Eirgrid All-Ireland U20 Football Championship semi-final: Cork 2-17 Tyrone 1-18
From Andy Watters at O’Connor Park, Tullamore
THERE were tears in Tyrone eyes when the on-pitch huddle broke up.
The mentors did their best: ‘Well done lads, yous should be proud off yourselves…’ So they should but it didn’t ease their disappointment.
Seven points ahead and playing with fluent confidence, Tyrone had looked destined for the All-Ireland final early in the second half in Tullamore yesterday.
But the Red Hand youngsters learned a valuable lesson: It ain’t over ’til it’s over, and Cork’s impressive bench strength, coupled with the sending off of Tyrone midfielder Joe Oguz 15 minutes into the second half saw them finish a rollercoaster semi-final on top and progress to next Saturday’s finale against Dublin.
“The game was in our hands up until the sending off,” said Tyrone manager Paul Devlin.
“It was a harsh one but these things happen. He was trying to push on to get the free-kick taken but it’s over and done with now, it’s past and we have to move on.
“Cork were able to get their hands on the ball and they pressed up on us with the spare man and they really went to town.”
Cork manager Keith Ricken had expected his side to fight back after they’d fallen behind and they did not let him down.
“I was disappointed in our performance in lots of ways in terms of football but I was never going to be surprised that the lads would show character,” he said.
“They have been showing it all year; they are a good bunch, they are an honest bunch and they give it everything. If they’d won by five points or lost by five points or whatever, we were always going to show character.”
There was lots of character on both sides as the game swung one way, then the other.
Cork had the lead after 15 seconds, but Tyrone were level within a minute. The Rebels then went 1-3 to 0-2 ahead after Mark Cronin’s goal but Tyrone, despite losing centre half-back Antoin Fox to an ankle injury and later seeing his replacement Damien McGuigan black-carded, hit back when Darragh Canavan picked his spot past Josh O’Keefe.
With half-back Conall Quinn and the tireless Mark McKearney outstanding, the Red Hands scored seven points on-the-trot to take a 1-10 to 1-6 lead at the interval.
Hopes were high in the Ulster camp then and they climbed higher when two points from Tiarnan Quinn (his fifth and sixth of the game) within a minute of the restart and a Sean Og McAleer free left the Red Hands coasting at 1-13 to 1-7.
But the pendulum swung Cork’s way and they rattled off four points (three of them from Cathal O’Mahony) to reduce the deficit to four.
James Garrity and substitute Ethan Jordan replied for Tyrone and Oguz rose to grab a kick-out from precosiously talented goalkeeper Lorcan Quinn and turned to start another attack.
He was pulled down by his marker and impeded as he went to take the free-kick. Irritated, he swung an arm back, referee Sean Laverty adjudged it to be a strike and flashed a second yellow at the Errigal Ciaran clubman who trudged off towards his bench.
Cork saw their opportunity and, in a flash, they were back on level terms. Eanna O’Hanlon’s point left four in it and another substitute, Jack Murphy, broke through on the left and picked his spot past Quinn. O’Mahony registered his sixth of the game and it was all-square at 2-12 to 1-15 but there was still fight in Tyrone.
Sub Michael Conroy and a McAleer free saw edged them two points clear but Cork were dominating the midfield battle now and scything through the beleagured Tyrone rearguard. Mark Hodnett, with his first touch, O’Hanlon, O’Mahony and another sub, Fionn Herlihy, all tapped over scores and, although Conroy pulled one back from a free, Herlihy’s second point left Cork 2-17 to 1-18 ahead with the game in injury-time.
There was time for one more Tyrone attack and they went in search of a goal. Conor Quinn broke forward and found Canavan who somehow picked his way through the Cork defence. The crowd held its breath as he bore down on goal but the ball slipped from his grasp at the crucial second and the chance was lost. The game was too but Canavan and several of his team-mates will have better days to come.
Tyrone: L Quinn; A Clarke, C Quinn, P Mullan; C Grimes, A Fox, C Devlin; R Gormley, J Oguz; P Og McCartan (0-1), D Canavan (1-1), M McKearney; J Garrity (0-2), S Og McAleer (0-5, 0-2 frees), DT Quinn (0-6, 0-2 frees)
Subs: C Goodwin for Fox (9), E Jordan for McCartan (42), M Conroy (0-2, 0-1 free) for Quinn (48), M Murnaghan for Devlin (58)
Black card: Goodwin replaced by D McGuigan (29)
Yellow cards: Garrity (14), McAleer (38), Oguz (36&46), Conroy (55)
Red card: Oguz (46)
Cork: J O’Keefe; M Mahoney, M Shanley, P Ring; G O’Donovan, S Meehan, P O’Driscoll; B Hartnett (0-1), D O’Connell; C Barrett (0-2), B Murphy, C O’Callaghan; M Cronin (1-2, 0-1 free), C O’Mahony (0-8, 0-4 frees), D Gore
Subs: E O’Hanlon (0-1) for O’Connell (28), J McCarthy for O’Donovan (34), J Murphy (1-0) for O’Callaghan (36), F Herlihy (0-2) for B Murphy (42), M Hodnett (0-1) for Mahoney (55)
Black cards: S Meehan replaced by S Hickey (58), J McCarthy (64) not replaced
Yellow card: P O’Driscoll (33)
Referee: S Laverty (Antrim)
