Incidentally Seán Óg, and Codd and Fitzhenry, used hurleys with Paddy Power sponsored logos for the occasion, which caused controversy the following day. While Kenny wasn't as dominant as he'd been when getting Man of the Match in the Munster final against Waterford, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín was all action and nearly got his first championship point (it came in the 2005 quarter-final win over the Déise at Croker). Ben O'Connor couldn't get on the ball for much of the first half, unsurprisingly Timmy McCarthy worked himself into the ground and was injured in the lead up to Deane raising a green flag. With Mitch Jordan and Rory Jacob on song, Diarmuid O'Sullivan had to switch into full-back, Pat Mulcahy out to the corner. Backboned by a share of their heroes from 1996 like Damien Fitzhenry, Liam Dunne and Larry O'Gorman, with Ger Canning jokingly dubbing them "Zimmer-frame United" on the commentary, they hurled so economically for long spells.Ĭork were pretty lively in the opening 10 minutes but wasted the bulk of that possession. Picture: Eddie O'HareĪ Paul Codd green flag had given Wexford the first-half initiative and early in the second half they were 1-14 to 0-11 up. Niall McCarthy and the crowd celebrate a key point. John Gardiner arrowed over four great points but also had four wides, preempting his struggles in the All-Ireland against Kilkenny a month later.ĭeane had a late free off target and Niall McCarthy had three second-half wides, though he was fouled for two converted frees and also put Cork two ahead entering the fourth quarter, fist-pumping emphatically to a Rebel roar. That was a theme of the contest, which saw Cork hit seven wides to wide in the first half and 14 to six overall. In what was just his third start, Setanta was already a fan favourite and you can hear the buzz of excitement from the crowd when he collects the sliotar in the first minute and zips into space only to shoot wide. Joe Deane and Setanta Ó hAilpín benefited from this approach because, despite the towering Darragh Ryan outmuscling Deane a few times, they hit 1-3 from play apiece. And the long-range free-taking isn't as clinical, which leads to more dropping ball around the square. There is still quite a bit of ground-hurling, especially from Wexford. Cork hadn't yet adopted the Newtown-style running game and Jerry O'Connor was a late sub, before his development into a three-time All-Star midfielder. Watching back, the hurling isn't as structured. A warning though, it'll make you wonder what might have been if Aussie Rules didn't lure away Setanta. With the lockdown, you'll have plenty of time to check it out. Now available from the GAA on YouTube, the encounter holds up as one of the great All-Ireland semi-finals. Yet Donal O'Grady's side were in trouble for long spells, which meant few quibbled with the result after a thriller with 10 clear-cut goal chances. Veteran midfielder Rory McCarthy's last-gasp goal stole a draw for the underdogs on that scorching day at a heaving Croke Park.
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