Allianz Hurling League Division 1 – Dublin 1-15 Cork 1-14

Allianz League Division 1: Dublin book League final place

Cork 1-14 Dublin 1-15

From the GAA.ie web site

Dublin have qualified to play Kilkenny in the final of Division One of the Allianz Hurling League after a dramatic 1-15 to 1-14 defeat of Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday. It will be Dublin’s first appearance in a League final since 1946, as their win, combined with Galway’s defeat in Waterford, saw them leap-frog the Tribesmen and Tipperary to finish in second place in the table. “For Dublin it is such a long time since we got there it’s great, it’s fantastic. I’m thrilled for the boys,” said a delighted Dublin manager Anthony Daly. “We made heavy weather of it and Cork missed a fair bit in the first half too. It was a funny old game, (there was) a bit of tension in it.”

Dublin trailed by 0-9 to 0-8 at the break, but Daly’s charges showed remarkable character in the second half, at one stage scoring four points without reply after Cork had made a burst for the line with a Luke O’Farrell goal. Paul Ryan, Dublin’s hero in the draw with Kilkenny in Round 6 at Croke Park, hit 1-8 (0-7f) of his side’s total, his second half goal coming just after half-time before O’Farrell raised a green flag for the Rebels. O’Farrell’s goal put Cork two points clear, but Dublin hit back with four successive points, including a monster free from Ryan, to lead by two. Although Ben O’Connor reduced the gap to the minimum with two minutes left, Dublin held on for a dramatic win.

Ryan was the star of the show, but he was not left to shoulder the scoring burden on his own and was ably assisted by David O’Callaghan, who scored six points from play. John Gardiner opened the scoring for the Rebels at sunny Pairc Uí Chaoimh with a trademark long-range score from play. Indeed, the Rebels moved into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead after nine minutes, with wing-back Gardiner adding his second score of the game from a ’65. Dublin recovered well from their slow start to register four successive points, with Ryan and O’Callaghan dominating the scoring for Anthony Daly’s side.

Cork had a more even spread of scorers, as Niall McCarthy (0-2), O’Farrell and Kieran ‘Fraggy’ Murphy all chipped in with points, while Gardiner added his third of the half. The Dubs’, however, were completely reliant on Ryan and O’Callaghan, who split their first half total of 0-8 evenly between them, with Ryan successful from three placed balls. It was to be another disappointing afternoon for the Rebels, who finish third-from-bottom in the table, just above Wexford and relegated Offaly.