Mortell bullish on minors chances
TO say that Cork have endured much frustration in the Munster minor hurling championship in recent seasons would be an understatement.
Four years ago, for instance, they lost a semi final in extra time against a Waterford side that went on to win the All-Ireland , and they bowed out at the same stage in 2014, going under by two points to the eventual provincial champions Limerick.
They fell to Limerick again the following year, having thrashed the Shannonsiders to the tune of 2-20 to 0-13 in the opening round, and they would almost certainly have prevailed in the semi final as well but for the absence of their ace marksman and Shane Kingston due to injury.
As it was, Cork, with Darragh Fitzgibbon and especially Mark Coleman playing leading roles, dominated that match for long periods, but some woeful shooting prevented them from moving into an unassailable position before Limerick came with a late surge to transform a two-point deficit into a three-point lead inside the last five minutes.
The Rebels’ semi-final tale of woe continued last year, as they began their campaign with an encouraging win over Waterford in Walsh Park before succumbing to a Tipperary side that had lost to the lads from the Deise before getting their aspirations back on track against Limerick.
With home advantage, Cork had good cause to be optimistic heading into the clash with Tipp, and everything appeared to be going according to plan when they led by six points early in the second half.
The contest underwent a dramatic transformation as the second half progressed, however, with Tipp taking over to such an extent that the merit of their 0-22 to 1-15 victory was beyond dispute.
It was hard to pinpoint the reason for Cork’s collapse, but the pain stemming from their second-half fade-out became even more pronounced after Tipp were crowned All-Ireland champions later in the year.
All of nine years have now elapsed since Cork collected a Munster minor hurling title, and they will begin their quest to bridge that gap when they take on Waterford in Pairc Uí Rinn next Wednesday evening.
Captained by Sean O’Leary- Hayes (Midleton), Cork will have several of last year’s panel available again, with, along with O’Leary-Hayes, Evan Sheehan (Na Piarsaigh), Ross Howell (Douglas), John Geary (Shandrum), Brian Turnbull (Douglas) and goalkeeper Ger Collins (Ballinhassig) all featuring over the course of 2016.
Selector John Mortell is satisfied they have assembled a formidable squad, and he is hopeful they can make a positive start against Waterford.
“You can never be sure how minors are going to perform first time out, and Waterford already have a game under the belt, which has to give them some sort of an advantage.
“While they were well-beaten by Clare, from what I can gather they weren’t at full-strength for that game, and they will have a number of key players back on Wednesday night.
“We are expecting a tough test from them, but we’d be quietly confident we can rise to the challenge providing we play to our potential,” he said.
Others expected to spearhead Cork’s bid for victory are James Keating (Kildorrery), Darragh Connery (Na Piarsaigh) and Rob Downey (Glen Rovers).