Munster SHC: Cork 4-27 Tipperary 0-24
Pat Ryan said it last week and he repeated it again on Sunday. You can’t win games in Munster with 14 men.
Cork were punished for Shane Barrett’s red card in Ennis as Clare snatched a draw. Both of their Munster defeats last year swung on red cards.
This time, it was Tipperary who were left facing an impossible task to reverse their wretched record against the Rebels without Darragh McCarthy for the entirety of the contest.
Cork weren’t in the mood to grant any lifelines. They brutally punished them with three goals inside 17 minutes from Tim O’Mahony, Patrick Horgan and Alan Connolly. Declan Dalton capped off the victory with a fourth green flag late on.
All four of those scorers had found the net in recent contests with Tipp, which have yielded 15 goals in their last four championship clashes.
“You can’t win games in Munster with only 14 fellas on the field. It’s just impossible, teams are too good,” said Ryan. “So we should have been winning that game.”
McCarthy’s dig at Seán O’Donoghue occurred even before the sliotar was thrown in amid some heated exchanges. The corner back was left on the turf, while a tearful McCarthy was consoled by Noel McGrath after Johnny Murphy produced the red card.
There was a double punishment, too, as Murphy chalked off Alan Tynan’s opening point, scored direct from the throw-in.
“There was a lot of things sparked all over the field in that instance,” said Ryan. “I don’t think we initiated any of it but these things happen at the start of games. There’s probably a marker trying to be put on some of our players.
“I’m disappointed for Darragh, he’s only a young man, I wouldn’t have seen him ever being involved in anything dirty before.”
Liam Cahill didn’t query the sending off but referred to other skirmishes across the pitch.
“It is a difficult day for young Darragh,” he said. “He is 19 years of age, a lovely kid. He loves hurling and loves playing for Tipperary. He is just misfortunate today. That is Munster championship hurling.
“Johnny Murphy did a good job today, I am not questioning that in any way, shape or form. But I am sure there was 15 other incidents going on at the same time around the field and I’d imagine if he looked at any of them, something similar would be the case.
“It really did affect the game as a spectacle. We were coming down for a ferocious battle and, all of a shot, the wind is taken out of your sails.”
There were 18 points between these two last year and any hopes of a closer contest faded quickly in front of a sold-out 42,231 crowd at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
With O’Donoghue now free to man-mark Jake Morris, Robert Downey played a sweeper role until his 20th-minute withdrawal due to a dead leg. By then, his side were 3-6 to 0-3 clear. The centre back pounced on loose puck-outs for the first two of those goals.
Brian Hayes lofted a pass for the onrushing O’Mahony to drive to the net within six minutes. O’Mahony then provided the supply for Horgan to spin inside and squeeze the sliotar inside the near post on 13 minutes.
Within five minutes, they had their third. Craig Morgan had a weak shot saved by Patrick Collins and Cork countered through Hayes and Darragh Fitzgibbon for Connolly to continue his goalscoring streak against Tipp.
Cahill’s side targeted goals to help their predicament but Eoin Downey blocked a Forde free and Collins denied Sam O’Farrell and Andrew Ormond either side of half-time.
Tipp trailed by 3-13 to 0-12 at that juncture with Jason Forde leading the line in McCarthy’s absence. He collected 0-15, including 12 frees.
Tipp traded scores with Cork for 20 minutes of the second half before the hosts outscored them 1-8 to 0-5 for a finish.
Dalton had been omitted for the league final and championship opener but brought his tally to 1-6 by rounding Bryan O’Mara for the 64th-minute cherry on top. The ever-reliable Horgan finished with 1-9.
On opposite sides, Robbie O’Flynn and Willie Connors impressed with late braces.
Ryan still sees room for improvement in their second-half display.
“I often say about us, we can only go at one speed and that is flat out. We can’t be in third or fourth gear, it is not the way we play. We have to be in fifth gear.
“We took our eye off the ball in certain aspects and didn’t move the ball in quickly enough and gave them too many easy short puck-outs.”
Cahill’s side head to Ennis for a must-win match with Clare on May 10th.
“Our boys won’t dwell too long on this. We can’t,” he said. “We have to be ready and we have to get our house in order to go to Ennis in two weeks’ time.”
CORK: P Collins; N O’Leary, E Downey, S O’Donoghue; C Joyce, R Downey, M Coleman; T O’Mahony (1-0), E Twomey; D Dalton (1-6, 2f), D Fitzgibbon (0-2), S Harnedy (0-5); P Horgan (1-9, 6f), A Connolly (1-0), B Hayes (0-2).
Subs: G Millerick for R Downey (20 mins, inj); L Meade for Twomey (47); B Roche for Connolly (52); R O’Flynn (0-2) for O’Mahony (57); T O’Connell (0-1) for Joyce (66).
TIPPERARY: B Hogan; E Connolly (0-1), R Doyle, M Breen; S O’Farrell, R Maher, B O’Mara; C Morgan (0-1), A Tynan; C Bowe, J Morris (0-3), D Stakelum (0-1); D McCarthy, J McGrath, J Forde (0-15, 12f).
Subs: A Ormond (0-1) for Bowe, N McGrath for Stakelum (both 42 mins); S Kennedy for Tynan (46); G O’Connor for J McGrath (51); W Connors (0-2) for O’Farrell (67).
Referee: J Murphy (Limerick).
