary, D. Dalton (free), A. Connolly, B. Hayes (0-1 each).
TIPPERARY: R. Shelly; R. Doyle, R. Maher (c), M. Breen; E. Connolly, C. Morgan, B. O'Mara, W. Connors; C. Stakelum; A. Ormond, S. O'Farrell, J. Morris; D. McCarthy, J. McGrath, J. Forde.
Subs: S. Kennedy for B. O'Mara (50); A. Tynan for C. Morgan (56); N. McGrath for S. O'Farrell (60); D. Stakelum for C. Stakelum (65); O. O'Donoghue for J. Morris (66).
CORK: P. Collins; S. O'Donoghue, E. Downey, N. O'Leary; C. Joyce, R. Downey (c), M Coleman; T. O'Mahony, D. Fitzgibbon; D. Dalton, S. Barrett, D. Healy; P. Horgan, B. Hayes, A. Connolly.
Subs: S. Harnedy for D. Dalton (44); D. Cahalane for D. Healy (56); C. Lehane for P. Horgan (58); S. Kingston for A. Connolly (65); T. O'Connell for T. O'Mahony (67).
Sent off: E. Downey (54, second yellow).
Referee: L. Gordon (Galway).