Cork and Tipperary played out an entertaining draw that whetted appetites for their Munster Championship clash in May.
Ben O’Connor watched his injury-time free bounced back off the woodwork as Cork finished strongly, with John Gardiner having tied up the sides.
Pa Bourke’s haul of four pointed frees helped Tipperary take a 0-07 to 0-06 interval lead at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Luke O’Farrell and Benny Dunne swapped second half goals and Tipp saw out the game without red-carded substitute John O’Brien.
These great Munster rivals are both effectively out of the running for league silverware following this spring stalemate.
It was a dour contest at times in the first half, but the dramatic conclusion is what most of the 7,782 attendance will remember of this Division 1 clash.
Cork were bolstered in defence and attack with Eoin Cadogan, Ronan Curran, Cathal Naughton, Ben O’Connor and Michael Cussen all returning.
Tipperary manager Declan Ryan brought in Paddy Stapleton, Shane McGrath, first-time starter Shane Bourke and reigning Hurler of the Year Lar Corbett for the trip to Leeside.
Corner back Stapleton had to be stretchered off in the opening quarter, following a collision involving Cussen, but Tipp made a promising start with points from Pa Bourke, Noel McGrath and Benny Dunne.
Cian McCarthy was a lively presence for Cork at centre-forward and struck two points in the first half, including a sideline cut from 50 metres out.
Luke O’Farrell brought the Rebels level at 0-04 apiece, but Bourke and McGrath nudged Tipp back in front for the break.
Donal Og Cusack was called on to save a close-in free from Bourke, but Cork’s attack was struggling to find its rhythm and their wides tally stood at seven as the sides headed for the dressing rooms.
One of the hosts’ best moments of the first half came when Gardiner passed laterally for his defensive colleague Curran to land a terrific point from 80 yards out.
Cork hit the ground running in the second period. Within a minute, O’Farrell had finished to the Tipp net after Cussen’s initial effort was blocked.
The Midleton clubman sent a low shot under Brendan Cummins’ and into the net. Naughton tagged on a point to give Denis Walsh’s side a 1-07 to 0-07 advantage.
Dunne soloed through and flicked the ball past the advancing Cusack for an ideal response from Tipperary. However, points from McCarthy and Pa Cronin, cancelling out a Bourke score, still had Cork leading by 1-09 to 1-08.
O’Connor and Cronin kept the Rebels in the ascendancy, before a Bourke and McGrath-inspired Tipp rattled off three points in quick succession to move ahead.
One of them came from John O’Brien, who was dismissed soon after for clashing with Cadogan and earning his second yellow card.
In a fast and furious finale, Tipp had a two-point buffer cancelled out. The levelling point came from a long range free from defender Gardiner.
But O’Connor missed an opportunity to win it for Cork when his free bounced back into play and Tipp held on for what Cork boss Walsh admitted was ‘probably a fair result.’
