In their Munster hurling championship games last year against Cork and Clare, Tipperary played the ball significantly fewer times, and created far fewer scoring chances, than their opponents, yet still managed to win both games. We had a repeat of this situation in Semple Stadium last Sunday, when once again Cork’s wayward shooting handed victory to the Tipp men. Nor did the comparisons end there. Last year Cork got a penalty five minutes into the second half which was taken by Paudie O’Sullivan, a newcomer who was playing poorly and who proceeded to make a hash of his shot which was easily saved by Brendan Cummins. Last Sunday Cork got another penalty at virtually the same stage of the game. Again it was taken by a relative newcomer (Pat Horgan) who had just missed two easy chances, and he proceeded to take a very poor shot, hit straight at Brendan Cummins.

In the corresponding column last year, I wondered if players are given any coaching in how to take penalties. There are four key rules when taking a penalty. The first is to put the emphasis on placement rather than power. The second is to keep the ball away from the goalkeeper. The third is to bounce the ball off the ground if you are going for a low shot; otherwise aim for a defender’s head or above it. Neither Horgan’s effort on Sunday nor Offaly’s two efforts on Saturday night followed these simple guidelines, and all were saved.

Another similarity between Tipp’s win against Cork last year and last Sunday was the fortuitous nature of what turned out to be the winning goal. Last year’s goal should have been disallowed when Eoin Kelly both charged with the ball and took eleven steps before firing to the net. Last Sunday’s goal originated in dreadful messing in the Cork defence and might never have got past Donal Óg Cusack had it not taken a deflection on the way.

A final key similarity between the two games was Cork’s tactics. Last year, Tipp targetted Cork’s running game, and in particular its main exponents, the O’Connor twins, who repeatedly found themselves being crowded out at source as they sought to take off on their powerful runs. Well, they clearly did not learn their lesson, and in particular Ben O’Connor who, although overall he had a massive game, was dispossessed on numerous occasions trying to take the ball through crowded channels. Cork’s alternative tactic, especially in the second half, was to lob the high ball into the goalmouth. Last year this was a complete failure due to Pa Cronin’s complete domination by Paul Curran. On this occasion, Aisake Ó hAilpín was much more troublesome, creating two clear goal chances, earning four pointed frees and scoring a point himself. Obviously he needs more time to get his eye in, but on this evidence he could prove quite a handful for whichever defences Cork come up against during the course of the summer.

In tactical terms, Tipp won the first half hands down. They reversed their legendary inability to win ball in the half forward line by dragging the Cork half backs out the field, with Brendan Cummins targetting Lar Corbett and John O’Brien expertly. In this half, of the ten Cummins puckouts which were won cleanly, Tipp won eight. It was a different matter in the second half, when Cork won eight out of 13 clearly-won Tipp puckouts. While some of this can be explained by Cork switches, better positioning of the Cork half backs and a general overall improvement in the Leesiders’ play, a further key factor was that Tipp were playing against a stiff breeze in the second half and Cummins couldn’t get the same distance into his puckouts.
Tipperary’s almost total eclipse for much of the second half must be sobering for those who regard them as genuine All-Ireland contenders. It is hard to see Kilkenny letting them off the hook the way Cork did last Sunday. When one thinks of Cork’s missed penalty, Horgan’s wayward shot just before that, Brendan Cummins’s brave interception of Aisake’s pass to Horgan. an elementary miss by Timmy McCarthy in the first half, three missed frees/65s by Ben O’Connor and three terrible wides by Jerry O’Connor, one gets an idea of how badly this game was thrown away. One can praise Tipp for their greater efficiency in turning chances into scores, but surely they cannot rely on their opponents to be so wasteful every day.

Apart from actually winning the game, the big plusses for Tipp were further evidence of Pádraig Maher’s superb ball-winning skills, and what were two of the best performances ever in the Premier jersey by Lar Corbett and John O’Brien. However, given their history of consistency, what will Tipp do if both of them have off-days against Clare? There was further evidence here that Seamus Callinan is essentially a loose player who will do damage when getting good supply from colleagues but will do little to dig the team out of a hole when under pressure. It was good to see Eoin Kelly back again, although apart from his superb first score, his contribution from open play was virtually zero. Noel McGrath can also be satisfied with his championship debut, and certainly looks like one for the future.

Cork will be particularly heartened by the sterling performance of Eoin Cadogan at fullback, while beside him, Conor O’Sullivan didn’t do too badly either. There is still a fair kick in the halfback line, in the O’Connors and in Tom Kenny, but surely the McCarthys have finally reached the end of the road. Ultimately, the Rebels’ prospects are desperately dependent on Aisake Ó hAilpín. If they can turn him into an effective target man, they have some chance of getting a decent scoring return from the likes of Pat Horgan and Paudie O’Sullivan. However, the chances of the latter fighting their own corner successfully seem very remote indeed.

In terms of total plays (not counting frees), the first half was evenly balanced, 81 to Cork and 79 to Tipperary. However, Cork dominated the second half 89-56. To some extent, this differential arises from the high number of plays created by Cork’s running game, but for the most part it simply reflects Cork’s territorial domination after the change of ends. An Moltoir awards quality points for plays on the basis of one point for a basic play (flicks and blocks, etc.), two points for a routine play, three points for a good play and four points for an excellent play. A further dimension is being added this year, with players being awarded quality points for scores from frees and sidelines (depending on the difficulty level) and particularly good frees and sideline cuts (not leading directly to a score).

Under this revised system, Ben O’Connor was far and away the dominant figure in the game with 45 points, well ahead of second placed John Gardiner with 34 points. Shane McGrath was in third place with 30 points. Players to score in the 20s included Ronan Curran, Jerry O’Connor and Tom Kenny for Cork and Pádraig Maher, Lar Corbett, John O’Brien and Eoin Kelly for Tipperary. The full listing is given below.

As for the game in Wexford Park on Saturday night, fair play to the home side for their spirited performance and to Colm Bonnar for getting them into the right frame of mind, given the number of key players they were missing. Offaly clearly were misled by the ease of their Division Two league final and the favouritism widely thrust upon them by the media. In fact, even in the first half there was little to indicate the transformation which Wexford wrought in their own play in the third quarter. Even then, Offaly might still have survived if they had a penalty taker and if they hadn’t fallen for Stephen Banville’s late sucker punch. Still, it is quite a setback for the Faithful County, and the imminent departure of Diarmuid Horan for the USA won’t help matters. They really need all their first teamers to be available and firing if they are to match the big guns, and the no-shows of David Kenny and Derek Molle