Cork are through to the All-Ireland hurling final after they burst Dublin’s bubble at Croke Park – and manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy says there is more to come from his Rebels.
Limerick or Clare await Cork in the final next month after a 1-24 to 1-19 win over a Dublin side harshly reduced to 14 men after Ryan O’Dwyer received two yellow cards.
Barry-Murphy told Irish national broadcaster RTE: “It was a very enjoyable game, score for score all the way through.
“I’m delighted with the win, coming against a very good team like Dublin. I felt we didn’t the play as well as we could today and maybe it’s not a bad thing going into the final.
“Sometimes self criticism is good in the hope that you will improve for the next day. In saying all that, I’m thrilled for the players after getting past a team of Dublin’s calibre.
“The character they showed was first class, particularly after conceding the goal.
“Goals can rock teams and yet we managed to go in a point ahead at half-time. The goal we got came at a vital stage and managed to give us a bit of breathing space at the end.”
Asked about the O’Dwyer red card, Barry-Murphy added: “It happened to us in the Munster final and Kilkenny suffered something similar the last day.
“You have the extra man and if you use it properly and intelligently players can use the ball to punish the opposition.
“Conor O’Sullivan at the back was very good at reading the game and distributing the ball to good effect. Obviously there’s no point in ballooning the ball anywhere.
“I thought we hurled well when we did have the extra man; we got in front and Patrick Horgan’s goal at the end turned out to be the crucial score.”
The Cork boss has no preference as to who his team play now in the final.
He said: “I’ll have a look at Clare v Limerick next Sunday, but I have no doubt it will be a fantastic occasion. We’re just happy to be there.”
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