Preview: Cork v Donegal, Croke Park, 2pm
Preview: Cork v Donegal, Croke Park, 2pm
Sunday, April 12
Allianz Football League Division I Semi-Final
CORK v DONEGAL, CROKE PARK, 2PM (Live on TG4 and GAAGO)
League specialists Cork will be looking to reach their fourth Division I final in the space of six seasons when they face Donegal in the semi-final at Croke Park on Sunday.
The Rebels, champions in 2010, 2011 and 2012 under Conor Counihan, and semi-finalists last year under Brian Cuthbert, have been the most consistent top tier performers of recent years along with Dublin, and they have enjoyed another fine spring campaign in 2015, topping a competitive Division I table to reach the knock-out stages.
Cork had already qualified before their defeat to Derry on Easter Sunday, so unsurprisingly, Cuthbert has named a vastly changed team to face Donegal this Sunday, with eight changes in total.
Jamie O'Sullivan and James Loughrey come into the defence, with Eoin Cadogan returning to his new surrounds at midfield alongside Fintan Goold. Colm O'Driscoll is one of three O'Driscoll brothers in the starting XV alongside Kevin and Brian, while Colm O'Neill, Mark Collins and Brian Hurley all return to the full-forward line.
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Cuthbert is without Ian Maguire, Ruairi Deane, Kevin Crowley and Patrick Kelly through injury - Kelly suffered a torn calf in his first start of the season against Derry - but Brian O'Driscoll will start at centre-half-back despite playing the full game for the Cork U21s in their Munster final defeat to Tipperary on Thursday night.
Whereas Cork's position in the semi-finals was secure ahead of the final weekend of fixtures, Rory Gallagher's Donegal side could technically still have been relegated on the final day, but their battling draw against Mayo in Castlebar last Sunday saw them sneak into the Division I semi-finals - the first time the county have achieved that since the league format was re-jigged some years ago.
That draw against Mayo completed a satisfactory debut campaign for Gallagher, who succeeded Jim McGuinness at the end of last season. Only scoring difference got Donegal into the last four ahead of Mayo and Kerry, but the Ulster champions showed enough in their wins over Derry, Tyrone and Cork to suggest they are capable of mounting a challenge for the league title, which they won for the only time in their history in 2007 under Brian McIver.
The 0-12 to 1-8 win over Cork on March 1 in Ballyshannon may not necessarily be instructive ahead of this weekend's encounter - the seasonal shades of Gaelic football change considerably from early March to mid April - but it should provide a degree of confidence for Donegal, who won that game despite having Michael Murphy sent off with 20 minutes to go.
Donegal's championship opener is the Ulster preliminary round clash against Tyrone on May 17, and while Gallagher welcomed the extra game qualification for the semi-finals had given his team following the draw with Mayo, there was a sense that his real focus was firmly fixed on the game five weeks from now.
"We have a game now. We have to embrace that," he said. "The draw has given us the game so we will take on that challenge. Croke Park is the one good thing in qualifying. It's good exposure for young fellas. We might take a look at a few more of them next week." He admitted that 'championship' training had led to a few tougher than usual sessions lately, and that tiredness would inevitably be a factor at this point in the season.
The Donegal U21s suffered a third successive Ulster final defeat on Wednesday night, but Gallagher will have Ryan McHugh, Eoin McHugh and Darach O'Connor available to him following that game. However, Ryan's older brother Mark is a major doubt for Sunday after he suffered a rib injury playing for Kilcar last Monday.
Given the attention tactical systems have received in recent weeks, there will be considerable scrutiny on this game in that regard - particularly in the way Donegal set up, given that they are often held up as the 'masters' of the so-called blanket defence system.
Cork didn't score heavily against Derry's system last weekend, but Cuthbert says his main concern at the moment is his own team's defending. "I wouldn't be overly concerned," he said. "Tyrone played a blanket defence against us and we scored 0-17. Monaghan played a blanket and we scored well. We've shown through the league that we have ways of playing against it. I think I'd be more concerned with our own defending."
This is the first meeting of Cork and Donegal at Croke Park since the 2012 All-Ireland semi-final, which Donegal won 0-16 to 1-11.
Preview: Dublin v Monaghan
CORK: Ken O'Halloran; Jamie O'Sullivan, Michael Shields, James Loughrey; Conor Dorman, Brian O'Driscoll, Tomás Clancy; Eoin Cadogan, Fintan Goold; Colm O'Driscoll, John O'Rourke, Kevin O'Driscoll; Colm O'Neill, Mark Collins, Brian Hurley.
DONEGAL: TBC
Preview: Arthur Sullivan
