EchoLive.ie, 10 May
Limerick are raging favourites to end the Rebels' season on Saturday
night by the Lee
John Horgan: Cork hurlers must stand up to be counted on home turf
OUT OF REACH: Calum Lyons of Waterford and Seamus Harnedy of Cork watch
the sliotar fly past. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
John Horgan
BEFORE a ball was struck in anger in this season's hurling
championship, there was a growing belief that Cork were now in a
position to be one of the bigger challengers to Limerick's supremacy.
That optimism, cautious though it might have been in some quarters, was
based very much on the success story of the county's U20 hurlers in
recent years and the fact that, maybe outside of Limerick, the depth of
their squad was what would be required to make a serious impact.
The tone in the voices of those that had been talking them up is not,
however, as loud now because of the perilous position that they find
themselves in after two defeats in the Round-Robin format of the
provincial championship.
ENDGAME
In fact, most observers believe that Cork's hurling year will be at an
end tomorrow night around 8.30pm as a result of losing to Limerick.
Three losses on the trot and the now very lengthy famine without a
visit from Liam MacCarthy will have been extended to 20 years,
unthinkable back in 2005 but just 70 minutes from becoming a reality.
The Cork hurlers certainly find themselves in a very precarious
position this week, they have been put there after losing to Waterford
and Clare and, similar to any sort of a very difficult situation, you
must do everything in your power to try and dig yourselves out of it.
Last weekend we saw Tipperary do just that when they trailed Waterford
by four points going into stoppage time only to find a way in the end
to secure a draw that has reinvented their season.
Wexford, arguably, were in a darker place after their mother of all
shocking losses to Antrim a week previous but they too found a shovel
big enough to dig themselves out of the hole that they had fallen into.
Now it's Cork's turn against Limerick tomorrow night, to turn their
season around and throw the Munster championship even more open than it
is already.
Clare’s Cathal Malone in action against Cork’s Shane Barrett. Picture:
INPHO/Ken Sutton Clare’s Cathal Malone in action against Cork’s Shane
Barrett. Picture: INPHO/Ken Sutton
Limerick are already well underway in their shot at immortality,
winning five All-Irelands in a row but there's a lot of hurling to be
played yet before that would come to pass.
Many believed that their biggest challenge this year would be getting
out of Munster because of its cut-throat nature and the perception that
very little separates the five counties. Well, they are already well on
the way to being one of the three counties to emerge and another
Munster final outing surely beckons next month.
Limerick are chasing six-in-a-row in the province and have been
near-invincible since 2019.
Clare did manage to defeat them at the round-robin stage last season
but that outcome was reversed when they met again in the final.
That Clare victory showed that they can be beaten, maybe not too often
but it can be done and now Cork must do if they are to remain in the
chasing pack behind them.
Limerick's greatest strength in their phenomenal run of success has
been their ability to get the right result when their levels are not at
their highest.
They weren't a few weeks ago against Clare when they trailed by nine
points at one stage only for them to bang in a couple of very quick
goals that turned the game on its head.
Another one of their strengths is team selection, it rarely changes and
only injuries change that consistency of selection. That is not
happening in other counties.
Their intensity and aggression can be borderline at times but they have
been able to manage those traits very well, right down to the last few
inches.
That intensity and aggression has not been matched by other counties
either, Clare in the past two years have probably come the closest and
it must be remembered that Cork only lost to them by a point last
season.
But as someone said afterwards, they still lost.
INCONSISTENT
Where Cork are concerned, there was certainly a marked improvement in
their performance against Clare compared to what it was in Walsh Park
but again they came up short.
Yes, the sendings-off in both games have to be factored in but did they
cost Cork the right result?
The answer in both cases, in this column's opinion, was no. And what
has been Cork's greatest problem over the past few years, inconsistency
from one game to the next and within games has not been fully
rectified.
Being on the back foot for too long in games, allowing the opposition
to build up a head of steam and on the other side being unable to
manage a decent lead, as was the case against Clare in SuperValu Páirc
Uí Chaoimh when a seven-point advantage was all to quickly erased.
Defensively, it could be said that the full-back position remains
problematic and it could even be said that it has not been fully nailed
down since the heady days of Diarmuid O'Sullivan.
The concession of a few of Clare's goals was down to a lack of
alertness in the defence as a whole and if a similar situation was to
arise tomorrow night the repercussions could be severe.
Keeping tabs on Aaron Gillane is a must when you face Limerick.
Picture: Tom Beary/Sportsfile Keeping tabs on Aaron Gillane is a must
when you face Limerick. Picture: Tom Beary/Sportsfile
Cork desperately require a good start, chasing a game against a team
like Limerick could have you in all sorts of bother and it could
ultimately make the difference between winning and losing.
There will have to be more discipline forthcoming too in the defence,
no rash challenges which leave the referee with an easy decision to
make.
Wexford showed against Galway that 14 can come out on top against 15
but more often than not at this level of hurling, being a man down can
hurt considerably.
Cork are in a kind of ideal situation in this game insofar as very few
give them a chance. That's based on who they are up against and what
you really don't know to expect from them.
This is a massive game for Cork hurling as a whole, a game that can be
a season-changer if it all comes together.
Cork are not as far off as some would lead one to believe and a strong,
consistent performance tomorrow night should have them right in the
battle.
And if they are they must be able to close out what is likely to be a
very tight game and that is something they have not been doing.
This is an ideal opportunity for this Cork team to stand up and be
counted on home ground, prove that they can be a force to reckon with.
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