Tipperary dumped out of Munster championship by more clinical Cork side on Sunday

TG4 Munster Ladies Senior Football Championship

Cork 3-13

Tipperary 0-11

By Michael Heverin

A second home defeat in the space of eight days has ended Tipperary’s interest in the TG4 Munster Ladies Senior Football Championship. Visitors Cork proved much too strong for the home side at Fethard Town Park on Sunday, and following the loss to Waterford a week earlier, Tipp now exit the provincial championship.

One game remains, a visit to the reigning All-Ireland and league champions Kerry this weekend, but that contest is a dead rubber – Tipp are out of contention and Kerry are already through to the final following wins over Cork and Waterford.

Tipperary can have no complaints about their defeat to Cork, runners-up to Galway in the Division 2 league final earlier this season. Once again, goals conceded proved to be Tipperary’s undoing.

For the second time this season, Tipperary surrendered a promising start to Cork with the concession of those costly goals. In the league clash at the same venue, they were 0-5 to 0-1 ahead before conceding three goals on their way to a twelve-point defeat. Last Sunday, they led 0-4 to 0-2 after ten minutes, again following an encouraging start, but a Katie Quirke goal in the 12th minute gave Cork a lead that they never again lost.

Quirke went on to score another 1-6 in a sparkling display, her second goal from the penalty spot, while Laura O’Mahony hit a sublime goal as Cork kept themselves in contention for a place in the final following an opening day defeat to Kerry.

For Tipperary, it is a time for reflection and preparation – reflecting on how some superb football is not maintained for the full hour, and how loss of concentration at the back is costing them dearly; and preparing for the All-Ireland series where they will hope to turn potential into achievement.

Marquee forward Aisling Moloney remains one of Tipperary’s main attacking assets, but despite converting four frees, she was kept scoreless from play. The top-scoring performance came from Sarah English, whose second-half raids up the left touchline produced three great points.

Manager Ed Burke couldn’t have asked for a better start from his team. Tipp won an early free from the throw-in and in a lightning-fast move, Aoibhe O’Shea put Caoimhe Condon through for a point after just twenty-six seconds. 

Katie Quirke from a free levelled the score five minutes later, but the home side were back in front when Moloney pointed a free following a foul on Caitlin Kennedy.

Aine O’Sullivan equalised for Cork, but then two in a row for Tipperary suggested they were going to take the fight to Cork. Despite a high press from Cork that made it difficult for Tipp to work the ball out of their own half, they eventually broke through for two great scores – the first point from Anna Rose Kennedy after sterling work in the build-up from Ava Ryan, and the second from Ava Fennessy.

And then, not for the first time this season, it all unravelled. In the space of ten minutes, Cork scored 1-5 without reply. 

The outstanding Quirke opened the floodgates with a great goal, followed almost immediately by further panic in the Tipp goalmouth, with Aine O’Sullivan just tipping the ball over the bar rather than under.

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Quirke added three more points, one from a free, and a Laura O’Mahony score to leave them 1-7 to 0-4 ahead by the 22nd minute. It could have been worse with Tipp goalkeeper Lauren Fitzpatrick pulling off a great save from Elizabeth Coppinger to deny what looked a certain goal – the Ballymacarbry player made another fine save just before the interval.

So, from two points up, and looking relaxed and composed, Tipp went six points down in ten minutes. An Aisling Moloney point from a free in the 28th minute was their first score in eighteen minutes, to leave it 1-7 to 0-5 at the break.

Tipperary needed a bright start to the second half, and they nearly got it. When Aisling Moloney was fouled in the first minute after Anna Rose Kennedy created the opening, the Cahir player went for goal from the free, but her shot was blocked and cleared, with Kirsty Crotty Ryan pointing in the follow-up.

It might have signalled a revival, but within two minutes the wind was taken from their sails again. A Cork turnover in midfield proved costly when Katie Quirke raced through the centre and fed Laura O’Mahony whose delightfully angled shot into the top corner of the Tipp net left Lauren Fitzpatrick stranded.

Tipperary hit back quickly with the first of Sarah English’s three second-half points, neatly fisted over, to leave it 2-7 to 0-7. 

But in a tit-for-tat second half, with both sides trading points, the Cork lead fluctuated between five and seven points, with Tipp never looking likely to get through for the goal they desperately needed. They had their chances, but stout Cork defending kept them out.

The gap was five points, 2-9 to 0-10, thirteen minutes from the end, with two further English points, and a Moloney free, responded to by Cork points from substitute Anna Ryan and Quirke, before Cork finally put the game to bed. They hit three points in a row, from O’Sullivan, a Quirke free and a Laura O’Mahony fisted effort to go eight points clear.

A Moloney free interrupted their run, but they hit back immediately when Waterford referee Patrick Smith awarded them a penalty – it seemed a harsh call for an attempted block by Lauren Fitzpatrick – and Quirke made no mistake from the spot, before another substitute, Hannah Looney, finished the scoring with a late point.

There were two late yellow cards, Erika O’Shea for Cork, and Tipp’s Maria Curley, with Cork ending the game with just thirteen players when Dara Kiniry went off injured when all their subs had been used.

Tipperary: Lauren Fitzpatrick (Ballymacarbry); Nora Martin (Sliabh na mBan), Laura Morrissey (Brian Borus), Emma Cronin (Moyle Rovers); Sarah English (Ardfinnan, 0-3), Maria Curley (Templemore), Brid Condon (Aherlow); Anna Rose Kennedy (Aherlow, 0-1), Caitlin Kennedy (Aherlow); Caoimhe Condon (Brian Borus, 0-1), Ava Ryan (Moyne Templetuohy), Aoibhe O’Shea (Mullinahone); Aisling Moloney (Cahir, 0-4f), Kirsty Crotty Ryan (Moyle Rovers, 0-1), Ava Fennessy (Clonmel Commercials, 0-1). 

Subs used: Angela McGuigan (St Sylvester’s) for O’Shea (37); Clara English (Ardfinnan) for Crotty Ryan (40); Heather Spillane (Fethard) for C Condon (40); Neassa Towey (Templemore) for Ryan (48); Eva Cremins (Arravale Rovers) for Fennessy (59).

Cork: Sarah Murphy; Dara Kiniry, Shauna Kelly, Melissa Duggan; Erika O’Shea, Shauna Cronin, Rosie Corkery; Maire O’Callaghan, Aoife Healy; Abbie O’Mahony, Laura O’Mahony (1-2), Emma Cleary; Aine O’Sullivan (0-3), Elizabeth Coppinger, Katie Quirke (2-6, 0-3f, 1-0 pen). 

Subs used: Anna Ryan (0-1) for A O’Mahony (HT); Hannah Looney (0-1) for O’Callaghan (42); Leah Hallihan for Coppinger (50); Katie Horgan for Cleary (54); Sadbh McGoldrick for O’Sullivan (58).

Referee: Patrick Smith (Waterford)