Nicky English: I believed anything could happen in a Cork-Tipp match but wasn't quite prepared for this
To
lose a second half of hurling by 3-14 to 0-2
in an All-Ireland final has to be unprecedented. It was simply a disaster for
Cork
, who were in a good position at half-time, leading by six points after Shane Barrett's goal.
Tipperary
will have been disappointed by that all the same. They had actually played quite well in the first half but for the amount of wides they had hit, which could have kept them closer in touch.
Their forwards had been well contained by Cork but there was a strong breeze, which I don't think was fully taken into consideration. The ball was being held up in the breeze, typified by the disallowed goal for Jason Forde from Eoghan Connolly's free driven into the square.
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In the second half, though, the Tipperary backs took complete control over the Cork full-forward line under the hanging ball. Michael Breen and Ronan Maher were just totally dominant.
Tactically, Tipp got it superbly right. Bryan O'Mara stepped back as extra cover and they brought out Sam O'Farrell to the middle and Darragh McCarthy to float up front.
Tipperary's Willie Connors celebrates after the final whistle. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
None of these changes should have been a surprise to Cork by the way. Everything that I thought would happen did happen, like Ronan Maher taking up Brian Hayes.
Willie Connors moved to wing back, which was a strange move on paper but he played magnificently and had Declan Dalton in his pocket.
At all stages Tipperary were able to get that flick in and tip the ball away from the Cork forwards and never let them settle into their running style. Also, there was never the quality of ball that Cork had managed against Dublin when it was hopping in front of Connolly and Hayes.
They were just much smarter and more capable, and in the second half they just slowed Cork down relentlessly and worked unbelievably hard.
I have said all year that there's no doubt that Tipp's touch is better than anyone else's in the championship, and they proved in the final that their touch was better than Cork's.
In some respects, Cork getting the goal before half-time was actually the worst thing that could have happened to them. There was already a huge expectancy among Cork supporters that Barrett's goal may have turned it into a foregone conclusion.
Tipperary's Rhys Shelly and Robert Doyle celebrate after the game. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
There was now huge pressure on Cork for the second half. Maybe it showed in Patrick Horgan's missed free at the start of the second half.
Andrew Ormond kick-started Tipperary's comeback and Jake Morris got in on the act, as well as the outstanding Darragh McCarthy. John McGrath really showed his renewed form, having a role in all three goals. He's such a wily customer and just because he's quiet for a while shouldn't lead to assumptions.
I was surprised in a way that Cork didn't replace Eoin Downey after he picked up a yellow at the end of the first half. Last year in their pivotal match against Limerick at Páirc Uí Chaoimh they replaced him in similar circumstances.
I thought that first yellow was very harsh, but if you're on a card you're vulnerable and it would have been a good idea to get Damien Cahalane on earlier.
It was a sobering afternoon for Cork. To score just two points in the second half was inexplicable. Last year, maybe they had excuses and only lost the final in extra time, but this year there was no such consolation. They were just crowded out and Tipp's defenders simply ate them up.
Tipperary's Ronan Maher lifts the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
Their half-forward line, which had started well, was completely obliterated in the second half, with both Healy and Dalton replaced and the midfield was bypassed. Of course, when a team hits the woodwork five times they probably suspect it's not their day.
I think you have to hand it to Liam Cahill and the Tipperary management. Ultimately, their decision-making was very clear. They stuck with Darragh McCarthy to start him and left him on frees and they were vindicated.
The final might have been their best of the year, which is a credit to any management, but they have also been improvers throughout the season. This was the culmination of that. Cahill brought in young players and took a chance by sticking with them and they all now look like they'll be around for years to come.
I said on Saturday that Donie Nealon and Theo English always believed it was easier to win when you already had medals in the team. Tipp had eight this time while Cork had none.
Now, Tipperary are going to have medals in the team for at least another 10 years.
