David Costigan, Tipperary, and Ben Walsh, Cork, in oneills.com Munster U20 Hurling Championship action at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Photo by Matt Browne/Sportsfile
oneills.com Munster U20 Hurling Championship
Tipperary 1-20 Cork 2-11
Clare 2-18 Waterford 0-17
By Stephen Barry
Tipperary and Clare put their first wins on the board at the second attempt, beating Cork and Waterford away from home in the oneills.com Munster U20 Hurling Championship.
Tipp recovered from their shock defeat to Limerick to record a pillar-to-post six-point victory over Cork.
Darragh McCarthy got his eye in ahead of Sunday’s League final back at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh with seven pointed frees but Tipp weren’t reliant on any one individual with a healthy spread of nine scorers.
Cathal English pointed on 13 seconds and exactly a minute later, Paddy McCormack controlled McCarthy’s long-range free and rifled high to the net. Their head start was 1-4 to 0-0 and they were soon 10 ahead.
Cork’s best chance came in the 24th minute but Barry O’Flynn’s shot rocketed off the post and wide. At the other end, Oisín O’Donoghue made it a four-point swing with a wonderfully measured point.
Cork did finish the half with three of the final four points as Timmy Wilk cut the half-time deficit to eight; 1-10 to 0-5.
Their situation required goals, but Jim Ryan, Eoin Horgan, and Cathal O’Reilly took turns to deny Barry Walsh, Wilk, and Daniel Murnane.
The Rebels got their goals late with O’Flynn claiming a high catch to bury in the 57th minute. Tipp wiped that out with the next three points, via Sam O’Farrell, O’Donoghue, and Jamie Ormond, rendering O’Brien’s stoppage-time goal a mere consolation.
Down at Cappoquin Logistics Fraher Field, Clare backed up their draw with Cork by running out 2-18 to 0-17 victors over Waterford.
At the end of a nip-and-tuck first half, Mark Hartley’s sixth point out of nine had just edged Waterford ahead for the first time. They couldn’t maintain it to the break as referee Alan Tierney awarded Fred Hegarty a penalty and showed Fiacra Cooney a black card for a cynical foul.
Hegarty made no mistake for a 1-8 to 0-9 half-time lead. He would end with 1-7 to his name.
The Déise saw out that period down to 14 in good shape but couldn’t take their opportunities to level.
Instead, Jack O’Neill padded out Clare’s lead and in the 55th minute, James Organ blocked down a clearance and fired to the net.
