All on the line for Rebels in relegation play-off
NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1A RELEGATION PLAY-OFF
SO where too from here?
Many people, far cleverer than I, felt well before 2018 started that Cork had over achieved last year and would struggle to make an impact this year. The loss of Kieran Kingston was seen as a blow, but with the new talent found in recent years along with the experience gained in 2017 perhaps there was hope after all.
The reality of Cork’s predicament was seen early as 2018 has been far from a success to date, something new manager John Meyler, more than anyone, can see. The manager is acutely aware of what is expected, no, what is demanded by Cork hurling fans and he knows the fate that befalls those that don’t deliver.
We are far too early into this reign to decide if this is going to be a successful period in Cork hurling or not so mass hysteria at the state of Cork hurling in mid-march really is unhelpful.
Cork hurling’s transitional period is continuing at pace however the trajectory is not yet evident after the side failed to beat Tipperary and avoid a relegation play-off fixture with Waterford next weekend.
Cork came into this year’s competition buoyed by their run to the All-Ireland semi-final last season, but that all seems like a distant memory now as Cork stand just 70 minutes away from replacing Limerick in Division 1B for next year.
Last Sunday in Semple Stadium Cork took on Tipperary and played as well as they have all season – that said, the Premier County deservedly took the spoils, despite missing the target on 20 occasions.
Cork really can have no qualms with the result – in fact if there was another five or six points between the sides at the end they again would have had little to complain about.
Sitting in the old ground it was hard not to reflect on the difference a few months can make. Last year at the Munster Final over 40,000 Cork fans belted out The Banks and screamed their side onto Munster glory, but last Sunday just over 6,300 fans, most of them from Tipperary, struggled to raise anything close to a tune as Cork failed to deliver and Tipp failed to hit the target.
The old get out of jail card of saying it is only the league doesn’t apply anymore. The league is a tough, competitive competition that may still lack championship support and commitment but does have an important role to play in the development of a side.
Cork’s bright spots last weekend were mainly north Cork based as Darren Browne impressed in the full-back line
while Tim O’Mahony was magnificent at centre-back. The duo, particularly O’Mahony, have been terrific this year so far and both could feel a little hard done by if they are not on the championship squad that will be named sooner rather than later.
Luke Meade showed plenty when he came off the bench in the second period giving Cork a serious threat going forward – a threat they didn’t seem to have to that point.
Cork’s puck outs failed to deliver on more than one occasion and Tipp scored several points from the interceptions. The strikes from Nash were to their men however the player in receipt seemed to be too close to the side line meaning they ended up with no place to go, over and over again.
Cork also had issues with their foul count which was responsible for far too many easy Tipperary points. Overall it would be unfair to say that there weren’t improvements, because there were, but there is so much
Luke Meade showed plenty when he came off the bench in the second period giving Cork a threat
more to do to reach anything like the heights that were achieved last summer.
This Sunday, away from the sandy pitch in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork will renew battle with a Waterford side that saw them off just a few weeks ago. Cork, again have home advantage here, but this time Páirc Uí Rinn will host the fare as both sides look to stay in the top flight of league hurling.
Cork will hope to have Eoin Cadogan back this weekend as well as Seamus Harnedy from suspension while others like Meade and Daniel Kearney are likely to feature at some stage.
Talisman Patrick Horgan will again be the go to guy this weekend after bagging another impressive tally of 1-10 (1-8 from placed balls). Horgan on form is the key to any Cork win, but the likes of Alan Cadogan on the opposite side and Michael Cahalane in the middle will also be required to batter their way through.
Conor Lehane will again be influential, but more will be needed from Darragh Fitzgibbon and Bill Cooper in the middle third. Sunday should give us all another opportunity to see what exactly John Meyler’s master plan looks like as the man himself pointed out after last Sunday’s loss that “The championship starts here”.
So, with that, what can we expect this Sunday? Well, a reasonable crowd would be nice –and that is far from a given considering all that has gone before – but a hungrier Cork side is a must. Cork must get at Waterford right from the off.
They must stop the Déise settling and use their running and short passing game to keep the visitors thinking. Nash will need to be accurate with his puck outs but the receiver will need to be quicker making space than they were last weekend.
Cork will need to keep Patrick Curran from racking up a serious tally while also keeping the Gleeson’s, Austin and Conor quite. Mikey Kearney is another that can cause problems from the corner-forward position and can hurt a Cork side that will likely be more intent on scoring than stopping.
This is Meyler’s first real chance to put down a marker after a sluggish league campaign and while the season is unlikely to revolve around what happens this Sunday, relegation is hardly ever seen as a positive way to head into the championship proper.