WE’LL learn more about where this Cork football team stands in the pecking order on Saturday.
The Rebels currently top Group 3 after wins against Clare and Donegal, and are already assured of knock-out football, but the details of the next phase will become a lot clearer after the tussle with Tyrone at Glenisk O'Connor Park in Tullamore (3pm throw-in).
Another Cork victory would see the Rebels guarantee top spot and a direct route to the All-Ireland quarter-finals with the bonus of a two-week break, whereas a Cork loss and an expected Donegal win against Clare would see John Cleary’s men drop to third and face an away preliminary quarter-final; the latter is the worst-case scenario, but also a real possibility as Tyrone are the favourites ahead of this clash.
If Cork, Donegal and Tyrone all finish on four points, it’s down to scoring difference, and currently it’s Cork (+4), Donegal (+5) and Tyrone (+7) so the Rebels would miss out.
It would feel almost anti-climactic if Cork finish Group 3 in third, given how they dug out a win away to Clare and then the noise and excitement of beating Donegal in Páirc Uí Rinn last time out. But to avoid that scenario they need to beat a Tyrone that hasn’t exactly set the world on fire in this year’s championship. They needed extra time to beat Cavan in Ulster before back-to-back losses to Donegal in Ulster and then in the All-Ireland series, before beating Clare 3-15 to 0-10 last time out.
An interesting subplot to this tie is that Tyrone haven’t conceded a goal in their last three championship games against Donegal (2) and Clare, whereas it was those three goals that got Cork over the line against Jim McGuinness’s men – can Cork get the goals they need to win?
The Rebels have eight goals in their four championship games this season – three against Limerick, one against both Kerry and Clare, and three against Donegal. This Cork team carries a real goal threat, and it’s been their inability to convert chances that has hurt them.
‘We got three goals (against Donegal) and that was the big difference,’ Cleary said. ‘All year we have been missing two or three goal chances – and we probably did (against Donegal) as well – but the three we got us over the line.’
The spread of goals is interesting, too. Sean Powter has two in two games, while Chris Óg Jones, Paul Walsh, Mattie Taylor, Ian Maguire, Ruairi Deane and Rory Maguire have all raised green flags, so there’s a goal threat in most lines. Surprisingly, Brian Hurley has no goal to his name, yet, but he is leading the scoring charts (0-18, eight from play) and keeping the opposition defence on their toes.
John Cleary will be wary of the Tyrone attack that has scored 1-23, 0-18, 0-21 and 3-15 in the last four games, with Niall Devlin and Darragh Canavan amongst the goals against Clare.
How good are Cork? We’ll have a better idea on Saturday evening, as this group must carry the expectation that their win against Donegal brings, but if they want to take the next step, these are the games they must win. They need to back up their latest win, prove it wasn’t a one-off. One loss in eight matches suggests this is a team moving in the right direction, and victory on Saturday would back up that belief and increase confidence levels before we hit knock-out football.
