But you wouldn’t have sensed it from Saturday’s ruthless opening half that delivered two goals and 11 points and not a single wide. And it all happened after Eimear McGrath, from a free, and Clodagh McIntyre, from play, had shot Tipperary into an early lead! The 2023 player of the year neatly side-stepped a couple of tackles to find the far corner of the net. The Tipp defence upped the ante on the re-start and held Cork scoreless for 13 minutes. Eventually McCartan won a free that O’Connor converted and then pointed herself and the Cork drought was over.