Another harsh hurling lesson from Cork is troubling from a Tipperary perspective

It was another Leeside lesson. We got a foretaste in the league final on April 6 and this was the main course. Cork in their present iteration have the pace and power to drill holes in Tipperary. From two games now they’ve delivered a combined score of 7-51 – harsh but inescapable numbers.

The sending-off had an influence but was far from match-deciding. Darragh McCarthy got swept along on an adrenaline-fuelled wave and was too open in his jab at Sean O’Donoghue. He paid the ultimate price, which was a harsh lesson for a 19-year-old. Others did as much and avoided sanction.

Anthony Daly was measured and fair on The Sunday Game. These dunts and digs are a regular feature at throw-in time and there’s rarely a yellow, let alone a red card flashed by the official. This time Johnny Murphy wasn’t going to pass up on a chance to show red to another Tipperary player. Darragh McCarthy need not torture himself; his actions did not decide the outcome.

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Cork manager, Pat Ryan, claimed afterwards in interview that his players didn’t initiate any of the scuffles that flared at throw-in time. Please, save us the holier-than-thou sanctimony. Cork are well capable of delivering the dunts and digs. Their manager might have a gander at the clip that’s gone viral, showing one of his forwards dropping the head towards Bryan O’Mara.

The sending-off was an unsettling start to the game. Within minutes Tim O’Mahony had planted their first goal and soon Pat Horgan and Alan Connolly followed suit. After sixteen minutes the board read 3-6 to 0-3. The die was already cast.

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Cork’s scoring blast was scarily similar to the league final, except that this time it came in the first quarter. You could argue we’d learned nothing from the league game, defenders again being turned and exposed. Or perhaps we simply don’t have the defensive capacity to cope with Cork’s dynamic attack.

The sending-off did have an impact on our ability to close down Cork on their own restarts. With a player advantage in defence, Patrick Collins was never short of options and this allowed Cork to supply excellent ball into their attack. With the quality of ball going in I have sympathy for defenders facing such powerful, pacey opponents.

One of the more encouraging aspects of the game from a Tipperary perspective was the way the team manned up to the challenge. There was never a sense of an outright meltdown, despite the landscape looking bleak at the end of the first quarter. There was no wilting; the workrate stayed at a reasonable pitch throughout.

And we had our chances - more accurately half-chances. The best fell to Sam O’Farrell, who was put through by John McGrath after twenty minutes. The Nenagh lad, perhaps fearing an immediate close down, attempted the bat from too far out and Patrick Collins was able to turn it away for a 65. The sense of loss was compounded when Jason Forde missed the free puck.

Craig Morgan too had a half-chance, which was never likely to test the Cork goalie and Jason Forde had a twenty-metre free saved. On a luckier day, perhaps, one or two of these might have borne fruit. I wouldn’t overplay that line, however, because the trend of the game was very much against us; you always sensed that Cork had plenty more fuel in the tank if the journey demanded it.

The gap was twelve at the break and ultimately settled at fifteen, the proverbial score-a-man. Much like the league final, the second half had that weary sense of inevitability.

Jason Forde kept the board ticking for Tipperary from play and frees but Cork were at their ease, perhaps even easing up or becoming sloppy in the minimal requirements of the day.

Declan Dalton moved to the inside line in a swap with Alan Connolly and their Tipperary markers followed them. I’m not sure whether this was a direction from Tipperary management or the players making their own choice. Either way it brought little relief when Dalton raided in from the left corner and volleyed home their fourth goal.

Dalton finished with 1-4 from play and Seamus Harnedy hit 0-5. Their half forward line mined a cumulative 1-13; their full line hit 1-11. All starting forwards scored for Cork; only two of Tipperary’s attacking six got on the scoresheet. Stats tell all you need to know.

It was another chastening experience for Tipperary, a repetition of the league final. I never went with this theory that the league was a lesser being and true championship intensity would be seen from Tipperary at the second attempt. If we returned to Páirc Uí Chaoimh this Sunday for episode 3, I suspect the outcome would still be no different.

It’s troubling from a Tipperary perspective. There’s a sense of one step forward in the Limerick game and now two steps back against Cork.

You can often be blindsided by individual games but the overall trend of recent years is undeniable. Since the round robin format began in 2022, we’ve now played sixteen championship games and won a mere two of them. One of those wins was against Offaly in 2023, which doesn’t count.

Our only substantial victory was against Clare in 2023 and even that carries the caveat around their goalkeeping difficulties that day.

We now face a crunch fixture at the same Ennis venue on Saturday week, when one of the counties will likely exit the championship on May 10.

There are positives to be noted from our experience so far this season. Robert Doyle and Darragh McCarthy have been the discoveries of the year. We didn’t get to see McCarthy deliver on Sunday but over the span of the league and Limerick game he showed what a raw talent he is, one that hopefully will mature and develop.

Robert Doyle too has shown stern stuff at corner back, effectively negating the loss of Cathal Barrett. The Clonoulty lad appears to have the talent and temperament to settle into a lengthy career.

Sam O’Farrell is another who’s shown the necessary requirements and he too, we hope, will develop and expand into a permanent fixture on Tipperary teams.

Thereafter, Craig Morgan has reignited his career as a hard-grafting midfielder and Darragh Stakelum has shown potential.
Elsewhere, we’re fortunate to have the McGraths still offering leadership to their more tender colleagues; Jake Morris has developed into a hard-working, physical player complete with scoring touch; and Jason Forde has rediscovered some of his finer form.

But there are problems. Defensively, it has not been a good season so far for Ronan Maher, whose form seems to have dipped somewhat. His lack of pace has become more pronounced and he’s simply not commanding that number six role like he used to do.

Eoghan Connolly has brought some useful qualities to the defence but his full back credentials are in question. Likewise with Michael Breen, a strong athletic man-marker going forward but getting caught on those turns for crucial scores. Our lack of pace and stickiness near goal has been exposed by Cork especially.

Bryan O’Mara has endured a mixed season so far, impressive against Limerick but struggling at other times, including last Sunday.

Elsewhere, our Under 20s remain the great hope for 2025. Darragh McCarthy and Sam O’Farrell were rested last week but the side still managed to see off Waterford at the Stadium to guarantee their place in the Munster final.

They were well in control early on, with Paddy McCormack hitting an opening goal. Late in the game Waterford staged something of a fightback with corner forward, Ben O’Sullivan, netting twice. Adam Daly was man of the match with five points from midfield play. They have a break now before seeing their final opponents emerge.