Cork will need all of their self-confidence
WHEN I looked at the All-Ireland semifinalists last weekend, it was under four headings: form, momentum, star players and management. I gave marks out of 10 for each. The first thing that jumped out at me when the totals were added was that Cork and Limerick were tied together on 36 out of 40.
I simply couldn’t separate them.
Shaking off the weight of history and beating Kilkenny for the first time since 1973 has to be worth more than any normal victory for Limerick.
This is not a great Kilkenny team but it is still a side that won the National League, drew with All-Ireland champions Galway in a Leinster final, and then nearly pegged back a 12-point deficit in the replay.
When Richie Hogan pounced for that late goal in the quarterfinal against Limerick, it looked like it was following a predictable Kilkenny script.
Tom Morrissey then stepped up with a couple of great late points, and it can’t be underestimated the confidence boost that win will give Limerick.
But Cork also come in on the back of a grandstand second half in the Munster final, yet it was so much more than simply a stunning finish.
Trailing by eight against Clare, they will take great heart from the way they battled back.
They looked to be in trouble, so John Meyler made changes and they powered away to a second Munster title in a row.
And so they head to Croke Park as provincial champions once more. They will be hoping that edge in experience will be a decisive factor.
From the start of the Championship I stated that Limerick have the strongest panel – that’s why I tipped them to go so well in Munster.
But do they know their strongest team?
John Kiely looked like a man with a plan the last day. It seemed to be a pre-ordained move to bring in Peter Casey and Shane Dowling around the hour mark because Gearoid Hegarty and Seamus Flanagan were going well.
They are trying to play to a squad system and the changes gave the team real impetus. I thought they’d win the Munster Championship but, like so many other teams, they fell flat in their third match on the bounce.
The Clare result put a bit of doubt in my mind but, as a player, it has to give you great confidence to have beaten Kilkenny.
There is no baggage with this team. The scenes on the pitch in Thurles showed that they have supporters buzzing, that the county is right behind them. It was so tangible, the passion, the emotion on the day, in Semple Stadium.
The counterbalance to that is that they have to get their feet on the ground again. They haven’t been in Croke Park as a team before.
When a group has a big high like that in a year, it can be very hard to match it. I’m thinking of when Offaly beat Cork for the first time ever in the 2000 All-Ireland semifinal. It was as if we had done our bit before the final had even come around and we found it hard to scale anything like the same heights.
Attacking-wise, this Cork side is very impressive. From Mark Coleman through Darragh Fitzgibbon at midfield to the forwards who carry so much threat.
John Conlon exposed a weakness at the heart of the defence in the final in Munster final, so they are not without their own flaws.
One key aspect is that Limerick have a size advantage across the half-back and half-forward lines. Cork have to break it down and find a way around that. They can’t just play a long game.
But they have a tailored game plan to do just that. The best example was in the first half against Tipperary in the round robin.
They ran the ball from the puckout, created overlaps, were mov ing the ball fast and diagonally – exactly the template required today.
Half-backs don’t want to be turning and twisting to chase a ball on the turn.
Goalkeeper Anthony Nash has such a massive role in how Cork play. He is so accurate with his restarts. He will be looking to hit the likes of Conor Lehane and Daniel Kearney on the run.
The crowd expected is of the order of 70,000, so there should be an electric atmosphere.
It’s too simple to say it will boil down to who wants it the most. Cork haven’t won a title since 2004-05. A generation are waiting for an All-Ireland.
All of Cork’s history feeds in. This idea ‘We are Cork.’ That will always be in their heads, that confidence in their ability.
A bit of a rush of blood from Damien Cahalane changed the course of last year’s semi-final against Waterford, but the players have that bit of extra experience from last year.
Limerick have made a lot of progress but they are a young team still learning about the game and about themselves, about what they are capable of.
We saw against Clare that they have their own issues at the back which can be exposed, Conlon doing serious damage the same day.
They look more solid with Sean Finn back in there now. However, they are facing a very different scoring threat than against Kilkenny, who are still so dependent on TJ Reid.
And yet look at how Richie Leahy scored four points from play off the bench, how John Donnelly opened them up.
They don’t command massive confidence, yet. Both midfields will be trying to support the halfbacks but you have two very attack-minded teams.
Limerick created five goal chances against Kilkenny – they are going to have to be more ruthless to progress.
So while I’m convinced this generation of Limerick players will win an All-Ireland, I just think Cork’s slight edge in experience could help them over the line.
‘WHEN A TEAM HAS A HUGE HIGH IN A YEAR IT CAN BE HARD TO MATCH IT’