CORK CLING ON TO BEAT TIPP
Connolly strikes late but no one is partying on Leeside
SO there may be a party in the Páirc this July, after all. For much of yesterday evening in Páirc Uí Rinn, Cork’s plans to cut the ribbon on their shiny new stadium with a Munster football final looked in severe doubt.
Luke Connolly’s late goal finally ensured that those plans can continue but this was an evening when all nerves in the Cork contingent among the 4,570 attendance were shredded. When Conor Sweeney ghosted in behind Jamie O’Sullivan in the 68th minute to fist the ball into the net, it looked like Tipperary were going to beat Cork for a second successive summer.
While there may have panic among the Cork county board after Sweeney’s goal, there was none from the Rebel footballers. They worked the ball up the field simply before Mark Collins played a smart pass into Connolly, who palmed the ball past Ciaran Kenrick.
That would be enough for Cork. They held on grimly for the onepoint win that they just about deserved for their spirited secondhalf display, which was inspired by Paul Kerrigan. But there is plenty to work on before their big party.
The Rebels only scored a single point in an abject opening half and looked a team devoid of confidence and ideas. There was an edginess to their play and their forwards were reduced to taking wild potshots, as evident in their first-half wide tally of nine.
When Conor Sweeney, who ended the evening with 1-5 to his name, nailed the first two scores of the second half, to leave Tipperary 0-6 to 0-1 ahead after 38 minutes, it appeared to be a long way back for the Rebels. But that spurred them into action. Kerrigan, the only Cork player who was a threat in the first half, played a real captain’s part and drove them forward. His inspirational point in the 39th minute ignited a scoring spurt, where they reeled off a sequence of six unanswered points to take the lead by the 52nd minute. From nowhere, they had gone into a slender lead. Their most experienced campaigners were coming to the fore. Donncha O’Connor nailed a fine score. Michael Shields was mopping up everything at the back and Kerrigan kept things ticking over. Barry O’Driscoll and Ian Maguire also impressed. Tipperary were left to lament Michael Quinlivan’s 19th minute ankle ligament injury and the fact that they could have been out of sight by half-time if they had been a bit more clinical. Even though Kerrigan won the toss and decided to play with the wind, it made little difference to Cork. Despite having a strong breeze at their backs, they managed just one point, Connolly’s third-minute effort, in a first half that went on for almost 40 minutes. As the half went on, and as each of their nine wides sapped more of Cork’s fragile confidence, the players seemed even more unsure of themselves.
Things might have been different if one of two early goal chances went in. Colm O’Neill had a great opportunity in the second minute, after Michael Shields fired a long ball into the forward. But his shot was blocked by Paddy Codd’s leg.
In the 10th minute, Kerrigan, the only Cork player who constituted even the semblance of a threat in the first half, ran onto O’Neill’s layoff and carved open the Tipp defence but he pulled his shot wide of Ciarán Kenrick’s post.
If the plan was to test the nerve of Kenrick, Tipp’s rookie goalkeeper, they clearly abandoned it as the half went on. Cork spent the rest of the half, taking crazy pot-shots, losing possession and getting turned over – 14 times in the first half.
The only thing that stopped Tipperary from being out of sight was their own shooting. They hit seven wides in the first half and dropped two more shots into Ken O’Halloran’s hands. Yet, their structure and their composure in possession meant they never looked less than comfortable. They had players like Robbie Kiely, who clipped over a fine point in the 34th minute to end a sustained period of possession.
Cork could console themselves that they were only three points behind. And with Kerrigan pulling his team back into the game, they seemed a more cohesive unit in the second half. Each time that Tipp struck in the final 15 minutes, Cork countered, no more so than Connolly’s goal.
A second straight one-point win. Normally that is the sort of thing that suggests character for a team. But nobody is thinking that about this Rebel side.
Onward they stumble to a Munster final. Might not be much of a party on July 2. Cork: K O’Halloran; J Loughrey, J O’Sullivan, Brian O’Driscoll (Barry O’Driscoll 35+2); T Clancy, M Shields, K Crowley; I Maguire, R Deane (M Collins 51); C O’Driscoll (S Powter h-t), L Connolly, J O’Rourke; C O’Neill (G Murphy 65), P Kelleher (D O’Connor 31), P Kerrigan. SCorerS: L Connolly 1-2, P Kerrigan 0-3, D O’Connor 0-2, Barry O’Driscoll, M Collins, M Hurley 0-1. Yellow Card: P Kerrigan (68), D O’Connor (70) wideS: (9) 16. FreeS: (4)14. TipperarY: C Kenrick; S O’Connell (C O’Shaughnessy 57), P Codd, A Campbell; B Maher, R Kiely, J Feehan; L Casey (A Moloney 52), G Hannigan (K Bergin 57); J Keane, L Boland (J Longeran 65), B Fox; C Sweeney, M Quinlivan (L McGrath 18), D Foley (K O’Halloran 47) SCorerS: C Sweeney 1-5 (0-1f), L Boland, K O’Halloran, L McGrath, R Kiely 0-1. BlaCk Card: B Fox (70+5). wideS: (7) 9. FreeS: (9)16. reFeree: C Branagan (Down).