By Cian O'Connell

It was a victory coated in character so unsurprisingly Liam Sheedy cut a satisfied figure at the LIT Gaelic Grounds.

Tipperary were under duress, but second half goals from Jason Forde and Jake Morris ensured a place in next weekend's All Ireland quarter-finals was booked.

In the opening period Tipperary only registered 0-9 from 21 attempts, but they were far slicker after the restart.

“At half-time, two points up and playing into the stiff breeze, it was backs to the wall," Sheedy reflected.

“I thought there was character shown by the lads in the second half – we had chances in the first half that we didn’t convert into scores and we generally take our chances.

“I think the way they reacted in the second half – obviously, the goal after half-time was a big score and Jake (Morris)’s goal finishing up just gave us a cushion because Cork came right back at us after we getting the first goal.

“They were back level and probably had the bit of momentum, so probably the most pleasing thing is the character of the team, the way they pushed on and found a gear in the second half.

“I thought their work-rate and application in that second half was good, there were some really big moments in that game where they won ball, drove forward, and got some great scores.” 

Sheedy acknowledged there is significant room for blue and gold improvement, but the Tipperary boss is thrilled to be still in the Championship.

“We won’t be frightening anyone with that performance, but at the same time, today was about just getting a result and getting back into the All-Ireland series," Sheedy stated. 

"We’re just thrilled to be back in an All-Ireland quarter-final next weekend.

“We wouldn’t be getting carried away by today. I think we need to get better, but I think we will get better. You can’t beat match practice. That’s only our second match since March. There’s no substitute for match practice.”