HORGAN’S RULE
14 points for star Rebel as rampant Cork leave Davy Fitzgerald’s Clare in a dogf ight
TO BORROW a phrase from another code, this had all the look of a relegation four-pointer.
In a league of ludicrously tight margins, two defeats on the bounce in a five-match campaign doesn’t bode well in terms of staying in hurling’s top flight.
So the stakes were plenty high for both Cork and Clare at such an early stage in the season after opening round defeats by Kilkenny and Galway respectively.
By the final whistle at Páirc Uí Rinn last night, Cork hurling was back feeling good about itself.
On a night when Pat Horgan was peerless, finishing with 14 points before being withdrawn to thunderous applause, Cork had heroes all over the field.
Cormac Murphy put his hand up for a wing-back spot while Aidan Walsh and Daniel Kearney dominated midfield. Up front, Luke O’Farrell, Conor Lehane and Alan Cadogan offered a strong support cast to the sublime Horgan.
Clare’s second half capitulation will give Davy Fitzgerald plenty to worry about. While Cork did have to call on Anthony Nash to pull off three top quality saves, the Clare defence was left badly exposed and they were over-run by the finish.
Two years ago, this pair defined 2013. Between the Waterford Crystal tournament, two League meetings including a relegation battle, a Munster championship encounter and a two-legged All-Ireland final, they were virtually inseparable.
The talk of Clare redefining hurling has long since died down and they will have to rediscover the spark of old if they are to be a force in 2015.
Right from the start, Aidan Walsh showed why Jimmy Barry Murphy repositioned him at midfield after failing to make an impact at wingback last time out. Two storming runs through the heart of the Clare defence created panic. The first came just four minutes in but as he wound up to shoot for goal, his opposite number Colin Ryan tracked him back and hooked him.
Not long after he was at it again. This time he had space to shoot for goal but opted to try and find Luke O’Farrell with a handpass only for the ball to go to ground.
With 13 scores in first 15 minutes of the game, it was fast turning into an old-fashioned shoot-out, pretty much every attack yielding a result.
An effortless burst of scoring from Clare yielded four in a row, the pick two wristy points from Bobby Duggan and John Conlan.
Clare were working the ball cleverly around the middle third with quick one-twos but the combination of Aidan Walsh and Daniel Kearney drove Cork back into the game.
Trailng 0-9 to 0-6 with 22 minutes gone, an O’Farrell goal prompted Cork to hit a purple patch. Seamus Harnedy created the opening by getting inside his man and laying it off. O’Farrell’s first goal effort was blocked by Conor Cleary but he kept his wits about him to rattle to the net. Then Daniel Kearney beat Bobby Duggan to the ball and swung over a big score from midfield. Clare can thank goalkeeper Patrick Kelly for keeping them within one score at the break, 1-12 to 0-12, making two vital saves from Horgan whose irrepressible form saw Jack Browne switched on to him after Domhnall O’Donovan struggled.
Kelly was lucky though that referee Johnny Ryan didn’t notice his hurley fly from his hands as he stopped the first of Horgan’s goal efforts on 29 minutes.
Horgan continued his unstoppable form on the restart, splitting the posts from a free and then finding space again in the full-forward line
to point.
And O’Farrell was almost in for a goal only to be denied by a last-gasp hook.
Suddenly five down, Clare were hoping that half-time substitute Conor McGrath would add a bit of extra firepower up front.
Even Seadna Morey’s presence though couldn’t staunch the bleeding in the Clare full-back line, Cork’s inside line profiting from a series of perfect, bouncing deliveries out in front of the likes of Horgan and Alan Cadogan.
Still, Clare’s pressure on the threequarter mark forced a brilliant double save from captain Nash. First he dived spectacularly to keep out a rasper from Colm Galvin; then he blocked the rebound from John Conlan by using his feet.
As if that wasn’t enough, he showed smart reflexes again to bat away to safety a goalbound effort from Conor McGrath soon after.
When Lehane pointed from distance down the other end, it drew a huge roar, Cork eight up and cruising.
Just before that, a fist pump from the same player after an inspira- tional score from distance showed how much this meant.
With such a cushion, Cork could even afford to take off the peerless Horgan to a rapturous reception.
CORK: A Nash; D Cahalane, C Joyce, C O’Sullivan; L McLoughlin, M Ellis, C Murphy; D Kearney, A Walsh (P Cronin 59); C Lehane, S Harnedy, R O’Shea (S Moylan 59); A Cadogan, L O’Farrell, P Horgan (A Spillan 66). YELLOW CARD: S Harnedy 15, C O’Sullivan 56, M Ellis 57. WIDES: 2 (2 ) SCORERS: P Horgan 0-14 (9fs, 1 65), L O’Farrell 1-1, C Lehane 0-3, D Kearney, A Walsh, C Murphy, A Cadogan, S Harnedy, A Nash (1f) 0-1 CLARE: P Kelly; D O’Donovan (S Morey 36), C Dillon, J Browne; P O’Connor, C Ryan, C Cleary (S Golden 52); B Bugler, C Galvin; P Donnellan (A Cunningham 52), C Ryan, B Duggan (C O’Connell 64); J Conlon, S O’Donnell, D Reidy (C McGrath h-t). YELLOW CARD: D O’Donovan 13 WIDES: 2 (4 ) SCORERS: C Ryan 0-8 (4fs, 2 65s), J Conlon 0-3, C Galvin 0-2, B Duggan 0-2, B Bugler, P O’Connor 0-1 REFEREE: J Ryan (Tipperary) ATTENDANCE: 7,084