Cork’s last hurrah preserves their unblemished final record

CORK 1-10 MONAGHAN 1-9: This might just be the best way to win an All-Ireland. Cork's win in front of a crowd of 25,103 at Croke Park yesterday was the kind only a wily sort of team could write into the books.

Twice in the second half they came from behind, even as their shooting was letting them down and their opposition grew in confidence. To take it in the end was like sneaking a late drink after closing time while the Gardaí were busy at another bar down the street.

From a Monaghan point of view, it will take some beating as the worst way to lose one.

After weathering Cork's early foment, they gradually found a way to get into the game. A deluge of scores just after half-time pushed them into a two-point lead and even when Cork clawed their way back to parity, Monaghan managed to forge ahead again.

Came back
But despite leading with five minutes left on the clock, they couldn't close it out. There was no disgrace in it, not against a Cork side who came back from nine points down against Dublin earlier in the summer and who've mugged all-comers on the line over the course of an era that belongs to them and them alone. Won't make it feel any better though.

“The dressingroom is gutted,” said Gregory McGonigle afterwards. “I would say for nobody to make any quick decisions. We’ll have a couple of tough days and a couple of tough weeks but we took it in 2011 and the girls came back from probably a worse defeat last year when we weren’t even in the game in the semi-final. They’re made of stern stuff.”

They gave Cork everything and more here but for the third final in six years Eamonn Ryan's side had too much for them. Monaghan boasted the game's outstanding player in Sharon Courtney, a full-back whose clamp on four-time All Star Valerie Mulcahy was unyielding all day long.

Yet they fell down in a few crucial tactical areas – kick-outs especially – and paid heavily for the day’s sole sin-binning, a yellow card for full-forward Eileen McKenna that removed her from the action for the final 10 minutes.

Sligo referee John Niland had a poor outing all-round, although McGonigle's claim afterwards that Monaghan found it tough to get the big decisions was undermined by the fairly soft penalty they were awarded early in the second half.

Badly needed
It came at a time when Monaghan badly needed it. They'd gone in 1-6 to 0-6 behind at the break and in truth had been just about hanging onto Cork's coat-tails. Mulcahy's only brief escape from Courtney's clutches had seen her swivel and tuck home the Cork goal after 15 minutes and only for a couple of magnificent points from Caoimhe Mohan – one off either foot – Monaghan would have had far more ground to make up.

As it was, they blazed from the blocks at the start of the second period and when Linda Martin sent Elaine Harte the wrong way from the spot on 33 minutes it put them ahead for the first time all day.

Laura McEnaney followed up with a booming point from distance soon after and all of a sudden, Cork were 1-6 to 1-8 behind with 25 minutes to go.

If they were going to keep their record spotless, now was the time to set about it.

They came with a full-court press and Monaghan couldn’t get a kick-out beyond their own half-back line. Geraldine O’Flynn drove forward for a brilliant point, Nollaig Cleary flashed one over the bar. Draw game with 17 minutes to go.

McKenna’s yellow card came as Monaghan were trying to substitute her and yet still the Ulster champions pushed on.

Cathriona McConnell iced a free to put them 1-9 to 1-8 ahead with eight minutes to go and when O'Flynn missed an easy one down the other end soon after, it looked like Monaghan's day.

Equaliser
But Juliet Murphy doesn't have five All Stars by accident. With four minutes left she took a quick one-two from a 45 and launched the equaliser. And when Mulcahy nailed a free a minute later, they were in a familiar place. McConnell had a chance to level it at the death but a difficult free tailed wide as the hooter sounded.

“For those of us who are very near the end, it is an amazing feeling,” said Murphy afterwards. “Because we’re all aware that there’s only so much time left to us together, it means so much.

“There will be a core there but I think it’s at a stage now that even if a few do drop off the replacements are there. I knew that was my last game out there.”

They won like they all knew it. Like only they could.

CORK: E Harte; AM Walsh, B Stack, B Corkery; 6 R Buckley, Angela Walsh, G O'Flynn (0-1); D O'Reilly, J Murphy (0-2); N Cleary (0-2), Annie Walsh (0-1), C O'Sullivan; V Mulcahy (1-4, 0-4 frees), D O'Sullivan, R Ní Bhuachalla. Subs: O Farmer for Ní Buachalla (half-time); O Finn for Annie Walsh (48 mins); Ní Bhuachalla for Finn (52 mins); A Barrett for AM Walsh, 60 mins
MONAGHAN: L Martin (1-0, pen); G McNally, S Courtney, C Reilly; L McEnaney (0-1), E McCarron, A McAnespie; A Casey, Y Connell; T McNally (0-1), C Mohan (0-2), C Courtney; C McConnell (0-4, all frees), E McKenna, C McAnespie (0-1). Subs: E McElroy for A McAnespie (half-time); N Kindlon for Mohan (55 mins).
Referee: John Niland (Sligo).