BY GER McCARTHY
SHANE Ronayne feels Cork are primed for their All-Ireland semi-final against Galway on Saturday.
The Cork manager has prepared his panel for the most difficult test of what’s been a long season. A Galway team the Rebels overcame by two points in the All-Ireland group stages underlined their quality by rebounding to defeat Laois and reigning champions Dublin after extra-time. Make no mistake, Daniel Moynihan’s side has improved substantially since that narrow loss at MTU Cork.
Ronayne knows what’s coming. His team must be ready to rise to the occasion and overcome a formidable opponent for the second time in as many months.
‘We knew once we got over our quarter-final, whoever we would play in the semi-finals, it was going to be a huge game,’ Ronayne said.
‘I wasn’t surprised by Galway’s win as they have great potential over the last few years. Look, Dublin were missing a couple of key players as well. It is going to be a huge game for us. We are going to have to be a lot better than what we were against Galway the last day at MTU. I think Galway have improved immeasurably since then. We’re going to have to be ready.’
Cork demonstrated admirable resiliency in that 1-12 to 1-10 group defeat of the Tribeswomen, especially in the closing stages, when their opponents attacked relentlessly in search of a late winning goal. PWC Player of the Month Katie Quirke’s seven points were crucial in a game Hannah Looney’s goal ensured the hosts won their group before seeing off Waterford in the quarter-finals.
‘We took great confidence from that Galway game,’ Ronayne said.
‘I think we played very well for long periods even though there were certain things we needed to improve upon. I think we certainly showed that day that we were every bit as good as Galway.
‘We are two very evenly matched teams. Galway will go into the game as slight favourites because they have beaten the All-Ireland champions. Based on where our trajectory is going, we think we have every chance.
‘On the day, we have got to be very good but we’re certainly improving game on game. Hopefully, we will see further improvement in Tullamore and get the job done.’
Easier said than done despite Cork’s incremental improvement and the fact they defeated Galway last month. Daniel Moynihan’s charges produced a stunning display to knock All-Ireland champions Dublin out 3-7 to 1-12 after extra-time in Parnell Park. To be fair, Cork have been equally impressive since suffering Division 1 relegation and then a Munster final loss to Kerry. Ronayne’s side deservedly overcame Waterford at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last time out thanks to an impressive 1-17 total.
‘We scored 1-15 from play against Waterford,’ Ronayne pointed out.
‘Ten different scorers and 1-4 off the bench too. I think that is very important. We are not overly reliant on any one player even though we were dependent on Katie Quirke (for a while).
‘Other players like Emma Cleary have stepped up. Emma’s scoring stats have gone way up. Laura O’Mahony is contributing and we are getting scores off the bench too. That’s important heading into the semi-finals. If any one of our marquee forwards struggle, we are looking at someone else to step up. The fact that they (forwards) are all starting to score is really helping us. I do think we have a very good bench and we hope to introduce that firepower at some stage to see us over the line.’
