Cork see off Tipp in niggly league encounter
Both sides finished with 14 men as Cork put All-Ireland final heartbreak out of their minds with a seven-point victory over Tipperary in front of a bumper 30,910 crowd at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The major talking point was the 30-man tussle in first-half stoppage time, which was sparked by an off-the-ball bout of wrestling between Willie Connors and Alan Connolly, who were both booked.
All 30 players got involved in the midfield skirmish before Liam Gordon picked Jason Forde and Shane Barrett out of the crowd for contributing to a melee and dished out a pair of red cards.
Despite a missed penalty, it was the Rebels who moved onto three wins from three, taking a giant step towards securing a league final return.
Connolly's eight points and seven from Darragh Fitzgibbon, including six from play, were the key tallies. Cork have now won seven consecutive National Hurling League games for the first time since 1953.
From last year’s All-Ireland teams, Ben O’Connor picked 10 established starters and Liam Cahill nine for this February rematch in ideal conditions.
Of the newcomers, William Buckley backed up his man-of-the-match performance against Waterford with three points, while his teenage marker Cathal O’Reilly struck a point at the other end.
Referee Liam Gordon sent off Shane Barrett and Jason Forde following a melee on the stroke of half-time
There was no sign of a Tipp sweeper here, but Connors often shuttled back to provide a defensive shield. That worked well early on.
The sides traded points in pairs for the opening 15 minutes, with Tipp repeatedly edging ahead and Cork pinning them back. Jake Morris and Andrew Ormond rotated the centre-forward role to each snipe two points.
Half-backs Craig Morgan and Sam O’Farrell gave Tipp their last lead at 0-06 to 0-04. From there, Cork began to get more purchase and reeled off five points in a row, including fine efforts from Buckley and Barrett.
Cork were first to threaten a goal. O’Reilly hooked Buckley, but the corner-forward then picked out Barrett.
The speedy centre-forward was brought down by Johnny Ryan, who was black-carded. Declan Dalton stepped up, but failed to replicate his clinical finish against Waterford as Rhys Shelly made a routine save. Fitzgibbon ensured Cork didn’t leave without a point.
A Connors turnover point and two Forde frees levelled at 0-10 apiece, but Cork would add the next five in succession, with two from Connolly. In total, they won the period with an extra man by 0-06 to 0-04.
When Eoin Downey and Mark Coleman chipped in with white flags, both wing-backs had contributed two points each. Séamus Kennedy completed the set of Tipp half-backs splitting the posts to make the score 0-16 to 0-12. It proved the last score before the break.
Gordon was quick to blow the half-time whistle after dishing out those red cards to Forde and Barrett. Both managers spoke to the referee about the incident as he left the field.
That was the only real flashpoint of the match as Cork held Tipp at arm’s length until the closing stages. Fitzgibbon and Buckley kept them motoring with a couple of points each.
Tipp called upon Hurler of the Year John McGrath, yet it was Eoghan Connolly who had the greatest bench impact with four long-range frees. He finished as Tipp’s top scorer among 13 different players to raise a white flag.
A segment of the home crowd booed Darragh McCarthy’s introduction, but the Young Hurler of the Year brought it back to a one-score game with his 66th-minute free.
However, Connolly sparked a four-point streak to make the points safe.Cork enter a three-week break until they visit Kilkenny on March 1st, while Tipp host Limerick in a fortnight.
Cork: P Collins; S O’Donoghue, D O’Leary, G Millerick; E Downey (0-02), R Downey, M Coleman (0-02); M Mullins, E Twomey; D Fitzgibbon (0-07, 1f), S Barrett (0-02), D Healy (0-03); W Buckley (0-03), D Dalton, A Connolly (0-08, 4f).
Subs: C O’Brien for Coleman (h-t), T O’Mahony (0-01) for Mullins (44), B Hayes (0-01) for Dalton (44), H O’Connor for Twomey (52), R O’Flynn for Buckley (64).
Tipperary: R Shelly; J Ryan, B O’Mara, C O’Reilly (0-01); S O’Farrell (0-01), C Morgan (0-01), S Kennedy (0-01); W Connors (0-02), C Stakelum (0-01); A Ormond (0-02), J Morris (0-03, 1f), J Keller; D Stakelum, O O’Donoghue (0-01), J Forde (0-02, 2f).
Subs: J McGrath for D Stakelum (h-t), E Connolly (0-04, 4f) for Kennedy (44), N McGrath (0-01) for Keller (49), D McCarthy (0-02, 2f) for O’Donoghue (56), P McCormack for Ormond (61).
Referee: L Gordon (Galway).
