Yellow card is a telling moment
Inside the closing five minutes of the first half, everything was going from end-to-end as both teams still searched for the first real breakthrough. After Shane Barrett scored an excellent point for Cork, their advantage went up to five. It was the first sign of danger that perhaps Tipp might drift behind.
Then John McGrath was fouled by Eoin Downey, resulting in a yellow card for the Cork full back. That would later prove telling. When Eoghan Connolly’s long-range free was then touched into the net by Jason Forde, it appeared Tipp’s fortunes might be about to turn. It was rightly called as a square ball, but offered them some encouragement nonetheless.
Potentially killer blow for Tipp
Two minutes of added time were announced at the end of the first half, and on 36:44, Robert Downey won back possession to set in train Cork’s first goal chance of the first half. When the ball was passed out to Mark Coleman, he quickly passed on to Shane Barrett.
Approaching just left of the goal, under the Davin Stand, Barrett placed his shot with stunning accuracy into the bottom right corner, and ensured that Tipp goalkeeper Rhys Shelly had no chance of stopping it. A killer blow for Tipp just before the break, it put Cork into a commanding 1-16 to 0-13 lead.
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Cahill works the oracle
Whatever was said by Tipp manager Liam Cahill at half-time was soon working a treat as his players started to win possession all over the field. After shooting five unanswered points, and shooting one wide, Jake Morris took another shot from distance, which appeared to be within the safe range of Cork goalkeeper Patrick Collins.
But instead, Collins tapped the ball down and out into the path of John McGrath on 46 minutes. He displayed remarkable calmness when he collected the ball and then promptly finished his shot into the Cork net. That made it 1-5 without reply, and the game had turned on its head.
Situation goes from bad to worse
Cork had finally got their first score of the second half moments after McGrath’s first goal, but then conceded another two points without reply. Things were about to get a whole lot worse.
After 53 minutes, McGrath made another mesmerising fetch from another long ball in front of the Cork goal, and Eoin Downey had little choice other than to foul him. Downey was shown a second yellow card, and his All-Ireland final was over. When Darragh McCarthy stepped up for the penalty and blasted it into the top left of the Cork goal, Tipp went up 2-20 to 1-17.
A deft touch into the net finishes Cork
The hour-mark proved to be closing time for this most unpredictable of All-Ireland final outcomes. Cork had just conceded another two points without reply, when a third Tipp goal would end all hope of them making a late comeback.
Eoghan Connolly attempted another long-range shot, and once that started to fall short, John McGrath read the movement of the ball to absolute perfection, getting to it in advance of Patrick Collins. McGrath finished it off with the deftest of touches into the Cork net. After another move of magic simplicity, Tipp went up 3-22 to 1-17. Game over.
