Tipperary maintained their good run in the Allianz National Hurling League by defeating Munster champions Cork and qualifying for the semi-finals. A decent crowd of 12,004 at Thurles saw an interesting but flawed afternoon's hurling with some good, attacking play mixed with hesitant defending and poor ball control.
Cork didn't really deserve to be as close as they were heading into the conclusion but a late burst of scores from the home side settled the issue and ensured that justice was done. In the process, both managers Nicky English and Tom Cashman used the opportunity to cast their nets wide with 39 players being used.
Initial exchanges showed Tipperary far more impressive looking going forward. They moved well and created space but, as last week against Kilkenny, didn't take full advantage of the possession. Eddie Enright started brightly on Pat Mulcahy as Tipp opened up the centre of Cork's defence, but too often an ill-considered ball down the flanks went straight to an unchallenged defender.
Cork led for all of 40 seconds. After a good start, Tipperary were ahead by 0-3 to 0-1 in the 10th minute. Joe Deane - well marked by Thomas Costello and rarely served with decent ball - dropped a shot into the square and as it was scrambled out, Alan Browne buried the bobbling sliotar in the back of the net. Within the minute, Enright had levelled.
Whatever ailed Cork, they were unable to get their claws into the opposition. Promising platforms were established but the fluent, point-scoring normally associated with the team was missing. There were chances as Sean McGrath burned Philip Maher but bungled the chance when in on goal. Fergal Ryan rampaged from the back to set up Fergal McCormack but he shot lamely.
Playing into the wind, the Cork attack largely failed to trouble the Tipperary half backs - John Carroll, David Kennedy and Paul Kelly all in fine form - and the resulting loss of supply didn't help the full forwards. Six unanswered points pushed the home side well clear of Cork by half-time. Eoin Kelly and Liam Cahill caused problems in the corners until their markers Fergal Ryan and Mark Prendergast swapped positions.
All the Tipperary forwards except John Leahy had got on the board by the interval and it was hard to imagine Cork getting back into the game given problems around the pitch, nowhere more pressing than in the face of Tipp's experimental centrefield of Noel Morris and Conor Gleeson. The score would have been worse but for a fine, reflex save by Donal Cusack from Mark O'Leary.
An exchange of pointed frees between Eoin Kelly and Deane failed to signal a fiery restart from Cork and their afternoon was summed up by an incident in the 42nd minute. McCormack charged through the middle and released Kevin Murray, who was then robbed by Maher before Jerry O'Connor latched onto the clearance only to send his shot wide.
Tipperary had a goal disallowed in the 44th minute when Declan Ryan's dropping shot found the net but Cahill was judged to have infringed on the square. Cork's unlikely comeback was kick-started a minute later by Mark Landers whose defiant, raking shot cleared the bar for a point.
A minute after that, substitute Timmy McCarthy made a characteristic surge from centrefield and measured a ball into Alan Browne whose low, precise shot rolled into the corner of the net. There were only two points in it, 0-13 to 2-5. Until the beginning of the final quarter, this margin remained with the teams twice exchanging points.
Cork had by now run their course and Tipperary stretched the lead to six with four unanswered points. In the welter of replacements the match lost whatever coherence it had. Tipp continued to swarm around but were a bit slow on the draw in attack, allowing the Cork defence to intercept, block and hook - although they tended to return the compliment with various acts of clumsiness.
The lead was adequately protected and the only remaining incident of note was the lastminute sending off of Pat Mulcahy after his wild pull convinced referee Pat Horan that his laissez-faire officiating would not on this occasion be appropriate.
TIPPERARY: B Cummins; T Costello, P Maher, P Ormonde; J Carroll, D Kennedy, P Kelly (0-1, a 65); C Gleeson (0-1), N Morris (0-1); M O'Leary (0-4), E Enright (0-1), J Leahy (0-1); L Cahill (0-3), D Ryan (0-3), E Kelly (0-5, two frees). Subs: T Dunne for Enright (50 mins); E Corcoran for Morris (58 mins); P Curran for (67 mins); L Corbett for Leahy (69 mins).
CORK: D Cusack; F Ryan, D O'Sullivan, M Prendergast; W Sherlock, P Mulcahy, J Browne; M Landers (0-1), N Ronan; J O'Connor (0-2), F McCormack, S McGrath; K Murray (0-1), A Browne (2-2), J Deane (0-1, a free). Subs: T McCarthy for Ronan (28 mins); P Ryan (0-1) for J Browne (49 mins); B O'Keeffe for McGrath (49 mins); B O'Connor for Landers (63 mins); E Fitzgerald for Murray (60 mins).
Referee: P Horan (Offaly)
