Joe Deane Hurling Column - Aug 13

A demoralising day for Cork hurling

Last Sunday’s defeat to Kilkenny was a very demoralising day for Cork hurling. It was very disappointing to be sitting there in Croke Park knowing that the game was over after 22-23 minutes.

For the first 15 minutes, Cork held their own. But only just about. Cork were really creaking and the defence was under serious pressure. After the first quarter the score was 0-2 each, but it was obvious that Cork had little if any chance of winning the game.

Before the game if you were told you would be level after 15 minutes, you’d have been happy. However, the way the game was going, Kilkenny were totally on top in midfield and in the half-back line.

"There was a huge amount of ball landing in on top of the Cork defence and it was only a matter of time really before the floodgates opened. They did as soon as the first goal went in."

Kilkenny then started going for goals and from the 15th minute up to half-time they were immense. There was no let up from them. Every opportunity they got, they took. Cork just couldn’t breach their rearguard, they just couldn’t get on the ball enough to score.

Cork’s problem was they just couldn’t get the ball into the danger area, into guys like Aisake Ó hAilpín and Patrick Horgan, who was obviously on form. When you look at the statistics from that first half, none of Cork’s starting forwards scored from play. That was never going to be good enough against Kilkenny. To Cork’s credit, they battled hard in the second half to put some level of respectability on the score board.

Time to start the rebuilding process on Leeside

The question I was debating with a few friends after the match is where do Cork go from here? One way of looking at it is that Kilkenny are that bit better than everyone else and Cork are in line with the chasing pack. Cork could have beaten Waterford in the Munster final and they beat Tipperary at the end of May so it could be argued that Cork, Waterford, Tipp and Galway are all at the same level and Kilkenny are way out in front.

But, based on Cork’s performance on Sunday, you can’t but be down as there is a significant amount of improvement required to compete consistently at this stage of the Championship. Right now, it is obvious that a level of rebuilding is required. They have to bring the young guys through. I think guys like William Egan, Patrick Horgan and Paudie O’Sullivan are the future of Cork hurling. Horgan, especially, was brilliant on Sunday and it was great to see him fulfilling his potential in Croke Park. He has all the attributes to establish himself as one of the best forwards in the country over the next decade. That’s not to say I would be in favour of disposing of the elder statesmen on the team.

"Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Ben O’Connor and Jerry O’Connor will naturally be mulling over their future during the winter months. They have been exceptional players for Cork with a long time now and were still Cork’s better performers in my eyes on Sunday."

It is obvious that sufficient volumes of quality players are not coming through from the underage grades at the moment. It is going to take time for the benefits of recently set up development squads to be seen and more players will have to be given the opportunity to stake their claim for an inter-county career. The Allianz GAA National League at the start of next year might be the ideal opportunity to start that process.

The area of dual players is also a debate which is raising its head in Cork. Traditionally, those with the ability to play both would choose hurling with Brian Corcoran, Sean Óg, Tom Kenny, John Gardiner and Ronan Curran cases in point. However with the ascendency of the football team in the county, young players of the calibre of Ciaran Sheehan, Colm O’Neill and Aidan Walsh (all of whom have acquitted themselves admirably in the Championship to date) have opted for the ‘big ball’. Being selfish from a hurling viewpoint, the road to recovery would be greatly aided by the availability of those three guys in particular.

There is no quick fix or easy solution

It would be very easy to say that a Cork manager needs to just go with the same strategy as former manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy did in 1996, when he brought in a slew of young players, including myself, and started from scratch. But you have to remember that at the time the players Jimmy brought in had enjoyed massive success at underage level and on top of that the U21s won a Munster title in 1996, and then went on to win the All Ireland in both subsequent years. There were a lot of successful guys to call on and they subsequently came through and formed the backbone of the Senior team for the next ten years.

At the moment, we haven’t won a Minor or U21 since 2001 and 1998 respectively so the same kind of players and the guys with that type of experience are not there at the moment.

A quick word on Kilkenny

What struck me about this Kilkenny team last Sunday was their incredible strength in depth and their physical strength when in possession. Losing Henry Shefflin and Brian Hogan didn’t upset their team one bit. They have no obvious weak link and have players on the bench that every other county would cry out for.

"Kilkenny are, without doubt, the best team that I have ever seen."

They seem to have improved immensely from last year. I think last season they got a bit of a shock when Tipperary put it up to them in the All-Ireland final and since then they obviously worked hard to improve. At the moment it is very hard to see not alone anyone beating them, but anyone coming within eight or nine points of them. They are that good.

Get well soon Henry…

It is so disappointing for Henry to miss the All-Ireland final in these circumstances, because of injury. He has been Kilkenny’s best performer since he came on the scene in the late 1990s. His scoring record is phenomenal but he also has the temperament to perform on the big days. To miss out on the chance to go for the historic five-in-a-row is very disappointing for him personally and for the greater hurling public who have enjoyed watching him over the last number of years. Knowing Henry, I have no doubt he will be part of Kilkenny teams over the coming years even though he is in his 30s. He keeps himself in great shape and is real role model for every young child in the country.

Tipp could make the final again this year

Despite the fact that Waterford are Munster champions, I have a feeling it will be another Tipperary-Kilkenny final this year.

I have been very impressed with the way Waterford have set up their team this year. Davy Fitzgerald has learnt a lot from previous defeats and they are certainly more defensive this year than they ever have been. He has developed more of a team ethic than ever before and they have proven that they will fight for every ball and they can grind out results. Tipp, on the other hand, haven’t been as sound in defence. They have conceded relatively soft goals against Galway and Cork, and if they do that again on Sunday they will find it difficult to win.

I think where Waterford will struggle is up front. They are not as strong there as they used to be and are over dependent on John Mullane and Eoin Kelly for scores. I think up front Tipp have a more balanced forward line. The introduction of Patrick Maher has given them a bit more of the variety that is required and has introduced a bit of work ethic that is needed when not in possession.

Overall, I believe Tipp have better options up front. I’d expect it will be a very close and exciting game. I think the hurling fraternity needs a good game on Sunday and I have a feeling we will be well rewarded with Tipp to come out on top by three to four points and set up a rematch of last year’s final.