Harte has reason to be wary of the wounded Rebels
MICKEY HARTE is around long enough to know to be wary of wounded animals. And it’s hard to remember a more wounded-looking animal than Cork are right now. Still bloodied from their Munster final mauling at the hands of arch rivals Kerry, they are 10/3 outsiders to make amends today in Portlaoise and rescue something from their season. Everything seems to be against them right now, but if they are backed into a corner then perhaps the Tyrone manager is right to be wary. Harte described Cork as ‘the most difficult draw we could have got’. That may sound a bit like playing the poor mouth at first glance, but if Tyrone are to justify their 1/3 favourites price tag they will have to achieve something they never have before – beat Cork in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Somewhat remarkably, these two giants have only ever met in the Championship twice before — Cork emerging victorious on both occasions, first in 1973 and most recently in 2009 with Harte in charge of the Red Hands. He was beaten by five points that day, his team scoring just 11 points, and there have been fleeting signs that Ronan McCarthy’s side still have the magic of their forebears somewhere deep inside. Enough to hold out hope today. Cork looked very impressive when beating Tipperary in the Munster semi-final in Thurles, but their abject capitulation in that provincial decider at the hand of Kerry looks to have set them back. They were savaged by 3-18 to 2-4, hammered out the gate of their newly refurbished Páirc Uí Chaoimh. They had scored their two goals in the first few minutes, and the whimpering nature of their second-half display has led the market to lose all faith in them. Throw in to that the fact they will be without Colm O’Neill, Sean Powter and Peter Kelleher and the picture looks grimmer still, yet Harte still refuses to write them off. That is more likely down to what Harte has seen from his own charges so far this year, however. Tyrone probably should have been beaten by Meath in the qualifiers, but they found a way to win. Something Cork failed to do when they had Mayo dead and buried this time last year in the qualifiers. A game that showed they might not be all that far way after all. Cork boss McCarthy has made sweeping changes in the aftermath of that Kerry humiliation, a third of his team changing for today. James Loughrey comes into the team while defender Cian Kiely will make his Championship debut. Brian O’Driscoll replaces former dual star Aidan Walsh at midfield, with Hurley brothers, Brian and Michael, set to start in the full-forward line. Harte says he is wary of a ‘sting in the tail’. And at 10/3 Cork might just come out fighting from the corner they’ve suddenly found themselves backed into.