BACK-TO-BACK victories for Cork over highly-rated Division 1 outfits, the latest over Roscommon, sends the Cork footballers to Croke Park this Sunday with genuine belief that they can take down Derry and reach an All-Ireland semi-final.
What a difference a year can make. Last year we travelled to play Dublin in an All-Ireland quarter-final without much hope, the intention being to keep the score down. Cork ended up losing by 11 points but the lead into that game was against lesser opposition and we had also taken a trouncing from Kerry in a Munster semi-final at Páirc Uí Rinn.
This year Cork are a far more settled looking outfit that has a structure, method and plan to their play. John Cleary’s consistency in team selection since early in the league has led to consistency on the pitch. It has allowed the players time to learn and familiarise themselves with their roles, both defensively and offensively. The blip in Ennis (loss to Clare in Munster SFC quarter-final) could have been the best thing that happened to this group. It probably hurt so much that it had the effect of really galvanising and unifying the group.
In years gone by Cork lacked leadership on the pitch. This year’s campaign has seen leaders emerge all over the pitch. The winning score against Roscommon on Saturday, engineered by Sean Powter and Ian Maguire for Kevin O’Donovan to fist over, was a good example. But we knew about Maguire and Powter. Now you have Walsh, Rory Maguire, Brian O’Driscoll, Colm O’Callaghan and Ruairi Deane standing up and being counted when the chips are down. Tommy Walsh’s point with the outside of the right before half time not alone ignited the players on the pitch but it also got the crowd into the game as the opening half hour had been like watching paint dry. Rory Maguire’s pair of points from play after the break was a mark of the stature he now commands within the group.
We also have to remember that Tommy Walsh, Daniel O’Mahony, Luke Fahy, Brian O’Driscoll and Ruairi Deane weren’t playing last year. That’s one third of the team who are all performing superbly. Brian O’Driscoll has gone from being washed up in many people’s eyes to man-of-the-match against Roscommon. But the good thing about all of this for John Cleary and Kevin Walsh is that there is still so much room for improvement within the group. They are nowhere near their ceiling yet.
Ruairi Deane and Thomas Clancy celebrate at the final whistle. (Photo: George Hatchell)
My choice going into Monday morning's All-Ireland quarter-final draw would have been Armagh, as I would have seen them as the lesser of the three teams Cork could have got. But in hindsight familiarity has served Cork well to date. Kevin Walsh’s familiarity with both Mayo and Roscommon and now the overall group’s knowledge of this Derry team, having played them in the league this and last year.
I couldn’t help but get that sense of déjà vu on Saturday when Ian Maguire led out the Cork team and the change was announced: Steven Sherlock to replace captain Brian Hurley. It brought me back to Ennis straightaway. Cork felt Hurley’s loss badly that day as we struggled to convert but Sherlock did his job against Roscommon and more importantly there were nine different scorers overall. Six points came from recognised backs and more tellingly 1-3 from the bench. Hopefully Hurley will be available in some capacity this weekend and one would be hoping that Conor Corbett’s goal will give him the necessary belief in himself to realise the potential he showed at minor and U20 level.
Cork’s opening half hour against Roscommon can only be categorised as poor. We looked far better without the ball than with it. Roscommon’s patience had the effect of making Cork’s play far too rushed and forced when they recovered possession. The Rebels looked extremely organised and coordinated in their defensive structure but handling errors, taking the ball into the tackle and poor shooting were greeted with groan after groan from the stands. The three points before halftime to send Cork in only a point down at the break were fundamental to the overall result.
Cork's Sean Powter gets the ball away under pressure from Roscommon's Brian Stack.
Cork re-emerged a different outfit. They pushed hard on the Roscommon kick-out and got the reward, going five points clear with ten minutes to go. All of a sudden the high press, which had been so successful, stopped. Whether it came from the bench or was an on-field decision Cork retreated and it was too early; they invited Roscommon onto them and nearly lost a game they were in control of as a result. Roscommon had kicked five in a row and looked to be winding down the shot clock in injury time, patiently waiting for the opening to kick the winner. Cork’s scramble defence was superb at times and that break came when Roscommon centre back Conor Daly over-carried which allowed Cork to engineer the aforementioned winning score.
Cork's lack of variety on their long kick-out has been well documented. Long and left to a pod of big men has been the go-to play all year. We saw the much-needed variation long on Saturday. Yes, the pod was used at times but we also saw the entire Cork team lined straight down the middle at various distances which allowed them break individually or in pods of three and four left or right to create overloads on the dropping ball to recover possession. Micheál Aodh Martin’s save to deny Murtagh in the second half was crucial when it looked like Roscommon were going to walk the ball into the net.
So Cork v Derry (1.45pm) will serve as the curtain raiser to the Dubs v Mayo (4pm) on Sunday. If O’Callaghan and Maguire can shackle Rodgers and Glass around the middle. If Daniel O’Mahony can put the reins on their ace marksman Shane McGuigan. If Cork can limit careless turnovers in attack which Derry build their counter-attacking game from. If we play like we can for the 70 minutes and get at least two goals, we will be looking at an All-Ireland semi-final. I know there are a lot of ifs there but I believe there is enough room for further improvement to do it.
