Fourteen-man Cork dethroned champions Tyrone to reach the All-Ireland football final with a performance laced with passion and commitment at Croke Park.
In front of a crowd of 53,492, Conor Counihan’s men displayed immense courage as they snuffed out all the major threats posed by the Red Hands.
Despite being forced to play for more than half the game a man short, following the dismissal of midfielder Alan O’Connor, the Munster men conceded just four points in the second half.
And they deservedly scored a famous victory that sets up the possibility of a third championship clash with provincial rivals Kerry in the decider.
Tyrone suffered a pre-match blow when Sean Cavanagh cried off due to illness, and they were put on the back foot right from the outset by a confident Rebel outfit.
After Ryan McMenamin and Stephen O’Neill had hit early Tyrone points, Cork cut loose, hitting 1-05 in the space of eight minutes.
It was Daniel Goulding who blasted in the seventh minute goal that set them on their way.
The Eire Og man connected crisply with a first-time shot after Paul Kerrigan’s shot had been blocked down by Justin McMahon.
Cork tagged on scores through Patrick Kelly, Donncha O’Connor, Colm O’Neill and Pearse O’Neill to lead by 1-06 to 0-02 after 15 minutes.
Kevin Hughes charged through the middle to launch a Red Hand revival with a point, and a couple of Owen Mulligan frees and a Stephen O’Neill effort narrowed the gap further.
Cork suffered a blow in the 29th minute when midfielder Alan O’Connor received a second yellow card for a challenge on Mulligan, and O’Neill punished from the resultant free to narrow the gap to five.
The Munster champions led by 1-09 to 0-07 at half-time, and displayed immense work-rate and intensity in the early stages of the second half, forcing a series of turnovers and succeeding in stifling Tyrone’s support game.
Two O’Connor points and a second from Colm O’Neill kept their noses in front, and even the introduction of Sean Cavanagh and Brian McGuigan did little to revive Tyrone’s faltering challenge.
Philip Jordan and Martin Penrose did pull back points, but Cork’s ferocious defending never relented.
Unforced errors allowed Colm O’Neill and Fintan Goold in for points, and Tyrone were on the canvass long before the end.
Tyrone: P McConnell, PJ Quinn, C Gormley, R McMenamin (0-01), D Harte (0-01), Justin McMahon, P Jordan (0-01), K Hughes (0-01), E McGinley, B Dooher, T McGuigan, Joe McMahon, M Penrose (0-01), S O’Neill (0-04, 1f), O Mulligan (0-02, 2f).
Subs: B McGuigan for T McGuigan (h-t), S Cavanagh for McGinley (46), Sean O’Neill for Gormley (54), A Cassidy for Dooher (54), C McCullagh for Joe McMahon
Cork: A Quirke, R Carey, M Shields, A Lynch, N O’Leary, G Canty, J Miskella, A O’Connor (0-01), N Murphy, P Kerrigan (0-01), P O’Neill (0-01), P Kelly (0-02), D Goulding (1-01), C O’Neill (0-02), D O’Connor (0-04, 3f).
Subs: F Goold (0-1) for Goulding (58), J Hayes for Kerrigan (60), M Cussen for O’Connor (66), K O’Connor for O’Leary (69), Cadogan for Miskella (71)
Referee: J Bannon (Longford).
