CADOGAN FIRES CORK
Long wait for League win ends as Rebels see off holders
WITH 2016 being a year to forget, January has already brought some relief for Cork. However, despite winning the Munster Hurling League, question marks still hang over the Rebels.
Manager Kieran Kingston handed out five debuts to players eligible at Under 21 level and, while they will have a lot more tests to overcome, the two points on the Allianz League table are more than they achieved in five games last year.
From the off, the hosts set about making life difficult for title holders Clare, who never led at any stage. The visitors did manage to come to within two points by half-time, but once signs of a fightback were quelled early in the second half, Cork were able to pull away and win at their ease. It left Leeside supporters optimistic ahead of the visit of Dublin next Saturday.
Not even the malfunctioning of Páirc Uí Rinn’s public address beforehand could derail Cork – instead of Amhrán na bhFiann, the 5,752 in attendance were treated to the opening few bars of the Italian national anthem. Laughter followed, but no Solider’s Song. It didn’t affect Cork, who had an encouraging start as stand-in captain Alan Cadogan scored a fine point, one of four he would get in the first half. However, both sides suffered from poor shooting in the early stages.
Clare would have eight scoring efforts go astray in the first half with half of those before John Conlon opened their account in the seventh minute. That did not signal a revival either as Cork scored six of the next seven points, including one from the manager’s son Shane, unfortunate not to mark his debut with a goal.
Cadogan led by example with wing-back Mark Coleman – another of the five debutants – and midfielder Daniel Kearney standing out with performances of real industry. Full-back Colm Spillane, who missed 2016 with a cruciate injury, showed up well, too, and Patrick Horgan’s free following a foul on Séamus Harnedy made it 0-7 to 0-2 with 10 minutes remaining until half-time.
They would only manage one more point though, Cadogan’s fourth, after Anthony Nash did well to keep out Clare’s Aaron Shanagher, David Reidy converting the 65. The fivepoint margin was reduced to two in injury time, though, as Podge Collins goaled for Clare, netting the rebound after Nash had saved from Tony Kelly.
Within a minute of the restart, the hosts’ good work was nearly wiped out as Spillane fouled Collins for a penalty. Kelly stepped up but didn’t shoot cleanly, allowing Nash to save. Even then, the in-rushing Shanagher should have goaled but his pulled shot was also kept out and Cork cleared.
That prompted another scoring burst from the home side who hit the next five points. The irrepressible Kearney got two while two more of those making their League bows, Luke Meade and Darragh Fitzgibbon, got off to scoring starts.
Kearney’s second put Cork in a commanding position, 0-13 to 1-4, but Clare continued to possess a scoring threat. On 49 minutes, Shanagher’s handpass perfectly found Collins’ run only for Spillane to make a vital intervention and, after Kelly’s second point, it took a brilliant David Griffin block to deny Shane O’Donnell a goal.
With that chance seemed to go any hope Clare had of clawing something out of the fire. Séamus Harnedy got in on the scoring act to make it 0-14 to 1-5, with Shanager’s reply then followed by two as Kingston added to his tally.
Cork didn’t really look capable of raising a green flag, but they didn’t really need to, as the points continued to flow. Horgan scored with a lovely effort while Meade, Kingston and sub Dean Brosnan added more.
Kelly did keep carrying the Clare fight, with four points in the last 10 minutes giving him six altogether. The night belonged to Cork, though, as they enjoyed a first regular-season League victory since winning away to Galway in March 2015. They will hope that the wait until the next one doesn’t prove to be as long, but on the evidence of yesterday evening it won’t be.
CORK: A Nash; K Burke, C Spillane, D Griffin; C Joyce, M Ellis (C O’Leary 59), M Coleman; B Cooper (L McLoughlin 68), D Kearney (P Haughney 68); D Fitzgibbon (R O’Flynn 62), S Harnedy, S Kingston (D Brosnan 70); A Cadogan, P Horgan, L Meade. scorers: P Horgan 0-5 (4f), S Kingston, A Cadogan 0-4, D Kearney, L Meade 0-2, S Harnedy, B Cooper, D Fitzgibbon, D Brosnan 0-1. Clare: D Tuohy; S Morey, C Dillon, J Browne; J Shanahan, C Cleary, B Bugler; S Golden (D Fitzgerald 46), T Kelly; J Conlon (A Cunningham 62), P Collins, C Malone; A Shanagher, S O’Donnell, D Reidy (J McCarthy h-t). Scorers: T Kelly 0-6, P Collins 1-1, D Reidy 0-2 (2f), A Shanagher, J Conlon 0-1. referee: J Keenan (Wicklow).