IT’S now 29 years since Cork last defeated the Kingdom in their own backyard in the championship. Like myself, the majority of the Cork side were not even born the last time the blood and bandage came away with a victory across the county bounds. They’ve tasted many defeats and experienced plenty heartbreak in all forms, so can the Rebels buck the trend this weekend? The bookmakers don’t give Cork much of a chance. Kerry are eight-point favourites and are expected to win easily.
The last two visits to the Kingdom have been demolition jobs: 11 points in 2017 and double that in 2021. But a recent uptake in form suggests the Re- bels will push the Kingdom a lot closer than in previous years. Cork have had a real upturn in fortunes since their training camp in Portugal. They were staring down the barrel of relegation to Division 3 after three games, but things have clicked since. A lot has been made of Cork’s wastefulness in front of goal but the fact that they are creating chances is encouraging.
In the last few years, Cork have struggled to show any teeth in front of goal, with only having one real goal threat, Castlehaven’s Brian Hurley. However the emergence of Conor Corbett and Chris Óg Jones has come as a huge boost to John Cleary’s side. Their scoring tallies from their final four league games as well as their 3-13 haul against Limerick exceed those of their opening three league fixtures. The scoring power is there but this is a step up in opposition. Goals win games and the Rebels will need to capitalise on the opportunities that present themselves on Saturday.
The benefit of having an extra championship game too must not be overlooked, even if Limerick are a far cry from Kerry. We see in our own club championships teams that have played a quarter-final tend to start sharper than those who lie in wait. Cork will need to use that to their advantage. They know their start against Limerick was below par, so I’d expect John Cleary’s message to be to start fast and take the game to Kerry. ‘If we stand back against Kerry, the game will be over by half- time’ the Cork boss said after the Limerick game. A fast start and converting goal chances. If they can achieve that, Cork supporters can dare to dream. If not, it’ll be a repeat of the last three decades.
