Analysis: The excitement of the second half probably atoned for the first 35 minutes or so of what seemed from early on a one-sided Munster senior hurling final. Tipperary rescued their pride and also suggested in that second period that they will be dangerous opponents in the qualifiers.

It was a very entertaining second half that could have become even better had Tommy Dunne managed to flick that ball to the net for what would have been his and his team's second goal. Cork full back Diarmuid O'Sullivan made a very intelligent snap decision that saved his side. Aware that he wouldn't get to the ball first he relied on being able to hook Dunne and that was just enough to put the Tipperary man off.

In the past O'Sullivan has relied on his power and physique, but could be vulnerable if you ran at him. He did very well on that occasion. I honestly believe that had Tommy Dunne scored a second goal then Tipperary would have won.

There's no doubt that Cork were complacent after the interval: 11 points up in a Munster final is not a regular occurrence. The problem was that once Tipperary mounted a revival of sorts Cork struggled to regain any rhythm. When you do switch off you just can't flick it back on at will.

Cork manager John Allen will be pleased enough to have won and aware that there is definitely more in the tank. He won't dwell on the first half too much but rather concentrate on addressing the problems that surfaced when Tipperary started to mount their revival. I found it hard to believe that he didn't act to counter Paul Kelly's dominance at midfield in the second half until about eight minutes from the end. At that stage the Tipperary midfielder had scored four points from play and was a huge galvanising influence to his team-mates.

In contrast the changes that Tipperary's Ken Hogan made from the sideline had a major influence; he was, though, coming from a low base in terms of the first-half performance. I think David Kennedy has been struggling over the past couple of seasons and he was taken off in the Clare match. When Eamonn Corcoran moved to centre half back, he completely shut down the supply to the Cork forwards.

The introduction of physique into the Tipperary half-forward line in the shape of Redser O'Grady and John Carroll in particular made a huge difference to the pattern of the game. In the first half Seán Óg Ó hÁilpín, John Gardiner and Ronan Curran were brilliant, with Curran in particular in fabulous form. In the second half Curran stood off a little and was made to pay.

Hurling is not like football where a team can choose to defend 45 yards from their own goal, content in the knowledge that there won't be too many points kicked. In hurling if you give a player three or four yards up to 60 or 70 yards from goal he can pop over points.

Ó hÁilpín made one or two vital interventions for what had become an overworked unit. Tipperary just couldn't break that four-point margin; it's two scores and psychologically it's still a decent buffer. Hogan might have one or two reasonable complaints about frees that went against his team and allowed Cork to keep ticking over.

Whether John Carroll or O'Grady would last the 70 minutes is questionable, but there's no doubt that both made their presence felt. Many of the things that went well for Cork in the first half disappeared when the team came under pressure and that will be a concern for Allen. There doesn't appear to be a plan B when the short-passing game goes on the blink.

Ben O'Connor was not as sharp yesterday, hitting a couple of poor wides by his standards, and that was applicable to a few of the Cork forwards.

Not so Joe Dean,who looked back to last season's form, or Neil Ronan, who came in for Brian Corcoran and scored a few nice points. Cork's performance in the first half was similar to their first 20 minutes against Waterford, where they looked nearly unplayable.

There is definitely more left in the tank. They have won a Munster title and are on course to repeat their feat of back-to-back All-Ireland titles; their supporters can reasonably point out that there is no point in peaking in late June. They are also aware that the second-half performance would not suffice against a team like Kilkenny.

Tipperary will reflect on what might have been in terms of the goal they might have scored and the one they should not have. I thought Brendan Cummins should have tracked the flight of the ball and made sure he was able to pick up the break. In the end there were small margins that sorted winners from losers.