February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
So accustomed had we become over the past few years to watching Tyrone outmanoeuvre a host of opponents with their intelligence, physicality and workrate, it was hard to comprehend Cork’s utter dominance from start to finish.
Admittedly, there had been signs that Conor Counihan’s side was developing into the sort of big, fast-moving juggernaut which might eventually knock the other Sam Maguire Cup contenders off the road, but no one was expecting a five-point success which in truth could have been double that.
Given that they kicked a total of 13 wides and that they had midfielder Alan O’Connor controversially sent off after half an hour for a second yellow card offense, Cork can be confident that they will have plenty left in the tank for the final against either Kerry or Meath on Sept. 20.
With more composure in front of goal and with a full complement on the pitch, they could well have humiliated the 2008 champions. As it was, they sealed off possession time and again with the sort of conviction and aggression that now makes them favorites for a first All Ireland football title since 1990.
The outstanding Graham Canty and John Miskella surged forward from the back, while Paul Kerrigan, Colm O’Neill and Pearse O’Neill gave the Tyrone defense a torrid time. Critically, Cork also had quality back-up on the bench as Fintan Goold, John Hayes and Michael Cussen all played their parts towards the end of the game.
If Tyrone’s problems couldn’t be put down to the loss of Sean Cavanagh due to a stomach bug, their talisman was still sorely missed, and when he entered the fray with just over 20 minutes to go, he understandably struggled to make his customary impact.
Equally, there was no more significant image of the Tyrone demise than Mickey Harte’s decision to substitute two of his rocks, Brian Dooher and Conor Gormley, during the second half. By then it was too late as the Ulster kingpins had failed utterly to deflect Cork from their course towards the final.
“When you get near the top of the hill and get knocked down it’s difficult to take,” explained a disappointed Harte. “Life’s like that, and we in Tyrone know that. Life has given us worse knocks than losing semi-finals and we have dealt with them, so we’ll deal with this too. We’ll be hurt, we’ll be annoyed, and we’ll have many regrets, but they’re only sporting regrets and ultimately in the real scheme of things it won’t be that crucial.”
Harte was also quick to give credit to the Cork performance. “It’s easy to say we were not good and that we played below par, or not to our usual standards, but that’s often a lot to do with the opposition. You know it’s now all your own fault. I mean the way we played would probably have won a whole lot of matches because they wouldn’t have met as much resistance. Some days you meet teams that are better than you and we certainly did that.”
But it’s been a long time since Tyrone wasted so much ball, and once Daniel Goulding drilled home the only goal of the game in the seventh minute, the writing was on the wall. Playing with impressive verve, Cork quickly stormed clear and they should have been further ahead than 1-9 to 0-7 at the interval.
Referee John Bannon’s dismissal of O’Connor was certainly harsh, but with the midfielder on a yellow card following an earlier lunge at Enda McGinley, he should have been more cautious when he clashed with Owen Mulligan. Still, Bannon’s decision to send him off was highly questionable with Irish Times columnist, John O’Keeffe, branding it both “ridiculous” and “unbelievable”.
However, Cork were never troubled by being a man down. Tyrone tried both Ryan McMenamin and Cavanagh as their sweeper, to no great effect, and the only threat came sporadically from Stephen O’Neill who had the edge over Anthony Lynch.
“I won’t say we want to have someone sent off everyday,” joked Counihan, “but it’s probably more straightforward when you’re down a man. You throw caution to the wind whereas if you have the extra man there’s always a tendency that people around become complacent and they’re not pushing on as much as they can.”
Crushed by Munster rivals Kerry at Croke Park two years ago, Cork might now have the opportunity to settle a score. “Our focus has to be about being up for a performance in the final and maybe complete the job,” added Counihan.
Questioned whether the win over Tyrone was indicative of progress, center-forward Pearse O’Neill wasn’t showing any signs of complacency. “Progress is winning an All Ireland,” he replied.
Kerry and Meath, who clash in their semi-final on Sunday, have been warned.
Meanwhile, Armagh reached the All Ireland minor decider with a 2-10 to 0-10 win over Kerry in the semi-final at Croke Park. Two goals by Gavin McParland proved decisive for the Ulster county who now meet either Mayo or Down in the final.
On the hurling front, Joe Canning plundered a magnificent 4-7, but Galway were still beaten by Clare after extra time in a dramatic All Ireland under 21 semi-final at Semple Stadium. It finished 3-23 to 5-15 in Clare’s favor despite Canning’s personal total with Darach Honan hitting 2-4 for the winners.
Clare’s opponents in the final will be Kilkenny who accounted for Antrim by 2-22 to 2-7 in Navan. Antrim only trailed by two points at the break, but with Richie Hogan contributing an impressive 0-14 including eight frees and two 65s, Kilkenny dominated the second half.
O’Rourke narrowly
misses out on medal
DERVAL O’ROURKE’S fourth place finish in the World Championships 100m hurdles final in Berlin, Germany last weekend was a superb achievement, but despite breaking the Irish record, the Cork athlete was still frustrated by her performance.
“Honestly, I was just gutted out there, looking up at the clock and seeing I got fourth,” she revealed. “I was trying not to have a little cry because I say it all the time, I just love winning bloody medals. I love standing on podiums and fourth is always a hard place to be.”
By lowering her national best to an outstanding 12.67, O’Rourke missed out on a medal by just 0.12 of a second in a race won by Jamaica’s Brigitte Foster-Hylton in 12.51.
Performing with the same focus and technique as three years ago when she won the World Indoor title as well as a European Championships silver medal, O’Rourke was in front after four hurdles following a brilliant start before being overhauled.
“Still, I have to be happy, incredibly happy. Fourth in the world? Imagine if you’d have told me that last year at the Olympics after going out in the first round? I’d have killed you for it. It’s a national record, and it’s taken me three years to get back to this territory. I’ll have a tiny pity party, but after that I’ll be very happy.
“I’ve really worked hard on my start this summer. I always say I think I’m as good as anyone in the world on my day. Many people were saying I wouldn’t make it out of my heat. My skin has got a bit thicker, and I laugh at that now.”
O’Rourke’s performance was all the more impressive in that she beat both the reigning Olympic champion, Dawn Harper, who finished seventh, and the Olympic silver medallist, Sally McLellan, who came fifth.
Meanwhile, David Gillick also made a personal breakthrough by reaching his first major outdoor final, but the Dublin athlete could only finish sixth in a highly competitive 400m won by LaShawn Merrick of America.
After running a fine 44.88 in the semi-final, Gillick tired in the last quarter of the race to come home in 45.53. His time was disappointing in that Trinidad’s Renny Quow took the bronze medal in 45.02.
Gillick was ahead of Quow at the 150 metre mark, but he faded on the run-in and had to dip at the line to secure sixth ahead of Britain’s Michael Bingham.