Hughes looking forward to Cork challenge

As Down forward Danny Hughes points out, statistically Cork are the best team in the country not to have won an All-Ireland title over the last 10 years.

Given Kerry and Tyrone’s near monopoly of the Sam Maguire Cup in that period, the Rebels are in rarefied company at the top of the football hierarchy. However, the questions still persist. Why have Cork continually failed to make the ultimate breakthrough?

Hughes, arguably Down’s most consistent performer this year, reckons, following the semi-final win over Dublin, Cork no longer have a case to answer.

“They answered all the questions that were asked of them by Dublin,” says the talented wing-forward.

“I would have rated Dublin very highly and Pat Gilroy had them really well organised. Cork, in fairness to them, overcame it. You can’t ask for more than that in a semi-final.

“They were seven points down at one stage and they came back and beat them by one so that says everything about them. They are never beaten. Cork are a massive test for us. Massive.”

Hughes concedes that Cork’s performances haven’t reached the heights of previous years this summer. The hope on Leeside is that Conor Counihan’s side have that big performance in them and are waiting to unload it on the Mourne men on Sunday week. Hughes reckons the Rebels have done enough to make the final and that’s all that matters.

“Most people would say that there is a big game in Cork and they will take it out on an All-Ireland final day,” he adds. “I hope that is not the case.

“Cork have done enough to get through games and that is all they need.

“Kerry, a couple of years ago, did enough to get over the line and then they produced a massive performance in the final and won it.”

And yet, despite all the misgivings about Cork’s form, they remain favourites to land the All-Ireland title for the first time since 1990. They have been here before, contesting six consecutive All-Ireland semi-finals, while Down football has been in a permanent state of recession since the glory days of the early 1990s.

“Cork are overwhelming favourites for the game I would think. They’ve been there three or four years. We don’t know what to expect, we have never been in this situation. I’m sure Cork will have their homework done,” Hughes adds.

“I know one thing: Kildare (in the All-Ireland semi-final) was a massive test for us with the way Kieran McGeeney had them set up.

“But this Cork team, I was reading in the paper that they are statistically the best team over the last 10 years that hasn’t won an All-Ireland so obviously that says it all.”

Hughes has never played against Cork in a competitive match, but he experienced their physicality and their sheer size in a challenge game in 2008. The Rebels lived up to their reputation in the flesh.

“They were definitely very big and strong and very physical,” he continues. “They have guys like that all over the field. (Graham) Canty and (Michael) Shields as well. (Nicholas) Murphy too.

“They are massive all over the field. Because we haven’t played them we just see footage of them, but we don’t really know what to expect. I guess we’ll know in two weeks’ time.”

Down, by contrast, are a very much a physical reflection of their diminutive manager, James McCartan. Hughes himself, Paul McComiskey and Mark Poland will look like miniatures amongst Cork’s pine trees on Sunday week.

Down have always been known for their stylish attacking play and the class of 2010 won’t disappoint, although McCartan has infused his side with a defensive nous that has been lacking in teams wearing red and clack in the past. However, Hughes does not believe size is the be all and end all in the modern game.

“You can always carry good footballers. Regardless of size or anything else, you can always carry good footballers.

“Over the years we haven’t been getting to that stage, the latter stages, but Tyrone have proved that a corner back can pop up and take a score as well as a corner forward so I think there is room still in Gaelic football. You can have all the big men you want but there is still room for a bit of class for a bit of finesse and a bit of finishing.

“That’s why people go to games, they want to see a bit of class on the field. Over the years we seem to have been getting away from that.”

One player who has injected more than a dollop of class into the Down team this year has been prodigal son and playmaker Martin Clarke, whose return from Australia has coincided with the county’s return to the big time.

“I think anyone that plays football or soccer, or any sport, enjoys playing with the marquee players and Martin is certainly one of them," he says.

“It’s good to have him home and it is definitely a massive boost for us and it is probably no coincidence that we are in an All-Ireland final now when Martin’s part of the team.”

Photo: Ulster Bank stars Colm O’Neill, Cork, and Danny Hughes, Down, pictured with 2 of the 4 lucky GAA fans who have been selected by Ulster Bank, official sponsor of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship, to perform a guard of honour on the pitch in front of a full-house in Croke Park f the eagerly awaited clash between Down and Cork, Cian Healy, left, age 10, Lisgoold, Cork, and Robert Poland, age 8, Ballynahinch, Co. Down, in George’s Quay, Dublin, as the colleagues prepare to meet in the upcoming GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final in Croke Park.