Déise hold aces with Cork having shown their hand
IREMEMBER matches naturally but I have to say, I took great pleasure in watching back the Munster quarter-final between Cork and Tipperary. The quality and pace of the hurling, the range of scorers – it truly was of an exceptional standard. I don’t think any team would have taken down Cork on the day.
There was so much talk of how good Tipp were last year – and yet Cork took them apart at different stages. Nevertheless, there is that nagging feeling that Tipperary also put up a huge score and were in it at the end.
Judging on bare form, Cork should be favourites going in against Waterford at Semple Stadium. They have a game under their belt, they’ve beaten the reigning All-Ireland champions and put up 2-27 along the way.
Then there’s the fact semifinal opponents Waterford are juggling an 11-week gap since their last competitive outing, which is absolutely crazy and shows how absurd the fixtures calendar is.
The thing is though, Cork have shown their hand. Reflecting on the Tipperary result, there was such a surprise element on the day, particularly with five new players added to the mix.
The other intangible was Tipperary’s hunger with the champions looking somewhat stale on the day.
Cork were the unknown for the last game, now that mantle has shifted to Waterford.
This is the game that will go a long way to defining Derek McGrath’s management – and their season. They’ve won some big matches in the last few years but they need to make hay with this year’s Championship wide open.
With Wexford beating Kilkenny and Galway winning the National League, it’s really hotting up. It’s the first time in years you’re really struggling to predict who is going to win.
Waterford traditionally set up defensively. Is there more in their game plan? Can they adapt and change?
We saw the damage Mark Ellis and Mark Coleman did when free – if they set up with a lot of defenders, will that allow the Cork half-back line to really dominate? It’s a given that Cork won’t get the same space. I expect a manic aggression from the Waterford team.
While the long gap since the League quarter-final is hardly ideal, they have had a training camp at Fota Island and have had this date in mind since the start of the year. When you think of players like Shane and Stephen Bennett and Austin Gleeson, there is still so much potential to be tapped.
You can bank on them attacking the Cork puck-out much more aggressively than Tipperary.
Funnelling back players to close down space to a Cork forward line, that won so much ball the last time, will be a big part of that plan.
At times, it’s not pretty to watch with 11 or 12 behind the ball and Tadhg de Burca playing as an out-and-out sweeper. It’s hard to play against though because it’s difficult to break down.
I don’t think we’re going to see an open game. Waterford will want to turn it into a dogfight, a battle.
With the skill of the Cork forwards, the natural ability and pace, it’s going to be a fascinating contest. Conor Lehane’s fitness could be a gamechanger.
The best performances from Cork have come in open, fastmoving games. One worry for Kieran Kingston’s team is that Tipp could have scored three goals in the first half alone.
And when Waterford get their running game going, they are very good at coming off the shoulder. But they have to commit bodies forward. Waterford tend to revert to a completely isolated one-man inside line which gives you no chance.
When you lose playing that defensive game, the knives come out.
It’s a bit of a shot in the dark given how they’ve been out of sight for so long, but I’m going to go with Waterford. This is a defining day.