BY SEÁN HOLLAND
SPORT is all about fine margins. All-Ireland winning Cork footballer Noel O’Leary spoke to The Southern Star recently about fine margins and how this current Cork team isn't that far away. He said they just needed that bit of luck.
Four weeks is a long time in sport, and a lot can happen. Cast your mind back to late February, Cork were staring down the barrel of relegation to Division 3 and a summer in the Tailteann Cup.
Things are now looking a lot rosier for John Cleary’s side after they picked up their third win on the bounce with a 1-15 to 1-11 victory over Meath in Navan.
Victory this Saturday night would see Cork finishing their Division 2 league campaign with eight points and potentially in third place depending on results elsewhere.
Cork’s final opponents of the league campaign, Armagh, already know they will be playing Division 1 football next year after earning promotion. They have already qualified for the Division 2 final against Ulster rivals Donegal, so it will be interesting to see if Kieran McGeeney will field a changed side for the clash with the Rebels.
While it remains to be seen if Armagh bring the big guns down to Cork on Saturday, there’s no denying that they’ve become one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the country. The Orchard County play fast-paced, free-scoring football combined with an extremely stingy defence, so it’s no surprise that they are unbeaten so far this season in the league. The views of Armagh were echoed by former All-Ireland winner Peter Canavan on The Sunday Game.
‘They’re playing a more refreshing brand of football this year,’ said the Tyrone man. ‘I was critical of them last year, saying that they were too defensive and invited the opposition onto them but that’s changed.’
Even with Armagh’s new free-flowing style, they have kept that solidity in defence. The stats back it up – they have conceded the least amount of total points among all 32 teams in the four divisions. That’s just 64 points, 10.6 per game and they have yet to concede a goal. At the other end of the pitch, they have been ruthless, scoring a combined 110 points, 18.3 per game. Only Derry, Dublin, and Down have scored more than them in the league so far.
When you combine Armagh’s tight defence with their free-scoring attack, Cork will be up against it no matter what side faces them in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday evening (7pm throw-in).
With both teams now assured of where they will be playing league football this time next year, the result isn't all that important. However, a good performance will be key. Armagh will want to head into a league final undefeated and keep their train rolling, whereas Cork will be similar, as this will be their last competitive game before the Munster championship. It feels like it has crept up on us but in just over two weeks Cork will play host to Limerick on Sunday, April 7th, where they’ll be looking to book a place in the Munster semi-final. This will be players' last opportunity to showcase their ability in a competitive environment and a game against one of the country's top teams is just what Cork needs to see where they stand.
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The Allianz Hurling League Roinn 1 semi-final between Limerick and Kilkenny will take place at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday at 4.30pm.
