Cork’s first Allianz Hurling League Division 1A triumph since 1998 was tempered for Pat Ryan by what he felt was an unacceptable second half display.

The Rebels looked every inch the All-Ireland favourites they are when they outscored Tipp by 3-8 to 0-3 in a devastating second quarter in front of 43,243 spectators at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, but didn’t hit the same heights after the restart.

“I’m delighted to get a bit of a trophy, obviously after losing the All-Ireland final last year. The lads have knuckled down well and the league has been good to us. We found a couple of players and we’re in a very good place from an injury perspective as well,” the winning manager said.

“That was a great performance I suppose in the first half. But I very disappointed with the second half showing. Our energy wasn’t good enough, our standards weren’t good enough and that’s probably the worst half of hurling that the lads have delivered since my time here."

Look ahead to the Munster SHC, which begins for Cork with a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final against Clare, Ryan added: “In fairness, it’ll definitely keep the hype down anyway and we’ll be going up to Ennis very much going into the lion’s den with the All-Ireland champions and that’s what we need to focus on for the next two weeks now.”

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