A strong third quarter laid the groundwork for Tipperary to take victory over Cork in the opening game of the Munster SHC at Páirc Uí Chaoimh today.
Having gone in at half-time leading by a point, 1-13 to 0-15, Liam Sheedy’s men had the wind to come and made immediate use of that as John O’Dwyer and Jason Forde pointed on the resumption.
By the 50th minute, they were 1-20 to 0-18 in front and when Noel McGrath sent a good ball to O’Dwyer on the right flank, he sought out his fellow corner-forward John McGrath with a ball across goal, McGrath firing to the net for their second green flag.
Even with quite a lot of hurling still to be played, that strike gave an air of finality to the occasion, though some profligacy with further scoring chances meant that Cork were able to back to within four, 2-24 to 1-23, when captain Séamus Harnedy netted with five minutes of normal time left.
Unfortunately for the Rebels, no further chances to eat into the lead materialised and Tipp saw out the game with points from Noel McGrath and captain Séamus Callanan, who each finished with four points, while O’Dwyer had the final say with his seventh.
In total, Tipp had 11 scorers – only goalkeeper Brian Hogan and their full-back line didn’t register – and the fact that they had 12 wides compared to just three for Cork told its own story.
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While the visitors trailed when Harnedy opened the scoring in the second minute but, in a sign of things to come, Tipp replied emphatically as Niall O’Meara set up Callanan for a goal, with Forde and O’Dwyer putting them four ahead by the fifth minute.
But for an Anthony Nash save from John McGrath on 11, they would have been further ahead but nevertheless, a pair of Callanan points had them 1-8 to 0-5 in front by the 17th minute.
Cork, heavily reliant on the dead-ball accuracy of Patrick Horgan throughout, did manage to find some form though and they necklaced seven unanswered points together between the 18th and 29th minutes, with Conor Lehane and Shane Kingston helping to shoulder some of the scoring burden.
The lead was just fleeting for John Meyler’s team though as O’Dwyer replied with his third for Tipp and though Lehane and Horgan twice put Cork ahead again, Tipp moved 1-13 to 0-14 in front in first-half injury time as Forde, Pádraic Maher and Callanan all scored.
A long-range Horgan free – his 10th point of the game – had Cork within one as the sides
retired, but O’Dwyer and Forde pushed Tipp ahead again on the resumption.
Though Kingston’s second of the game had Cork within two on 45 minutes, 1-17 to 0-8, Tipp had three on the trot from Brendan Maher and Forde (two) before McGrath’s goal.
Thereafter, the lead was never less than four points and Tipp were full value for the victory, moving on to next week’s clash with Waterford in confident mood while Cork must travel to take on All-Ireland champions Limerick.
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