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He went for trials in England with a couple of clubs when he was young and it was someone in Killarney Celtic that pulled him in as a goalkeeper. He was in a development squad with Kerry so he ended up in goals with Kerry underage all the way through. 'He's very rarely played in goal at senior level for Rathmore because he's probably wasted in goal for us. I was starting to get tempted [to try it] when I saw the new rules. I was thinking that's definitely something you could be throwing out if there was a plus one going forward, Shane would be the one you'd want. But you'd much rather have him in the full-forward line shooting.' Murphy has a few years on Ryan, which meant the young goalkeeper had an older brother from home to turn to when his Kerry call-up arrived in 2019. It was the same level of support that Murphy received from O'Mahony when he was a young pup in the Kerry camp. Double it and pass it on. 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To have two players involved in central roles is all the more prestigious. And against their 2014 opponents Donegal to bring things full circle for Murphy. Rathmore reached the quarter-finals of the Kerry senior county championship last year, losing out to eventual winners Dr Crokes who would also go on to contest the All-Ireland semi-final. McCarthy awaits the return of Ryan to boost his attacking formation, and veteran defender Murphy who was once told he was too small for football. 'Paul mightn't have had the height but he was always fierce,' says McCarthy. 'He was a tenacious half back. He never shied away from anything. Paul went into every tackle. 'It'll be great to have the two boys back in, hopefully with a couple of more All-Ireland medals.'
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Martin McHugh: All-Ireland final nerves are way worse as a dad than as a player
PART ONE: IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER Once Donegal's 1992 All-Ireland semi-final ended, the players came back home and the fans came back to Earth. Suddenly everyday concerns mixed with an even bigger worry: where would they source a ticket? For Jim and Kathleen McHugh, they had an answer to that second problem but not the first. Read more: Kerry's summer sensation: 'He's the biggest competitor I ever came across' Read more: 'I did see a job for Wexford going…', but 1994 World Cup star isn't ready to end his India adventure just yet With two sons on the Donegal team, they had options: Upper Stand or Lower? Hogan or Cusack? But going to Croke Park left another issue unsolved. Who would milk the cows on their farm? It's unlikely if any of Dublin's players were troubled by this kind of issue but if you are from a rural background, you'd understand the scale of the predicament. Ordinarily, a neighbour would help out. Except this time just about everyone in Kilcar wanted to migrate to Dublin for the day. 'The GAA has been going since 1884,' says Martin McHugh, Donegal's talisman on that All-Ireland winning side. 'And here we were, 108 years later, reaching our first All-Ireland. To say it was a big deal is an understatement. It was huge.' All the more so because no one gave them a chance. 'A funny thing happened on the day of our All-Ireland semi-final,' McHugh says. 'Our performance was so bad that the rumour was the Dublin players left before the final whistle. 'Who knows if that is true or not but it fed into the narrative that they were raging hot favourites and we were just there to make up the numbers.' The reality was different. A decade earlier, Donegal had won an Under 21 All-Ireland with seven graduates who'd help the county win just their third Ulster championship a year later. Then in 1987 another crop came along to collect Donegal's second Under 21 All-Ireland. 'In '92, we'd a good balance between young and old. In hindsight, we actually should have won more than we did,' says McHugh, 'because we were better than we thought. 'When we asked Dublin questions, they didn't have answers.' If there was any doubt in his head about how big a deal winning that first All-Ireland was, all Martin McHugh had to do was look at the expression on his parents' faces. Jim and Kathleen had met in London after emigrating in the 1950s. Work then took them to Leicester until the death of an uncle led to Jim getting the call to come home and take care of the farm. McHugh says: 'You know growing up, it was tough. But it was tough for everyone. Everybody around us had little but we all had enough, that kind of way. 'My parents wouldn't have gone to too many of our matches (for Donegal). They wouldn't have had the time because there was always stuff to get done on the farm. So getting down to Dublin for the final, that was a big deal.' So was winning. He got to see his parents an hour after the final whistle. Not many words were said because that generation didn't verbalise their feelings the way people are more at ease at doing so now. And yet they didn't need to. 'You just know,' McHugh says. 'Their faces, ah jeepers, the pride in them. You could see it meant the world to them. Two boys on the side. Daddy had won a County title with Killybegs years and years ago (in 1952). He loved his football and bringing the cup home to Kilcar was unforgettable. 