Cork 6-26

Offaly 0-20

JOHNNY CAROLAN REPORTS

CORK hurling manager Ben O’Connor feels that participation in the final of the Division 1A hurling league can only benefit his side in terms of championship preparation.

A six-goal haul against Offaly at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday night gave Cork the result they needed to reach the decider, with Limerick’s win over Galway setting up an intriguing clash on April 5th.

Such is the way of things, the result of the Munster SHC opener against Tipperary a fortnight later will dictate how good or bad it was to reach the final, but O’Connor is more than keen to see his side face the Treatymen.

‘We would have been looking for a match if we didn’t qualify for the final, so what better way than to qualify for a match against Limerick?’ he said.

‘They’ll be saying, ‘You’ll be minding yourself now,’ but if you’ve a challenge match, you could pick up an injury just as easily.

‘We’re delighted to have another competitive game to get into the lads.’

Barry Walsh scores Cork's opening goal against Offaly. (Photo: George Hatchell)

Cork were set on their way with an early Barry Walsh goal, but it took time to get on top as Offaly contended well, with Dan Ravenhill impressing for them. With 22 minutes gone, it was 1-5 to 0-6 but Alan Connolly’s frees pushed Cork into a seven-point advantage before two goals coming up to half time allowed them to solidify the advantage.

First, Hugh O’Connor’s delivery was deftly met by Brian Hayes in the air to divert the ball past Liam Hoare, who had earlier helped to prevent a couple of other Cork goal chances. Cork were fortunate in that a third goal arrived immediately after, with Darragh Fitzgibbon gifted a loose ball close to goal before firing home.

A 3-10 to 0-7 advantage with the wind to come meant the outcome was inevitable and Cork found a greater attacking fluency in the second half, under-pinned by the impact of subs William Buckley and Declan Dalton, showcasing the competition for places.

Just after Dalton slung over a lovely ball from the left, they had a fourth goal as Mark Coleman’s pass allowed Hayes to demonstrate super ball control before a batted finish; as in the opening period, a goal from him was followed by one from Fitzgibbon to make it 5-15 to 0-10.

Their sixth goal came not long after, Tim O’Mahony with a crashing finish, and though Offaly’s Adam Screeney did keep their tally ticking over, the visitors never threatened a goal. Cork sub Pádraig Power marked his return to action after 14 months out with a pair of points while another replacement, Robbie O’Flynn, almost had another goal at the death but Hoare diverted his shot over the bar.

Overall, O’Connor was more than happy with the outing.

‘Fellas battled in the second half and when they clicked into gear, they were well on top. We were winning 50-50s in the second half that we weren't winning in the first half and I suppose they got the handle on the way Offaly were playing as well,’ he said.

‘No injuries – Alan Connolly got a bang on the ankle but no other injuries so it was a good night's work.’

It also afforded the management the chance to look at Ciarán Joyce at full-back.

‘If you look, every fella has played in different positions,’ O’Connor said.

‘The plan was we would have played Joycey a little bit earlier but he got injured. Then when he was coming back from injury he was back into the training panel and Rob [Downey] got injured and the easiest thing was to put him in at centre-back.

‘We had hoped to put him in there a little bit earlier but the circumstances of other fellas getting injured. But it is good to have options.’

OUR STAR: While he was not among the 14 scorers, midfielder Tommy O’Connell was once again the oil in the Cork engine.

Scorers

Cork: Alan Connolly 0-8f; Darragh Fitzgibbon 2-2 (1f); Brian Hayes 2-1; Mark Coleman 0-3; Barry Walsh, Tim O’Mahony 1-0 each; Shane Barrett, Pádraig Power, Declan Dalton (1f), William Buckley 0-2 each; Eoin Downey, Brian Keating, Hugh O’Connor, Robbie O’Flynn 0-1 each.

Offaly: Adam Screeney 0-7 (4f); Dan Ravenhill 0-4; Brian Duignan 0-3; Daniel Bourke 0-2; Sam Bourke, Brecon Kavanagh, Ross Ravenhill, Jack Clancy 0-1 each.

Cork: Patrick Collins; Niall O’Leary, Ciarán Joyce, Seán O’Donoghue; Eoin Downey, Robert Downey, Mark Coleman; Tim O’Mahony, Tommy O’Connell; Darragh Fitzgibbon, Shane Barrett, Hugh O’Connor; Barry Walsh, Alan Connolly, Barry Hayes.

Subs: Declan Dalton for Connolly, William Buckley for Walsh (both half-time), Robbie O’Flynn for Hayes (48), Pádraig Power for Fitzgibbon (53), Brian Keating for O’Mahony (59).

Offaly: Liam Hoare; Cathal King, Ben Conneely, Brecon Kavanagh; Ross Ravenhill, Killian Sampson, Donal Shirley; Eimhin Kelly, Dan Ravenhill; Ter Guinan, Daniel Bourke, Conor Doyle; Oisín Kelly, Brian Duignan, Adam Screeney.

Subs: Colin Spain for Eimhin Kelly, Luke Nolan for Oisín Kelly (both half-time), Sam Bourke for King (46), Jack Clancy for Doyle (54), Eoghan Cailll for Guinan (62).

Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick).