All-Ireland SHC Semi-Final

Cork 7-26 Dublin 2-21

By Paul Keane at Croke Park

Allianz Hurling League champions for the first time since 1998, Munster winners after a seven-year gap. Is a first All-Ireland SHC title since 2005 now a glass ceiling that Cork are ready to smash through later this month?

Dublin manager Niall O Ceallachain perhaps answered that one best after his side were torn asunder at Croke Park, figuring that the Munster champions are ‘going to take a hell of a lot of beating’ on July 20.

Cork were simply magnificent in front of a full house and a vocal travelling support, all but putting this semi-final to bed by half-time when they led by 10 points.

Alan Connolly finished with a stunning hat-trick, and 3-2 in total, and both he and Brian Hayes drilled two goals apiece in the first-half.

Connolly completed his hat-trick late in the second-half while Tim O’Mahony scored two second-half goals also.

Veteran attacker Patrick Horgan struck eight points as well while Declan Dalton and Darragh Fitzgibbon gave strong performances, helping to secure their place in the final against Kilkenny or Tipperary in 15 days.

Cork, beaten by Clare in last year’s final, had previously stumbled after winning Munster titles in 2014, 2017 and 2018, losing their subsequent All-Ireland semi-final ties but looked clued in, sharp and fully focused from the off this time.

Dublin, conquerors of Limerick at the quarter-final stage, were desperate for another good start to give themselves a fighting chance of pushing the roaring favourites hard.

They gambled by starting John Hetherton, figuring that the big full-forward might deliver for them as he did from the bench against Limerick.

But he was a peripheral figure in the first-half with only two decent long deliveries arrowed his way, one of which he won to set up a free that Sean Currie converted.

That was the last score of the opening half and by that stage Dublin’s big blue ship was already taking on water.

Cork hit the interval with a whopping 4-13 to 1-12 lead and probably couldn’t have imagined things going much better for them.

They didn’t score a single goal against Dublin when the sides met in last year’s Championship, at the quarter-final stage.

But they had four on the board this time after 33 minutes, two apiece for Hayes and Connolly.

Each of them was a little victory for slick stickmanship with Hayes buying himself just enough space with a delayed strike to knock their first in from close range in the seventh minute.

Five minutes later, Connolly grabbed his first, Hayes this time the creator with a neat pass after a great catch by Ciaran Joyce.

Connolly struck shortly again shortly afterwards for his second and Cork’s third. A quick, long Patrick Collins puck-out got Cork on the attack this time and O’Mahony darted to Dublin’s byline before shifting a reverse pass into the path of Connolly who, battling a defender, struck one-handed to the net.

Trailing by nine points after 15 minutes, 3-5 to 0-5, the Dublin management were decisive. Andy Dunphy, marking Pat Horgan and already booked, was replaced by David Lucey. Conor McHugh, marking centre-forward Shane Barrett, was taken off shortly after.

Brian Hayes dropped out from midfield to mark Barrett and Darragh Power, who came on for McHugh, went to midfield.

Things got a little better for Dublin in the form of a 15th minute Cian O’Sullivan goal before getting a whole lot worse.

Hayes hit Cork’s fourth goal in the 33rd minute, Horgan taking the credit for a wonderful piece of control in the buildup which freed Connolly and opened the gap.

Horgan and Diarmuid Healy tagged on points before Cork as good as wrapped it up with their fifth goal, scored by O’Mahony in the 42nd minute.

This time Horgan spun away from Lucey and hand-passed sharply to free O’Mahony.

Dublin got a head of steam going between the 45th and 50th minutes, reeling off an unanswered 1-3, O’Sullivan’s second goal of the game coming after a quick free by Currie.

Briefly, the margin was down to nine points, 5-17 to 2-17, but no sooner were Dublin fans daring to dream than Cork had shut the door again.

O’Mahony nailed Cork’s sixth goal with just under 20 minute to go and Connolly completed his hat-trick with a seventh for Pat Ryan’s side, blasting home from an acute angle in the 65th minute after Robbie O’Flynn’s lay-off.

Substitutes Conor Lehane, Jack O’Connor and Shane Kingston contributed 0-4 between them, keeping the pressure on for starting places in the final.

Scorers for Cork: Alan Connolly 3-2, Patrick Horgan 0-8 (6fs), Brian Hayes 2-1, Tim O’Mahony 2-1, Declan Dalton 0-5 (0-2f), Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-3, Shane Kingston 0-2, Diarmuid Healy 0-1, Ciaran Joyce 0-1, Conor Lehane 0-1, Jack O’Connor 0-1.

Scorers for Dublin: Cian O’Sullivan 2-5, Sean Currie 0-7 (7fs), Fergal Whitely 0-3, Conor Burke 0-3, Brian Hayes 0-1, John Hetherton 0-1, Donal Burke 0-1.

Cork: Patrick Collins; Sean O’Donoghue, Eoin Downey, Niall O’Leary; Ciaran Joyce, Robert Downey, Mark Coleman; Tim O’Mahony, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Declan Dalton, Shane Barrett, Diarmuid Healy; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes.

Subs: Robbie O’Flynn for Healy 50, Shane Kingston for Horgan 55, Tommy O’Connell for Robert Downey 59, Conor Lehane for Barrett 63, Jack O’Connor for Dalton 67.

Dublin: Sean Brennan; Paddy Smyth, John Bellew, Andy Dunphy; Paddy Doyle, Conor McHugh, Conor Donohoe; Conor Burke, Brian Hayes; Rian McBride, Fergal Whitely, Ronan Hayes; Sean Currie, John Hetherton, Cian O’Sullivan.

Subs: David Lucey for Dunphy 14, Darragh Power for McHugh 21, Donal Burke for McBride h/t, Diarmaid O’Dulaing for Ronan Hayes 46, Conal O Riain for O’Sullivan 67.

Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick).