Cork face Tipperary again across different codes
With the senior hurlers on a bye weekend after their excellent win over Tipperary, Pat Ryan will be keeping an eye on the Waterford v Limerick game, who Cork play next as they refresh after a hectic few weeks.
By now the footballers will know their opponents in the round-robin phase of the Sam Maguire Cup, and as a 4th seed it will not be easy, but the format is unchanged so just one win will extend your season. However they will be looking to build on the excellent performance against Kerry.
The focus this week though is very much on minor and under 20.
Munster Minor Hurling Championship
Cork v Tipperary on Friday in Páirc Uí Rinn at 7pm
Having secured their place in the Munster Final with a game to spare, this is somewhat of a free hit for Fergal McCormack’s side but as the manager said after the win over Waterford, “winning is a nice habit to have and we want to win every game”.
The win over unbeaten Waterford was noteworthy is so far as they fell behind on 41 minutes, but then proceeded to outscore the Deise lads by 0-11 to 0-3 in the remaining minutes of what was a lively contest in difficult conditions.
Fergal though was not surprised at the response, if disappointed with the 1st half display. “Annoyed at the break as we were not doing the basics properly, tuned out for periods and a few home truths were told, but to be fair they showed, what I always knew they had, character and that was pleasing.”
Cormac Deane was the star of the show hitting 0-8 from play. “We all know he’s Joe son, but he’s a young lad with a bright future and some of his scores were top class, and with Michael Tadgh Brosnan going into centre-back, the game turned.”
Tipp are the champions but having lost all 3 games, even a win here is unlikely to get them into the All-Ireland series. 4 of the 5 teams progress to preliminary quarter-finals and quarter finals depending on where you finish, with the top two going to the final.
Cork are a very well balanced team and will want to win this one ahead of final against either Clare or Waterford. Darragh Heavin, Colm Garde and Brosnan are quality defenders while in midfield, Tom A Walsh and Jack Counihan are a very effective midfield pairing, who supply quality ball to a highly effective attack.
Apart from Deane, Craig O’Sullivan, Callum Coffey and Ryan Dineen have racked up impressive tallies to date.
Tipperary have only pride to play for and they will certainly not want to end their season pointless, but it’s hard to see them denying Cork a 4th win.
Munster Minor Football
Cork v Kerry on Monday in Páirc Uí Rinn at 7pm
It’s a first outing for both of these sides in the championship so very little is known of what either team will produce.
If the colleges competitions are any guide, Kerry as they always seem to be now, will be favourites to win and maintain the Kingdom’s dominance over their neighbours at all grades in recent years.
It’s been 10 games at senior, under 20 and minor since there’s been a Cork win and hopefully that poor sequence will end soon.
Keith Ricken has put in a lot of hard work with this team, as he always does, and hopefully they will get their reward.
Whatever the result, it is almost certain given the format of the championship that they will meet again in the final.
Munster Under 20 Hurling
Strange one this as it is dependent on last night’s (Wednesday) result against Waterford where a win would put Cork into a semi-final against either Clare or Limerick who also played last night.
The various permutations are as follows: Tipperary are already into the final and if the Limerick v Clare game ends in a draw and Cork win, they would have home advantage in the semi-final.
If Cork and Clare win, the Banner county lads will have home advantage, while if Limerick win Cork will be at home as the head to head comes into play.
Cork will be fancied to beat Waterford as they showed great resilience in defeating Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds last week, with top class displays from Barry Walsh, Timmy Wilke, Ben Walsh and an impressive impact off the bench from Adam O’Sullivan.
The semi-final is fixed for next Wednesday night at 7.30pm.
Munster Senior Ladies Football Championship
Cork v Tipperary in Fethard Town Park on Sunday at 2pm
Both lost their opening games last weekend; Cork to All-Ireland champions Kerry and Tipperary to Waterford so a win here is vital if they are to make the final.
Cork were slow to start against Kerry; a strong wind for the Kingdom, and looked in trouble at half-time, but to their credit they battled back and confined Kerry to just 3 points in that half, but the gap was just too much.
Plenty of positives out of the second-half to build on and if Erika O’Shea, Sarah Murphy, Mellissa Duggan, Katie Quirke and Libby Coppinger can build on that, they should win.
Injuries rule out a few key players but a win would set them up nicely for what would effectively be a semi-final, assuming Kerry win, away to Waterford a week later.
Your finishing position in the provincial championship determines your seeding for the All-Ireland series, so the higher you finish the better.
March award for Katie Quirke
Cork may have come up short in their bid to win the Division 2 ladies Football League title, but at the outset the aim was promotion and that was achieved.
Throughout the campaign Katie Quirke was a key player and her scoring exploits factors in the run to the final, in recognition of this Katie was the March recipient of the 96FM/C103 Sports Star award in association with the Rochestown Park Hotel.
Katie was delighted to be honoured even if very disappointed at losing the league final to Galway. “Thrilled really, it was a very good league for us and we achieved our aim of getting back to Division 1, but felt we could have done better in the final.”
Katie was fulsome in her praise for her team mates and the management group. “Well it’s new for everyone but we are all working hard and looking forward first of all to the Munster Championship and then the All-Ireland series - an exciting time to be playing.”
County Board Chairman Pat Horgan congratulated Katie and wished her and the Cork team all the best in the weeks and months ahead, he also acknowledged the continued support of 96FM/C1O3 and the Rochestown Park Hotel in their promotion of these awards.
Kieran McGeary of 96FM and Steve Cox of Rochestown Park Hotel also congratulated Katie on her award.
Family and Bride Rovers teammates along with Senior Manager Joe Carroll and Marion Crowley Chairperson of Cork Ladies football were in attendance.
Katie joins the previous monthly winners Sean Desmond of Watergrasshill for January and Brian O’Sullivan from Kanturk but a winner with UL in the Fitzgibbon Cup was the February recipient.
Hurlers on track
The emphatic win over great rivals Tipperary, the 3rd such comprehensive win out of the last 4 meeting’s, put’s Pat Ryan’s side very much on track for a place in the knockout phase of the championship and possibly a spot in the Munster Final.
However we were on 3 points before and failed to make it out of the group, but there is something different about this group and it’s hard to see them losing out.
That said, a lot of hurling to be played yet, but they control their own destiny, contrast that with last year - pointless after 2 games, they now have 3 points on the board with a home game to come.
Of course the sending-off had a bearing on the margin, but not the result in my opinion, a tough lesson for young McCarthy but one he will surely learn from.
One other aspect of last Sunday was the lack of support for the Premier County. Close on 1,700 tickets were returned on Thursday and while I appreciate the short turnaround between games might be a factor, I could not see a similar situation in Cork’s case.
Under 20 footballers’ tame exit
The 2nd heavy defeat by Kerry in the space of 3 weeks last Monday night is a worry. Forget the score at the end, with 55 minutes played, it was 2-14 to 0-6, with only 2 points from play.
Cork got a goal and a brace of 2 pointers to mask what was a very poor performance.
Looking back on the campaign 1 win against Clare, a thumping in Tralee and a draw, a game in which we should have lost, to Tipperary does not make for happy reading.
I don’t have the answers but the situation needs addressing and fast.