Horgan the hero as Cork secure second place with frantic finale
PATRICK HORGAN was the Cork hero as he scored 15 points, including the 74th-minute winner, in a one-point victory over All-Ireland champions Tipperary at Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday.
Needing something from the game to avoid being sucked into a relegation play-off, Cork actually finished in second in the table, but it was a game in the melting pot until the very end, as Tipp’s Ronan Maher levelled just before Horgan’s decisive intervention.
Cork selector Pat Hartnett felt that winning a game against such opposition in such fashion will stand to the team, even if nobody is getting carried away.
“We said from the start we’d keep everything in context,” he said. “It’s still the league, we did well in the Munster league, that’s over, we’re second in the league, that’s satisfying.
EXCELLENT
“The nature of the victory was good. In certain parts we were down and to respond in the manner we did, it was excellent, and different players came to the fore at different times.
“To have the match temperament, you really only find out on days like these if a fella has it or not, and certain lads played very well. The fellas who didn’t, they were doing the right thing even when they didn’t have the ball.”
Limerick are next up for Cork in the quarter-finals and there are things to work on, such as a tally of 16 wides, 13 in the first half as they led by 0-14 to 2-6 at the break. However, the overall Leeside vibe is very positive.
“We put ourselves in the position to have a shot,” Hartnett said. “At half-time it was great to gather ourselves, to concentrate on our shape and I felt we held that when we needed to. At the death, it was near championship, the atmosphere, so that was positive.”
The first 10 points were shared, but Horgan’s frees helped Cork to open up a 0-12 to 0-6 lead as half-time approached, with Darragh Fitzgibbon – an early sub for hamstring victim Conor Lehane – settling into the game well.
But for some cheap wides, the lead would have been greater and coming up to half-time Tipp made them pay for that. Séamus Callanan netted the loose ball after Damien Cahalane’s block on John McGrath and then, after Séamus Harnedy’s point for Cork, McGrath fired home.
Fitzgibbon left Cork 0-14 to 2-6 in front at the break and they pushed five clear early in the second-half, but Tipp began to claw their way back.
Callanan, subs Noel McGrath and Paul Flynn and Pádraic Maher were all on target as they moved 2-14 to 0-18 in front in the 54th minute, but Cork pushed ahead again through a Horgan brace and Luke Meade.
When Horgan added three more to put them 0-24 to 2-15 ahead with time almost up, Cork looked safe, only for Callanan to kick his second and Tipp’s third goal.
Horgan and Tipp sub Ronan Maher exchanged points, the latter from a sideline, but in the 74th minute Horgan hit what proved to be the winner.
It was Tipp’s first loss since losing to Clare in last year’s league semi-final, but for manager Michael Ryan, more important than losing their unbeaten record was the knowledge that Cork will be tough championship opponents in May.
“We don’t look at that kind of stuff, that really doesn’t bother us,” he said.
“We don’t like losing, let’s be clear about that, but the important thing here is that we got a really good workout, and I think a forewarning that this Cork side are exactly as good as what I’ve been saying they are for a very long time.”
The Premier had secured top spot in the table before the game, and will meet Offaly in the last eight. Being sure of qualification wasn’t an excuse to lack an edge, though.
“It certainly wasn’t the intention,” Ryan added.
“We’ll certainly find some things that’ll give us plenty to think about and work on in terms of the performance.”