Munster SHC: Cork and Tipperary divide the spoils

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Cork 4-19 Tipperary 2-25

By Stephen Barry at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh

A breathtaking 70 minutes of hurling ended in an explosion of goals and a draw that leaves Cork and Tipperary both unbeaten at the top of the Munster Championship table.

There were three goals packed into the final dozen minutes of play as Cork came back from five points behind to level with a late 2-4 burst to Tipp’s 1-2.

Darragh Fitzgibbon’s tap-in goal sparked the madness before Declan Dalton forced a defensive free to land the long-range leveller.

For the second time when equalled, Tipp found a goal straight from the puck-out, with Dan McCormack feeding impact sub Mark Kehoe (1-4) who carried in to score.

He wasn’t the only super sub. Brian Hayes came on in the 69th minute; his first touch to win the puck-out and his second to finish at the end of a superb flowing move.

Level entering five minutes of injury time, there was time for one more goal chance and two scores.

Séamus Callanan, just on, had a goal chance denied by a flying Patrick Collins block but recovered possession to point.

Shane Kingston had the final say among the subs, his third point giving Cork a share of the spoils in front 36,765 well-entertained fans.

John McGrath had the best chance to break the deadlock but his free from distance drifted wide.

Both managers made two changes, with full Championship debuts for Tipp’s Seán Ryan and Cork’s Eoin Downey, back from suspension. The Rebels’ other late switch saw Robbie O’Flynn fit enough to start, with Luke Meade and Conor Lehane dropping out.

Cork had only one goal chance all day against Waterford but they tore the Tipp defence apart three times in a sweltering first five minutes at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Patrick Horgan created the first with his sumptuous control and turn throwing Cathal Barrett off balance but his batted effort rolled wide.

Then Brian Roche made a beeline through the middle only for Barrett to come across to block.

But Dalton made his chance count, intercepting Barry Hogan’s short puck-out and charging straight for goal to bat the sliotar past the keeper.

Cork were 1-3 to 0-2 ahead with Tipp yet to register from play but they choked up Rebel attacks, with Ronan Maher sweeping up breaks, Séamus Kennedy dominating rucks, and Noel McGrath in the playmaking role.

The Premier struck 10 of the next 11 points, with two each from Kennedy and Alan Tynan. They suffered the heavy blow, however, of Jason Forde tweaking his hamstring in scoring as he exited early.

They led by five but O’Flynn picked up a loose ball and, again, with too much space to run into, he fended off the hits for a flicked finish. Having brought Cork back into it, 0-14 to 2-06 behind at half-time, he limped off the field.

Kingston was a lively replacement for O’Flynn, scoring one and setting up another for Séamus Harnedy as they battled back to level by the 45th minute.

Tipp’s response was immediate. Having waited for a goal chance, McGrath’s clever handpass finally unlocked the rearguard.

The door appeared to have been closed on O’Connor but he remained patient and got his shot through a scrum of bodies to the net.

Kehoe and Tynan took their tallies to 0-04 each, extending Tipp’s advantage back out to five, but Cork’s best was yet to come.

Scorers for Cork: Patrick Horgan 0-8 (5f, 2 65); Declan Dalton 1-2 (0-2f); Darragh Fitzgibbon 1-1; Robbie O’Flynn, Brian Hayes 1-0 each; Séamus Harnedy, Shane Kingston 0-3 each; Conor Lehane, Tim O’Mahony 0-1 each.

Scorers for Tipperary: Mark Kehoe 1-4; Gearóid O’Connor 1-3 (0-3f); Alan Tynan, Jason Forde (3f) 0-4 each; Séamus Kennedy, Jake Morris 0-3 each; Conor Stakelum, Noel McGrath, Seán Ryan, Séamus Callanan 0-1 each.

Cork: Patrick Collins; Damien Cahalane, Niall O’Leary, Ger Millerick; Robert Downey, Ciarán Joyce, Eoin Downey; Tommy O’Connell, Brian Roche; Declan Dalton, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Shane Barrett; Robbie O’Flynn, Patrick Horgan, Séamus Harnedy.

Subs: Shane Kingston for O’Flynn (35+1 inj), Conor Lehane for Barrett (43), Tim O’Mahony for E Downey (49), Luke Meade for Roche (55), Conor Cahalane for Joyce (58-61, blood), Brian Hayes for Harnedy (69).

Tipperary: Barry Hogan; Michael Breen, Cathal Barrett, Johnny Ryan; Bryan O’Mara, Ronan Maher, Dan McCormack; Séamus Kennedy, Conor Stakelum; Alan Tynan, Noel McGrath, Gearóid O’Connor; Jason Forde, Jake Morris, Seán Ryan.

Subs: Mark Kehoe for Forde (16 inj), Conor Bowe for S Ryan (h-t), John McGrath for O’Connor (53), Enda Heffernan for Stakelum (63), Séamus Callanan for Bowe (69).

Referee: Paud O’Dwyer (Carlow).