Neil McManus shares thoughts on Cork's half-time debacle

Extra.ie​

15 hours ago

The second-half of this year's All-Ireland hurling final will forever live in the heads of Cork players and fans as they wonder how did it all go so wrong.
The Rebels were leading Tipperary by 1-16 to 0-13 when half-time rolled around but Pat Ryan's side endured a shocking second-half where they managed to only score two points and fell to a 3-27 to 1-18 defeat.
Nobody expected the second-half to be so poor from Cork and many have speculated since what happened at the break that tore the side up completely. Neil McManus at the Marie Keating Foundation event. Pic: Andres Poveda
While appearing at the Marie Keating Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic on Thursday, former Antrim hurler and television pundit Neil McManus shared his thoughts on Cork's mindset leaving the dressing room and how it all went so downhill.
He said: 'It's really hard to know. What I can say from looking in from the outside, whenever you're positioned right on the pitch doing the punditry, you really get a feel for the physicality.
'You might not be able to have the aerial view which allows you to unpick the game tactically, but from the physicality point of view, it was all coming from Tipperary. Tipp ran riot in the second-half. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
'They were winning the physical stakes. They were so aggressive and they wore Cork down.
'My question would be did Cork concentrate a bit too much on the tie?
'Rather than thinking 'we have to win the battle here before this game of hurling even breaks out'. Cork players huddle before the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Cork and Tipperary. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
'You felt for them because not only myself but every paper, every TV station that I watched or read had backed Cork because they had been the best team in Ireland up until that point.
'But you only get crowned as being the best in Ireland if you win that game and you can say it's the best ambush ever but Tipperary are All-Ireland champions and that'll be stinging with Cork now.'
It was the first time the sides had met in the final and Cork will not want to relive it.
In the first-half, it had been a pretty even battle, the difference being Tipperary's nine wides to Cork's five.
However, the second half was just astonishingly one-way traffic.
Tipperary dominated possession, hitting 1-05 before Cork managed a point and another 2-05 before they got their second, and last score of the game, in the 66th minute.
Rebels star Eoin Downey was also shown a second yellow card for fouling John McGrath with 15 minutes left, which only made matters worse.
Although on the other side of the country, McManus went on to share some hope for the future of Antrim hurling.
He remarked that their under-19 and 20 sides are looking 'very strong' but a problem still exists with the minor and under-16 sides that lack the strength needed to compete with the big guns.
Antrim were relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship this year after a poor season.
McManus is hoping that with enough young stars coming through the ranks, they will be able to rise back up as quick as they possibly can.