Cork 1-22
Kilkenny 2-16
JOHNNY CAROLAN REPORTS
IT WAS far from the most important thing at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday evening, but Cork got back on track in the race for a spot in the final of the Allianz Hurling League as they saw off Kilkenny.
Having lost to Tipperary a week before, Cork’s prospects were on a knife-edge – given Clare’s win over Limerick on Sunday, another defeat would have made relegation more of a worry. However, all of that paled into insignificance earlier in the week, following the death of Ray Ryan, former Cork hurler and brother of current manager, Pat.
Just a day after the burial, Pat Ryan was back on duty with Cork, standing with the entire squad and backroom team as tribute was paid to Ray by the crowd of 22,193 beforehand.
Though it was far from a perfect performance, a burst of late scores gave Cork the impetus after things had ebbed and flowed in the second half and the manager was pleased with the response.
‘I thought we were really sloppy in the first half. We started kind of well getting plenty ball into the inside line and I thought we were a threat but I think in that middle 20 minutes, we only got two balls into the inside line, which was disappointing,’ the Cork manager said.
‘I thought Cian Key was causing us trouble – even though Rob [Downey] was playing excellently, he just couldn’t pick up some of his runs, it was more of the team than anything.
‘We were disappointed at half-time but we ground out a great win in the end. In fairness, in the last two games we have got a great bounce off the bench and we got a lot of bounce from the lads there tonight.’
Man-of-the-match Diarmuid Healy scores Cork's first goal against Kilkenny.
Diarmuid Healy played a starring role in his first league start, finishing with 1-5, and it was his goal that looked to have opened up some daylight after an even opening. When Tim O’Mahony’s free broke inside, the ball briefly lay unclaimed before Healy latched on to it and gave Eoin Murphy no chance with a lovely finish.
That made it 1-6 to 0-5 for Cork but Kilkenny immediately replied with a goal of their own, Billy Ryan profiting from an uncharacteristic mistake by Niall O’Leary. By half-time, the Cats were in front, 2-9 to 0-10, with Stephen Donnelly having struck for their second goal, well set up by Eoin Cody after Cork couldn’t deal with a high delivery.
Tim O’Mahony levelled on the restart and, with Downey superb at centre-back, Shane Barrett beginning to wield his influence at centre-forward and Patrick Horgan punishing most Kilkenny fouls by converting the resultant frees, Cork had the greater impetus as the second half wore on.
They couldn’t fully shake off the Cats, for whom Cian Kenny impressed, but wastefulness was costly for the visitors. Barrett was to the fore as Healy and Horgan made it 1-20 to 2-15, with Brian Hayes unlucky not to glean a second goal when Darragh Fitzgibbon’s point attempt dropped short. Sub Tommy O’Connell left three in it, though Cork needed to defend well when Kilkenny sub TJ Reid threatened an equalising goal,
The hosts held out, though, with Ryan reserving special praise for how Healy had taken his chance.
‘Everyone will ask you what you want to get out of the league,’ he said, ‘and obviously what you are looking for is new players and looking for the new players to play well in training.
‘Diarmuid has been doing really well in training really and dealing with the physicality of it. He is in great shape, a really good athlete and his performance there tonight was excellent.
‘Obviously, we know he can score but his work rate, his movement, his understanding of what we were asking him to do was excellent.’
Scorers
Cork: Patrick Horgan 0-10 (6f, 1 65), Diarmuid Healy 1-5, Tim O’Mahony, Shane Barrett 0-2 each, Ciarán Joyce, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Tommy O’Connell 0-1 each.
Kilkenny: Eoin Cody 0-6 (4 f, 1 65), Billy Ryan 1-1, Cian Kenny, Jordan Molloy 0-3 each, Stephen Donnelly 1-0, Martin Keoghan, Paddy Deegan, Mikey Carey 0-1 each.
Cork: Patrick Collins; Ger Millerick, Eoin Downey, Niall O’Leary; Micheál Mullins, Robert Downey, Ciarán Joyce; Darragh Fitzgibbon, Tim O’Mahony; Declan Dalton, Shane Barrett, Diarmuid Healy; Patrick Horgan, Robbie O’Flynn, Brian Hayes.
Subs: Damien Cahalane for Millerick (26, injured), Cormac O’Brien for Joyce (41-44, temporary), Luke Meade for O’Flynn (46), Jack O’Connor for Dalton (49), O’Brien for Joyce (58, temporary), Tommy O’Connell for Mullins (61), Jack Cahalane for Hayes (68).
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Tommy Walsh, Huw Lawlor, Mikey Butler; David Blanchfield, Mikey Carey, Paddy Deegan; Killian Doyle, Jordan Molloy; Martin Keoghan, Cian Kenny, Billy Ryan; Eoin Cody, Stephen Donnelly, Harry Shine.
Subs: Luke Hogan for Shine (8-11, temporary), Hogan for Donnelly (half-time), Pádraic Moylan for Lawlor (49, injured), Fionán Mackessy for Doyle (54), Luke Connellan for Shine (56), TJ Reid for Kenny (61).
Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick).
