Man of the match Padraic Maher has praised his Tipperary team-mates for never losing belief after losing to Limerick in the Munster SHC semi-final.

The critics were out in force following that loss, but Tipp have since regrouped with wins over Offaly, Galway, Dublin and Cork to reach their first All-Ireland final since 2011.

"We took that defeat (to Limerick) very badly. We were in that situation before a couple of years ago, so we knew what was ahead of us," Maher told Sky Sports.

"A long hard road - but we managed to get through it and we're back in the final which is absolutely terrific."

Maher insisted that Tipp couldn't afford to relax against Cork, despite cantering to an unexpected 10-point victory.

"We gave them a few chances to stay in it in the first half and they shot a few wides. We kept tipping away because you can't afford to give Cork a sniff of it - usually or not they punish you, they have class forwards all over the field.

"Thankfully, we managed to keep the foot down on the pedal and stay going and it's great to be back in the final.

"Hopefully we can finish the job." Tweet

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