THE continuing good weather as we move into April is welcome for footballers and farmers alike, and the contrast to last year is stark. The spuds are going in more than a month earlier and the football pitches are firm and fast.
This was always my favourite time of year as a footballer, when the evenings grew longer, the air warmer and the gear bag lighter. The hard, miserable slog of the winter months fades into memory as training geared more towards football than fitness and the championship starts to come into view.
The new season structure means that the inter-county provincial championships are now upon us much earlier and it is an adjustment many still struggle with, and I still haven’t met anyone who has given me a good reason why a three-week shift in the entire calendar wouldn’t be a good idea. Those are worries for another day though, as Cork are straight into Munster championship action on Saturday evening in the Gaelic Grounds with a quarter-final against Limerick. The hosts come into this game off the back of a successful Division 4 campaign that culminated in a narrow win over Wexford in the final at Croke Park last Saturday.
Limerick vice captain Barry Coleman, Cork captain Brian Hurley, Tipperary captain Steven O'Brien, Kerry captain Gavin White, Alan Sweeney of Clare and Waterford captain Conor Murray at the launch of the Munster GAA Senior Hurling and Football Championship 2025 at Muckross House in Killarney. (Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile)
Limerick’s win was largely courtesy of the three goals they bagged while keeping a clean sheet at the other end. Josh Ryan in goal is a serious unit and possesses an excellent kick-out. Centre-back Iain Corbett is another experienced campaigner and is a player who would make most teams in the country when on form. He is a scoring threat coming from deep as well that will need watching. Tommy Childs also likes to get forward from midfield and bagged one of the goals last weekend.
Up front, James Naughten scored a scarcely believable 4-12 against Waterford recently before returning to rather more mundane figures with just four points in last week’s final. Darragh O’Siochru scored the other goal to help claim league honours for the Treaty men while Emmet Rigter secured a Tailteann Cup All-Star last year and put two points over the bar against Wexford as well. Danny Neville has been around the squad for a number of years now and could be used as a threat from the bench for the underdogs.
Every team deserves their respect, and Cork are nowhere near a level where we can take Saturday’s opponents for granted, but the expectation is that there is enough quality in the Cork squad to do the needful in the Munster opener. I went through the Cork team in detail in last week’s column and I expect management will largely keep faith with the team that started against Cavan. The main questions revolve around the half-forward line, where Ruairi Deane and Sean Powter are breathing down the necks of Paul Walsh and Eoghan McSweeney.
If Powter is fully fit, I think he will take the No. 11 jersey while management may decide that the impact of Deane from the bench is worth keeping in the back pocket. Newcomers Sean Brady, Neil Lordan and Sean McDonnell all had big games up in Breffni Park so will likely hold off some of the more experienced campaigners that are rumoured to be on the mend. Defensively, Tommy Walsh, Maurice Shanley, Luke Fahy, Sean Meehan and Kevin O’Donovan are all at different stages of recovery and at least a couple of those will need to get some game time in order to become options for a potential semi-final against Division 1 champions Kerry.
In attack, Cathail O’Mahony will surely see game time and don’t be surprised if he replaces Brian Hurley for the final quarter as the Castlehaven man still doesn’t appear to have a full 70 in his legs. Conor Corbett is also said to be closing in on a return to action and would be another who would need minutes to sharpen up, even if this game may come a little too soon for him.
Cork should win, but away from home I think it will be closer than the 3-13 to 0-11 victory in Cork last year. The margin of victory flattered the Rebels on that occasion. This isn’t a fixture to get the championship pulses racing. Let’s hope Cork can get the job done without too much fuss.
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I got my first full view of Kerry in the Division 1 league final and they seem to be bubbling nicely without being close to top gear. Paudie Clifford is controlling their tempo, and his brother is putting up big scores while keeping another gear in hand. Paul Geaney is far from finished alongside them in the forward line. Seanie O’Shea’s eventual return will be another bonus for Jack O’Connor and Co.
Behind them, Joe O’Connor is finding his feet around midfield and his partner Barry Dan O’Sullivan is a handful. The decision to play Graham O’Sullivan is designed to give added protection to a defence that has been porous at times in recent years. The bookmakers have the Kingdom as favourites in an open All-Ireland race, and whoever wins Saturday evening’s contest between Cork and Limerick will have it all to do to prevent Kerry from moving towards Munster title number 86 in early May.
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Cork’s U20 footballers kicked off championship football in the Rebel County with a 3-16 to 1-13 win over Clare in Quilty on Tuesday evening. Cork looked vulnerable at half time having turned with only a five-point lead after playing with a strong wind. In the era of two-pointers and increased space for forwards leading to higher scoring games, it was far from job done. Cork made a couple of changes at half time and improved against the wind in the second half, getting off to a fast start in the second half to quell hopes of a Clare comeback.
Danny Miskella (son of my old team-mate, Johnny), Dylan O’Neill from Ross, Sean O’Leary of Kilmurry and Bryan Hayes from Nemo did the bulk of the scoring on the night for Cork. Kerry in Tralee are next up for Cork on Monday night before they round out Group Phase 2 at home to Tipperary. One more win will qualify the team for the Munster final at the end of this month. Cork have been well off Kerry at minor and U20 levels in recent years, this team will likely have two chances to show they can do better than their recent counterparts. Good luck to the group.
