Cork 3-16 Waterford 3-12
Cork toppled Munster champions Waterford in a thrilling senior hurling final that yielded six goals, three of which were scored by Waterford's John Mullane, at Semple Stadium, Thurles today.
The Waterford corner forward will surely wonder what more he needed to do to help the county retain their provincial title as this was a Waterford performance of high merit. But Cork, so sluggish in the opening half, rallied brilliantly in the second period and held all the answers despite Mullane's strikes.
Cork started against the wind but registered the first significant score when Setanta Ó hAilpín banged home a superb goal on six minutes following good play on the flanks from Niall McCarthy. After slipping through two challenges, McCarthy fired a speculative long ball into the heart of the Waterford defence. Ó hAilpín out raced goalkeeper Stephen Brenner and Declan Prendergast before collecting on a tight angle to shoot home.
But Cork failed to capitalise on that score and allowed Waterford dominate the opening 20 minutes. The reigning Munster champions soon settled and found the net themselves when Mullane picked up a loose ball following Pat Mulcahy's fumble. He made no mistake from close range.
Waterford, dominating in all areas of the pitch, no more so than at midfield, kicked on and stretched their advantage to seven points after 24 minutes as Dave Bennett and Paul Flynn found their range. But Cork, while playing well below their best, kept in touch with scores late in the half. The Leesiders trailed by five at the break on a scoreline of 1-9 to 1-4.
Cork regrouped after the break and played with a renewed self belief. John Gardiner had his eye in from the start and his free taking was exemplary - he pointed Cork ahead nine minutes into the second half. But Mullane, a thorn in the Cork side from the outset, cancelled those efforts out after latching onto Flynn's short free for his second goal.
In a tit-for-tat, topsy-turvy game, though, Cork replied in similar fashion just four minutes later; captain Alan Browne striking the sliotar low past Brenner after Ben O'Connor flashed a ball across the Waterford goalmouth. Unbelievably, however, Mullane dug out another goal three minutes later. He plucked the ball from a pile of grounded Cork defenders and Waterford attackers who had clashed seconds earlier and planted it high into the far top corner of the Cork net.
Cork had just 13 minutes to rescue the game and they did just that, in some style too. First, Joe Deane, the sprightly full forward, kept his eye fixed on a high ball dropping close to the Waterford goal. He outfielded corner back Brian Greene to complete the goal rush and reinstate Cork's lead.
From that point on, Donal O'Grady's men never looked back and O'Connor and Gardiner kept the scoreboard ticking over while Waterford had Flynn sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence.
- Earlier, Fermanagh dumped neighbours Cavan out of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifiers with 0-16 to 1-10 win in Enniskillen.
Fermanagh held the narrowest of advantages at half time after a Jason Reilly goal had kept Cavan in touch.
But Ronan Gallagher amassed a personal haul of six points for Fermanagh as they capitalised on poor Cavan defending in the second half to put the result beyond doubt.