IT’S Cork versus Kerry, friends, but not as we know it. A fixture that was so often a jewel in the GAA crown is now struggling to capture the attention of the wider public.
We are in the week of the Munster semi-final, and I’ve spoken to multiple GAA supporters already – some of them from Cork and others who are not so fortunate – who didn’t even know the game was on this Saturday evening at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
I stand over the split season, and it has improved the lives of club players immeasurably; however, I don’t think the inter-county game is making best use of the more than generous seven-month window it has at present.
The league starts strong but fizzles out when it comes to the finals, while the championship is long winded, lop-sided and unbalanced. Streamlining of our flagship competitions is required, and if a way could be found to return big games to a little later in the year, then that would be most welcome. Change was very much needed for the mistreated club game, but those who yearn for big days in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Killarney in June and July have a strong case also.
It can be done, it will just take some ingenuity and courage from people at the top, and hopefully we have the right man in GAA President Jarlath Burns to grasp the nettle. I’ve touched on this issue several times in the past and will do so again in more detail in the future, however for now we do still have a big game to look forward to, even if the lustre of the fixture has faded somewhat since the glory days.
The latest iteration of this storied rivalry will commence at 7pm on Saturday evening, with Cork enjoying home advantage for this one. The lack of championship buzz can also be attributed to the expectation that the result is an inevitability, and that Kerry will ultimately prevail even if Cork have enough about them to make the visitors sweat for the victory.
Cork have once again found some form after their springtime visit to the Algarve, with league wins against Louth and Cavan followed by a comfortable championship win against Limerick last Saturday week.
Kerry come into the game as Division 1 league champions and outright favourites for the All-Ireland ahead of Donegal, Dublin and Galway. In truth, one could describe this particular Kerry team as a functional outfit illuminated by the class of the Clifford brothers. David may still be the marquee superstar, but the fact that some, including the likes of Peter Canavan, now consider Paudie to be at least as important as his younger sibling illustrates the influence the later-blooming brother now wields in this Kerry team.
Paul Geaney was the main support act in the league final, and while the Dingle man may not be as electric as days gone by, he is still a wily old operator and will provide a nice challenge for possibly Sean Brady or Neil Lordan, if Cork decide to stick to their guns from recent outings and give youth its flourish in the full-back line. I expect they will, even if more established campaigners like Tommy Walsh and Maurice Shanley are waiting in the wings, fitness permitting. Seanie O’Shea has been absent for Kerry in the latter stages of the league and would be the fourth ace in the hole up front for Jack O’Connor if available.
If Cork can negate David Clifford's influence it will give the Rebels a chance.
Daniel O’Mahony is Cork’s premier enforcer in the defensive ranks these days and will likely be asked to try and replicate his fine performance against David Clifford in Killarney last year. The younger Fossa sibling has a patchy record against Cork, and we can but hope that particular anomaly continues this weekend if the Rebels are to pull off what would be a major surprise. The question as to who will be tasked with limiting the playmaking of the other brother is a little less clearcut.
It is a man-marking role which would likely curtail the attacking influence of players like Brian O’Driscoll and Matty Taylor, however I don’t think Clifford is the kind of player that Rory Maguire would be suited to following all over Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Given O’Driscoll’s recent attacking performances, it’s more likely that Taylor will be given the unenviable task of tracking Clifford the elder everywhere he goes. Defender turned wing-forward Graham O’Sullivan will probably try to do the same with the youngest O’Driscoll brother.
The midfield battle is an interesting one as Kerry’s new pairing of Joe O’Connor and Barry Dan O’Sullivan go up against Cork’s more experienced duo of Ian Maguire and Colm O’Callaghan. O’Callaghan is a physical monster with legs to burn, and while Maguire may not be quite the box to box performer of a few years back, he still covers serious ground both in defence and attack.
The Barrs man has toiled against Kerry for a decade now with little joy and will be as motivated as anyone to reverse the trend of almost constant defeat. Cork will need to win the midfield with something to spare to have a chance in this contest. Micheál Aodh Martin is expected to start in goal and Cork will hit 80 percent or more of their kickouts to the left wing overload. Maguire and O’Callaghan are the premier targets in their zone, but they may need more help in this regard on Saturday evening.
This brings us to the attack and a big decision for management is whether they need to start Ruairi Deane to give more assistance in the air to the midfield big men. I have said recently that the Bantry man provides such impact from the bench that management would like to hold him until later in the game, however I think they may decide he is needed from the get-go for this one. Eoghan McSweeney is a lovely footballer but lacks the physical presence for centre-forward when so many kick-outs now go long, with Sean Powter available for the latter stages to run at tiring Kerry legs.
Paul Walsh and Sean McDonnell will hold the wing-forward berths, and neither are small men either, hopefully Walsh will locate his finishing radar if he finds himself through on goal as he did so often during the league. McDonnell, similar to Brady and Lordan at the back, is another newcomer to the Cork team this year, and this is the biggest game of their careers to date. Games against Kerry are where a Cork footballer gets judged, and we hope they can rise to the occasion. It will be a step up from anything they have experienced so far, and we wish them the best.
The full forward line picks itself as Mark Cronin, Brian Hurley and Chris Óg Jones are nailed on starters. All three have hit good form at different times in recent weeks and months, but Cork will need them each to turn up on Saturday evening. Cork may need goals and multiple two-pointers to topple Kerry, and it’s possible that they will need to exceed 20 points to be successful and reach a Munster final. The inside trio will be expected to produce the bulk of that tally, with Cathail O’Mahony and possibly Conor Corbett ready to spring from the bench when needed.
We have become far too accustomed to losing to Kerry here in Cork, with only two wins in the 15 championship meetings since the 2010 All-Ireland, and just six wins in 24 contests since the turn of the millennium. Every year, and it is an oft-repeated phrase, Rebel supporters travel more in hope than expectation whether to Cork or Killarney. I have used the word ‘hope’ several times in the column already, and we still hope. We hope maybe the Taoiseach’s son will produce a spectacular save when required, that Knocknagree’s O’Mahony wins more duels against David Clifford than David Clifford wins against him and that Mallow’s Taylor can stifle Paudie.
We hope that the debutants will rise to the occasion and that Brian O’Driscoll will continue firing two-pointers. Hope that the Maguire/O’Callaghan combination can lord over the young Kerry pair and that they and the half-forward line can secure enough possession to feed the inside forwards. The inside forwards then will catch fire and give the Kerry defenders nightmares trying to chase them around the park. See, it’s all so easy when you say it out like that!
We have to have hope; the heart must rule the head. Good luck to the squad, Corcaigh abú.
