Munster Under 15 Football Tournament Final – Tipperary 3-12 Cork Rebel Óg 1-7

Success breeds success as Tipp turn up the heat

Tipperary 3-12 Cork Rebel Óg 1-07

By John Tarrant for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Tipperary’s greater scoring power was the key factor as they overcame Cork Rebel Óg to capture the Humphrey Kelleher Memorial Cup at Millstreet on Saturday. At key stages, the Premier county underlined their unwavering resolve that a battling Cork side failed to match. Playing a fast and fluent brand of football, Tipperary’s excellent fielding and swift pass was rewarded with excellent scores as they collected the trophy for the second occasion in three years.

A delighted team manager Tommy Sheehan said: “We had two tricky games from Kerry South and the second Cork team to reach the decider,” he said. “Additionally, Clare upset North Kerry and it shows football is in a healthy state in Munster.”

The Fethard clubman heaped praise on his charges and outlined the background towards the rapid rise in Tipperary football. “Proper structures are in place, we’re allocated time to work. Everybody has to be responsible towards working hard to achieve our goal. Its all for the bigger picture down the road. “Success breeds success, just look at the Tipp minor team, winning last season’s All Ireland and retaining their Munster crown.”

Cork could scarcely have hoped for a better start than an early Shane Kingston goal. However, Tipperary shaped up as the better side once captain Emmett Moloney netted. Looking sharp and focussed, Tipp drew a positive response from the midfield dominance of Stephen Quirke and Thomas Nolan, with centre-back Danny Owens lending able support.

Cork were thankful to custodian Ronan Donovan for two brilliant saves to ensure his side remained in contention at the break, trailing 1-6 to 1-4. Tipp resumed the second half with a forceful blast, carving out the openings in impressive fashion to yield a run of points. Indeed, Tipperary’s intensity never waned and late goals from Michael Gohery and Jack Kennedy put the icing on the cake.

Scorers for Tipperary: E Moloney, M Goherty, J Kennedy 1-0 each, A Tynan 0-4 (1f), T Nolan 0-2, S Quirke, L Fahy, D Owens, R Peters, J Bergin, M Hogan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Cork Rebel Óg: S Kingston 1-1, S Sherlock (2fs), P Dennehy 0-2 each, S Powter and D Griffin 0-1 each.

TIPPERARY: C Manton; B Johnson, E Fanning, J Sheehan; J Skeehan, D Owens, J Moriarty; S Quirke, T Nolan; J Bergin, L Fahy, E Moloney; J Moloney, A Tynan, R Peters.

Subs: M Hogan, C Mahoney, M Gohery, J Kennedy, S Meagher.

CORK REBEL ÓG: R Donovan; S Powter, E Murphy, B Hennessy; B McCarthy, E Gaffey, P Bohane; T O’Connell, P J Dennehy; S Madigan, C O’Rourke, D Creedon; S Sherlock, I Cahill, S Kingston.

Subs: S Hannigan, S McCarthy, C O’Connell, K Fitzgerald, R Denny, L Hackett, K Flynn.

Referee: J Larkin (Cork)