Cork Secures All-Ireland SHC Final Spot with Dominant Win Over Dublin

All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Cork 7-26 Dublin 2-21

If semi-finals are only for winning, Cork didn’t get the memo. In a blaze of goals in front of a Croke Park crowd they dominated as much as the game, they return to All-Ireland final on July 20 and are all but certain to be favourites to end the county’s 20-year wait for the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Alan Connolly completed a hat-trick and Brian Hayes and Tim O’Mahony were on one in an All-Ireland semi-final that seemed dead as a contest at half-time when Cork led by 10 points. That had jumped to 15 when Darragh Fitzgibbon nailed his third point of the evening in the 43rd minute. Their interval lead (4-13 to 1-12) had skipped ahead as O’Mahony got in on the goal-scoring act a minute earlier having been put through by Patrick Horgan. Cian O’Sullivan’s second goal, a deflected shot following a quick Seán Currie free, brought the Cork advantage down to 11. Currie (free) and John Hetherton added further points and Dublin had some momentum. All that was lost when O’Mahony stole in for his second goal in nine minutes. The move appeared to be over when Alan Connolly couldn’t control O’Mahony’s pass but O’Mahony had the diligence to continue his run to execute the goal one-handed. It was a procession thereafter and Connolly made it a personal trio in the 65th minute after a driving run by Robbie O’Flynn. The 11th hour introduction of Hetherton to the Dublin team in place of Darragh Power would hardly have shocked Pat Ryan. Nevertheless, the prospect of the St Vincent’s man causing Eoin Downey bother at the edge of the square as Peter Duggan did in the opening round of Munster had to be a consideration. Yet it never materialised. Instead, it was Paddy Smyth who was being terrorised at the other end of a field. Beside him, Andrew Dunphy was being replaced by the 15th minute having picked up a yellow card and Conor McHugh, one of the heroes against Limerick, was called ashore six minutes later, such was the trouble he was having on knitting together the Dublin defence at centre-back. It wasn’t that his marker, Shane Barrett, was really effective but he was getting on an incredible amount of ball. As for the tracking of O’Mahony in the first half, it was next to non-existent and Dublin look clueless at times when Patrick Collins went long. The first goal arrived in the seventh minute when Hayes finished off a move involving Diarmuid Healy and Declan Dalton. Although Fergal Whitely all but cancelled it out with a couple of points, Cork shot back with three points and then came Connolly’s opening goal in the 12th minute courtesy of a Hayes pass. Connolly was wheeling away in celebration two minutes later when he showed his agility to bat the ball to the net after O’Mahony had done most of the spadework in cutting in towards goal. Cian O’Sullivan fired home one for Dublin in the 15th minute to turn the margin upside down from nine to six points only for Cork, who were guilty of some sloppy play, to string together the next three points. Whitley spanked the bar in the 20th minute and even if direct play wasn’t working for them Dublin did put together some attacks and were within five points by the 29th minute. The margin was six when Cork added 1-3 in seven minutes. The goal in the 32nd minute was a combined full-forward line effort. Seán O’Donoghue drove the ball towards Horgan who flicked the ball to Connolly and he teed up Hayes for the finish. Fitzgibbon looped over a point afterwards, which was followed by Seán Currie’s fourth free, but the deed was effectively done. Cork were into a third All-Ireland final in five years.

Scorers for Cork: A. Connolly (3-2); P. Horgan (0-8, 6 frees); B. Hayes, T. O’Mahony (2-1 each); D. Dalton (0-5, 2 frees); D. Fitzgibbon (0-3); S. Kingston (0-2); D. Healy, C. Joyce, C. Lehane, J. O’Connor (0-1 each).

Scorers for Dublin: C. O’Sullivan (2-5); S. Currie (0-7, frees); F. Whitely, C. Burke (0-3 each); B. Hayes, J. Hetherton, D. Burke (0-1 each).

CORK: P. Collins: N. O’Leary, E. Downey, S. O’Donoghue; C. Joyce, R. Downey (c), M. Coleman; T. O’Mahony; D. Dalton, S. Barrett, D. Healy; P. Horgan, B. Hayes, A. Connolly.

Subs: R. O’Flynn for D. Healy (50); S. Kingston for P. Horgan (55); T. O’Connell for R. Downey (59); C. Lehane for S. Barrett (63); J. O’Connor for D. Dalton (67);

DUBLIN: S. Brennan; J. Bellew, P. Smyth, A. Dunphy; P. Doyle, C. McHugh, C. Donohoe; C. Burke, B. Hayes; R. McBride, F. Whitely, R. Hayes; C. O’Sullivan, J. Hetherton, S. Currie.

Subs: D. Lucey for A. Dunphy (15); D. Power for C. McHugh (21); D. Burke for R. McBride (h-t); D. Ó Dúlaing for R. Hayes (46); C. Ó Riain for C. O’Sullivan (67).

Referee: J. Murphy (Limerick).