Tipperary 3-22 Cork 0-23:ALL-IRELAND champions Tipperary moved on to a Munster hurling semi-final yesterday after an ultimately comfortable encounter with ancient rivals Cork in Thurles.

But within those predictable parameters, the match oscillated without quite threatening to go completely haywire in front of a crowd of 31,231 at Semple Stadium.

A year after their humbling experience in a match that did go haywire, Tipp thoughts might have shifted uncomfortably in the 56th minute as Patrick Horgan rifled over the equaliser, at 0-21 to 2-15. Unlike 12 months previously, when they were on the rack from the start and eventually wiped out, Tipperary yesterday flexed their muscles in the first half and with half an hour to go, led by eight.

It was however Cork, who responded to the situation, contracting the play to the middle third in order to produce the sort of possession necessary to bridge what was becoming a yawning gap. The revised approach worked – to an extent.

The price paid came in a number of good chances dropped short into goalkeeper Brendan Cummins’s capacious paw and a consequent inability to set up any goal chances of note.

Nonetheless for half of their wind assisted second half, Cork called the shots and landed enough of them to draw level by outscoring their opponents by 0-10 to 0-2 from the 39th minute.

Declan Ryan’s warmest memories of his first senior championship encounter will be the calm with which his team overrode any anxieties and reclaimed the initiative to run out convincing winners, managing to out-score Cork in the second half despite their opponents’ scoring surge.

Cork gave, in the circumstances, a good account of themselves. Despite hurling into a strong wind from the throw-in they were competitive, and led on three occasions before Tipp went to work with two goals in three minutes.

Up until then Cork if anything had had the edge considering the wind advantage was to come after the break. It will frustrate them that they too had goal chances early in the match. With little more than 60 seconds gone Cummins made a flying save from Paudie O’Sullivan and three minutes later, Horgan sent a ballistic strike narrowly wide.

They remained lively in attack, though, and also got a good return from the new centrefield combination of Lorcan McLoughlin and especially Patrick Cronin who won and used a lot of possession, exerting considerable pressure on Shane McGrath.

Tipperary’s defence was well anchored by Pádraic Maher and John O’Keeffe had a sound debut but behind them in the full back line Paddy Stapleton had his difficulties with both Horgan and, when switched, Luke O’Farrell. David Young made some good clearances in his capacity as a private contractor but otherwise he had a bruising afternoon trying to keep Niall McCarthy in line – the Carraigtwohill forward hitting three points as well as engineering at least the same for others.

The better news for the home side was the power of the forwards, who in contrast to their opponents were able to execute lethal scoring thrusts quickly and without fuss.

At seven points each in the 28th minute, Patrick Maher – a force-field of energy on a subdued John Gardiner – dug out the ball from a ruck on the left wing and went, stumbling slightly before arising and going again. His measured pass into Lar Corbett was followed by a unarguable finish from the Hurler of the Year, until then reasonably quiet.

Three minutes later captain Eoin Kelly – who had just previously drawn a good save from Dónal Óg Cusack – shrugged off the attentions of Shane O’Neill (whose return to match fitness didn’t yet look complete) and Brian Murphy before planting the shot to the left of the ’keeper.

Noel McGrath, who had switched with the revitalised Séamus Callanan, immediately added a point and then a line ball – and repeated the dose after half-time – and although Cork tacked on three points from two Horgan frees and O’Sullivan, Tipp were in the driving seat at the break: seven up although they had to face the wind.

Cork’s barrage of third-quarter points, many from distance, including a fine sideline strike from Gardiner, narrowed the gap and Horgan (finishing with a richly productive 13 points, three from play and just one wide) and Ben O’Connor closed it.

Corbett was central to Tipperary’s re-awakening. He settled nerves by restoring the lead immediately and, playing out around the middle, eased his team back into the possession stakes. With greater access to ball and territory, scores followed: from Corbett, a Kelly free and Noel McGrath.

Cork stagnated, struggling to clear the ball under the intensified pressure and at one stage being forced backwards as a hand-passing movement went into retreat.

The match was locked down in the 66th minute. Eoin Cadogan, denied a conventional afternoon at fullback by Tipperary’s movement, lost possession to Patrick Maher, who with his second goal assist sent in replacement Benny Dunne for the clinching score.

Scoring concluded with a fine cross-field ball from replacement Pa Bourke to Callanan, who capped a fine display by dispatching his fifth point from play.

TIPPERARY: 1 B Cummins; 2 P Stapleton, 3 P Curran, 4 M Cahill; 5 D Young, 6 Pádraic Maher, 7 J O’Keeffe; 9 S McGrath, 8 G Ryan; 11 N McGrath (0-4, two line balls), 10 S Callanan (0-5), 12 Patrick Maher (0-1); 13 E Kelly (1-7, five frees), 14 J O’Brien (0-2), 15 L Corbett (1-2). Subs: J Woodlock (0-1) for S McGrath (40 mins), C O’Mahony for Young (59 mins), B Dunne (1-0) for O’Brien (62 mins), P Bourke for Ryan (66 mins). Yellow cards: Young (48 mins), O’Mahony (67 mins), Corbett (69 mins).

CORK: 1 D Cusack; 4 S O’Neill, 3 E Cadogan, 2 S McDonnell; 5 J Gardiner (0-1), 6 W Egan, 7 B Murphy; 8 L McLoughlin, 9 P Cronin (0-1); 10 B O’Connor (0-3), 11 C McCarthy (0-1), 12 N McCarthy (0-3); 13 L O’Farrell, 14 P O’Sullivan (0-1), 15 P Horgan (0-13, 10 frees). Subs: J Nagle for O’Neill, J O’Connor for C McCarthy (both 45 mins), T Kenny for McLoughlin (51 mins), C Naughton for O’Sullivan, K Murphy for Horgan (both 70 mins). Yellow cards: McDonnell (20 mins), McLoughlin (45 mins), Cronin (61 mins).

Referee: B Gavin (Offaly).

Cork will now await the qualifier first round draw, while Tipperary progress to face Clare on June 19th in Limerick.

In the other semi-final, Limerick meet Waterford in Thurles on June 12th.