'I'll never forget old people coming up to us. 'Thank you,' they'd say. 'We never thought we'd live to see this day… a Kilcar man in an All-Ireland.' They were the first McHughs to do so. But not the last. Donegal's Ryan McHugh credits Donegal's revival to Michael Murphy and Jim McGuinness' return. (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) PART TWO: … AND OF THE SON Martin McHugh was in the press box of the Hogan Stand. Martin McHugh was also in hell. His son, Mark, was on the Donegal team contesting the 2012 All-Ireland final. And it brought things back. 'As a player, I was grand in terms of the nerves,' he says. 'But as a dad, it was way worse. 'You think about it from a totally different perspective. All you really want is that the game ends without any one player making a costly mistake. 'Looking back, Mark had a very good game that day. 'But I won't pretend it isn't tough. I had to take a couple of valium that day to calm myself.' Watching your son in an All-Ireland stirred many memories. The car journeys to training; the anxiety watching them grow through challenges and setbacks; the day he was born; the day he was brought home; the day you realised he loved the game as much as you did. Then there was the fear. What if the team loses because of an error? What if Mark makes that mistake? But mixed with the fear is the pride in seeing your child representing your county in your sport's biggest day. 'You wouldn't change it for the world,' says Martin. But by 2014 there would be change. Mark may not have started that day but Ryan, his younger brother, did - continuing the McHugh lineage. PART THREE: JIMMY'S WINNING MATCHES Two names are synonymous with Donegal's All-Ireland final history: McHugh and McGuinness. The first has supplied five different members of the one family through the county's four final appearances: Martin, James (1992), Mark (2012), Ryan (2014 and 2025) and Eoin (2025). Yet even their contribution has been trumped by one man, Donegal's manager, Jim McGuinness. 'Jim always had a presence, even when he was younger. When he walked into a room, you could sense that,' says Martin McHugh of a person he has seen grow from young tyro on the 1992 panel to messianic leader. 'He is an unbelievable speaker, the sort of person you would walk through a brick wall for. 'We have so much to be thankful for because after 1992 we all thought we would only win one All-Ireland in our lifetimes. 'When he took over the team in 2011, we were nowhere. Then a year later we won an All-Ireland. He has since taken us to our third and fourth finals. When you analyse it, it is a serious achievement, Donegal making four All-Irelands in history, Jim managing us to three of those. 'When I was growing up, it was Dublin and Kerry who were always appearing in finals. Now our name is in the mix. Jeepers, that makes me proud.' Donegal manager Jim McGuinness after the 2014 final PART FOUR: DONEGAL There is no train service to Donegal. No motorway either. The airport is over an hour away from the southern edge of the county where the McHughs live. Emigration was a trauma in the 1950s, The Troubles an even greater wound twenty years later. 'We were deemed to be part of it,' McHugh reckons. 'The old story was that for every ten American tourists who landed into Dublin Airport, nine went south, and the tenth who went north only went there to visit family. 'So, we never received the same amount of tourist trade as other counties on the western seaboard. As a place, Donegal was not commercialised and we are the better for it in many respects. 'You see, we are very proud of our county. We are a likeable sort; we enjoy the craic and have produced some unbelievable people over the years' Packie Bonner, Seamus Coleman, Shay Given. "Daniel O'Donnell and Paul McGinley - whose father is a Donegalman - are two of our biggest ambassadors. 'Everybody rows in behind everybody here. Like, we don't reach too many All-Ireland finals. So it is great for football in the county that we are back in one. For me, it means an awful lot, not just because I have a son on the side but as a football man, as a Donegal man, it's just magical.' He's a grandfather now. Noah, Mark's son, is old enough to understand the value of haggling for a ticket. 'Grandad, I want to see David Clifford play.' McHugh laughed at that one and then he paused to think. His father, a county medal winner; his father in law, Padin O'Donnell, an understated but outstanding full back. "When I started playing, he (his father in law) couldn't watch the matches because of nerves. He'd go out the back of the main stand for a smoke.' Now the circle of life has turned. He is the anxious one now, watching over his boy, Ryan, hoping he joins Mark, James and himself as an All-Ireland winner. 'If you win it, it's unbelievable and if you lose, you have to be there for them, to get in behind them and support them because the few days after will be tough.' And yet when you remind him that tomorrow another McHugh will be on the starting team for Donegal in an All-Ireland final with his club name, Kilcar, in brackets next to that name in the match programme, you can sense what it means. Just like in 1992, when he saw Jim and Kathleen, there are no words. But his face tells you precisely what this means. Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
