Derek McGrath’s chosen fifteen hints that the management still detect a lack of pace among the Cork backs from the evidence Clare produced last September.
It also indicates an internal rethink since the March demotion. Three of the six selected Waterford forwards didn’t start in the relegation play-off against Dublin while replacements Ryan Donnelly and Stephen Roche are now part of the intermediate set-up.
Certainly the make-up of Jimmy Barry Murphy’s back line will encourage a forward division up to now relying on intermittent purple spells and Pauric Mahony’s magnificence. Clare hit them from the outside in the drawn All Ireland (25 points) before making tracks inside for the rerun with five goals. In that much repeated scene, Patrick Donnellan dug out a passage down the middle of their defence. Tom Kenny and Brian Murphy have retired since then with Conor O’Sullivan and Eoin Cadogan both sidelined. The spine of the defence in Damien Cahalane and Mark Ellis are regarded as novices at this level. In the league, Offaly scored 1-18 and Wexford sent in 1-20 on Cork’s home patch. Tipperary hit them for 3-25 in the quarter final. A looseness still exists.
Waterford management are ready to roll the dice to question their credentials. With injuries to four probable starters (Philip Mahony, Stephen Molumphy, Jamie Barron and Maurice Shanahan) and Shane O’Sullivan’s decision not to contest his suspension to the DRA, there may have been a temptation to put in players like Gavin O’Brien and Ray Barry who have already dipped their toe in championship but instead Colin Dunford and Austin Gleeson made their debuts. The average age of the team rests at 24.
Dunford missed the league through a shoulder problem but made a persuasive case in challenge matches against Wexford and Offaly. The 19 year old is an unknown quantity in this company but McGrath hopes that his speed will unsettle the Cork rearguard. Gleeson routinely pins his ears back for Mount Sion but hasn’t really revved the engine at this grade just yet.
Anticipate a manic intensity from the start to upset their opponents. Waterford will line out in conventional style with three full forwards but likely to move bodies into the central area early on, as seen in the league, to catch a seat on the train and stay put. The height advantage brought by Aidan Walsh and Patrick Cronin will also increase the requirement of players to swarm around the breaking ball. They are no longer at ease in the shootout scenarios that played out between 2002 and 2007. 22 points was as high as they could stretch in the league and it’s difficult to see them pushing beyond that on Sunday. In this context, they aspire cut the spaces for the Rebels to run at them and a game of containment for the first 15 to 20 minutes may form part of that strategy. Time to roll up the sleeves. They will spill blood otherwise. The wing men will be expected to run up and down the tracks. Kevin Moran may be expected to play a more defensive role to free up Michael Walsh to sweep in front of the Cork full forward line.
Waterford’s attacking moves will be channelled through Pauric Mahony with the emphasis on mid-range stick passes. He has cleaned out more established centre backs than Mark Ellis this year. The concern lies in that so much depends on Mahony’s mood. And even if he hits a hundred per cent of placed balls, that may not prove sufficient. In the recent challenge match against Offaly, they pulled the defence around by changing the point of attack at regular intervals and also moving noticeably closer to the target than they had in the league. Dunford and Brian O'Sullivan will relish one-on-one situations with Shane O'Neill and Stephen McDonnell, should they develop. O'Sullivan is just shy of delivering a big day performance and if he takes more risks and carries the ball further, he could reap the rewards.
Austin Gleeson was utilised in the role of goal getter at 21 metre free time. Shane Walsh moves ahead of Seamus Prendergast due to a superior goalscoring record. Since 2009, Walsh has struck six championship goals while Prendergast is without a green flag since 2005. At the same time, it’s hard to see the Ardmore man remaining on the bench by the 50 minute mark given his value as an alternative long ball option.
Cork didn’t light any bonfires in Division 1B. Seven points was their widest margin of victory as they achieved an unspectacular promotion. They failed to break the twenty point barrier in three games (versus Limerick, Laois and Antrim). Furthermore, they only registered three goals in five rounds before hitting four past Tipperary. It was about grinding out results rather than extravagant displays.
Derek McGrath refuses to read too much into spring signs. “Cork are masters at traditionally timing their run,” he said last week. “If you look at their run up to the Clare semi final last year, they had a period of six or eight weeks run into it. Dave Matthews takes over for a couple of weeks in terms of physical training. They do three to four weeks of hard stuff, they get three to four challenge matches and they were very much under the radar last year. Cork came into a situation where Clare were favourites. It was ideal. Brian Murphy man marked Tony Kelly and Seamus Harnedy went to town.”
From numbers eight to fifteen, Cork appear adaptable to all scenarios. 2013 All Star Patrick Horgan remains their leading source of scores. Noel Connors may be responsible for the Glen Rovers man on Sunday, as he was four years ago. He held Horgan scoreless in the draw and replay and finished both games on the bench. That has only happened four times in a prolific 28 game championship career. With a 9-149 total, he maintains a strike rate of six points per game. Last year, he finally received recognition after nominations in 2010 and 2012. He put up 1-47. He has been among the top five scorers for the last three seasons. He survived mainly on scraps but he still managed to score in claustrophobic spaces like that pressure point to give Cork a narrow edge deep into injury time of the first final.
Full forward Seamus Harnedy turned up consistently in a seamless adjustment to championship altitude and secured 1-13. He scored two goals close in against Tipperary in the league quarter final to drag Cork back into contention. He provides a ball winning presence across a variety of areas apart from his starting position. Conor Lehane appears ready to confirm the potential shown on that seven point Saturday night in Pairc Ui Rinn two years ago. He has delivered in bursts like his solo sprint in the drawn All Ireland final but not on a consistent basis. McGrath has opted to shore up with Liam Lawlor and Michael Walsh down the middle and will identify man markers to hold this trio. It’s difficult to envisage all three underperforming however and Cork not scoring a goal. Scan through the reserves and they can turn to Jamie Coughlan, Stephen Moylan and Paudie O’Sullivan in barren times.
The Waterford boss emphasised the positive feeling in the camp despite a run of rotten luck. “We just feel that fate has gone against us and we feel that it will turn whenever it will come.” They have revised their selection at both ends based on league evidence and up to date form. It’s a stretch to suggest that the necessary remedies are championship ready but they will hardly lack in application. They cannot afford to allow their shoulders sink like the Clare and Kilkenny games after the concession of a goal. Difficult also to pinpoint pre-match a regular score taker in open play. No such difficulty in finding a few from the red corner. That Cork attack may prove the best in the business this summer especially with the exciting additions of Aidan Walsh and Alan Cadogan. Cork to open up ground in the last ten minutes and win by at least three.
Munster SHC Quarter Final
Waterford v Cork
4.00 at Semple Stadium
Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly)
Odds: Cork 1/4 Draw 14/1 Waterford 7/2
