SO, after a good McGrath Cup and a topsy-turvy league, what will the white heat of the championship hold for our county’s footballers?
That chapter begins on Sunday in Ennis in the third game of the 2023 Cork v Clare trilogy, where the count stands at 2-0 to the Rebels. I’d expect this one to be the toughest of the three, for obvious reasons. The league slipped away from Clare and they ended up being relegated to the Division 3 but they ran some of the big guns very close, just failing to deliver the killer blow with the game in their hands against both Kildare and Dublin.
Cork also have reason to look back on the league with a tint of what might have been. The Meath game was a bad one to lose. The Louth game was there for the taking if we had stuck a couple of those goal chances and then it might all have come down to that final game against Derry. However, on the upside, it was Cork’s first time not being involved in a relegation battle in three years and a spot in the Sam Maguire Cup was secured based on their league finishing position, should it all go belly-up in Ennis.
What is my expectation for Cork in championship football? I think they will beat Clare and Limerick and have a right cut off Kerry in Killarney before the group stage kicks off for Sam Maguire. That would mean three more games in that, with the possibility of qualification for a preliminary quarter-final or quarter-final. That’s possibly seven championship games in prospect, which would be huge for the further development of John Cleary’s squad. That in turn would put Cork in a great position to contend strongly for promotion to Division 1 next season.
The Cork team has had a settled look about it since last January and that has led to more consistency in their performances. As an example, five out of the six backs played six out of the seven league games. The Maguires, Micheál Martin, Colm O’Callaghan and Chris Òg Jones have been ever-present. Cork scored 14-95 in the league and probably left double that amount of goals behind them. There is strength now off the bench and there seems to be a spirit and drive to the whole camp.
John Cleary, Kevin Walsh and their management team put the final touches to their preparations for Ennis during a two-day training camp in West Cork last weekend. Keeping their squad healthy will be a major concern for all managers as the games come thick and fast. If you lose a couple of your major players at this stage, it could define your season. You only have to look at Rory Gallagher's Derry who lost Chrissy McKeigue late in the Cork league game and Conor Glass went off injured in the Division 2 league final last Sunday – both All-Stars.
Cork have their own recent injury worries in the form of Maurice Shanley at the back and Brian Hurley up front – two key players, with hamstring and shoulder issues respectively. If Shanley doesn’t make it, his spot would most likely go to Kevin O’Donovan or Seán Meehan. If you look at that back line compared to last year, Daniel O’Mahony, Tommy Walsh and Luke Fahy played no part, while Meehan was injured. The aforementioned three are all shoo-ins now to be selected and have brought serious physicality and energy to Cork’s defensive structure.
Micheál Martin has played every game in goal with Chris Kelly seeing no action as backup. Martin’s kickout is there to be gotten at but the backroom team have found a way to make it work. This will be Clare manager Colm Collins’ third time facing it this year and, have no doubt, he will be targeting it. Maguire and particularly O’Callaghan have been doing consistently well around the middle with Killian O’Hanlon and Paul Walsh also able to offer strong cover off the bench.
TEAM NEWS: @OfficialCorkGAA football team named for @MunsterGAA SFC quarter-final against Clare on Sunday. ⤵️https://t.co/wV15AhbtFl
— Kieran McCarthy (@KieranMcC_SS) April 7, 2023
The forward line selection and positioning will be interesting. Again, compared to last year, Ruairi Deane, Brian O’Driscoll and Chris Óg Jones weren’t there. O’Driscoll and Deane have brought presence, physicality and no lack of football ability to the attacking sector while Jones had been in very good form up to the Derry game inside.
When Cork put Ruairí Deane and Conor Corbett inside they looked far more dangerous in the last quarter against Derry. If Hurley is fit, he will play – the question is who will be inside with him? Such are the requirements on modern-day forwards that, despite Steven Sherlock’s scoring ability, his inability to get up and down the pitch could see him not making the starting line-up but he could have a big part to play once the game loosens up.
A run in the championship is the next key building block.
