Hurlers and footballers hit the road this weekend

Having made winning starts to their respective leagues, both Cork teams are away from home this week as they bid to make it two from two while the ladies footballers have Galway in Páirc Uí Rinn.

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Cork v Galway on Saturday in Pearse Stadium at 7pm

“Delighted to get the 1st game out of the way and to win in front of a big home crowd made it all the better,” said Cork hurling manager Ben O’Connor after Sunday’s stroll against Waterford.

Ben was pleased with most aspects of the game. “Well we got a great start and had the match won early on; now to be fair Waterford were down a few good players and we know when we meet them in the championship it will be much tougher.”

The quality and movement of ball impressed the manager: “Mixed it well - went short when needed and long if required and some of the scores were excellent.”

One other aspect that was a factor was the pitch. “It’s the best in the country and we know in Galway next Saturday it will be much different and that will be another challenge but that’s what you get at this time of the year.”

Getting game time into players is also important: “It is yeah but there’s a balancing act as well. We have lads playing Fitz on Wednesday, so that will limit their training and then we’re travelling away on Saturday long trip, but Ian (Jones who looks after S&C) will look after that side of things for us.”

The depth in the squad is a help. “We have lads chomping at the bit to play and we had a few dead legs at the end but nothing serious. We will review today get back it at this week and look forward to Galway. As I said before, we want to win every game and so do the lads.”

As for Galway, it's “always hard to win up there and having lost to Tipperary last night (Saturday) they will want to win badly - especially at home.”

Galway looked likely winners in their game but Tipp finished well to win by 5 and their manager Michael O’Donoghue was annoyed at the number of ‘soft frees’ the home side got.

Rory Burke, Jason Rabbitte, John Fleming, Padraig Mannion and Aaron Niland impressed for Galway who will be keen to win on home soil.

What 15 Cork will choose will be interesting but as Ben said with Fitzgibbon this week, we might not see Eoin Downey or William Buckley start.

Ciarán Joyce and Ben Cunningham are carrying knocks while Brian Hayes, Shane Kingston, Ethan Twomey and Tim O’Mahony could feature.

Whatever 15 is picked and with the backups excellent, Cork look well equipped to win, even if the conditions given the projected weather forecast will be totally different to last Sunday.

The match is live on C103.

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Cork v Louth in Ardee on Sunday at 1.30pm

Louth really ignited the football championship last year and their winning of the Leinster title, their first since 1957 - they also won the All-Ireland that year beating Cork in the final, was the story of the season and now they have started this year with a win, as John Cleary points out.

“They are a very good team - Leinster champions and beat us up there two years ago, so we know exactly what we are up against.

“Going up there with a win under our belts eases the pressure a bit but we will have to play a lot better if we are to win.”

John was delighted with the manner of the win but disappointed at the start of the 2nd half.

“I was we finished the 1st half well with a couple of very good points and got another one straight away but then went out of the game. Cavan were winning in midfield and were picking up a lot of breaking ball, which was a concern.”

The impact off the bench was important, “Very much so - Ian (Maguire) starting winning ball and I though Dara (Sheehy) for a lad making his first league appearance was very good and he ran at the Cavan backs and caused problems.”

Then of course you had Steven Sherlock’s two massive two pointers including the match winner.

“Brilliant. We all know what Steven can do and the winning score was massive. How many times has he done that and fair play to him, he held his nerve and nailed it.”

What will annoy John and his management team was the concession of the 2 goals, and while goalkeeper Patrick Doyle had no chance, the ease at which the defence was opened up would be a concern.

Louth also got a win in their opening game with Sam Mulroy proving a handful for the Offaly defence, and the current All-Star is a huge player for this team and his influence will need to be curbed if Cork are to win.

Conor Grimes, Sean O’Toole, Craig Lennon, Paul Matthews and Conor Early all played big roles in that comfortable win, and despite a change of management, the Wee County have made a positive start to the new season.

Cork had 9 different scorers in the win over Cavan and it was good to see Luke Fahy play well and hopefully he can stay injury free, while Sean McDonnell, and Mark Cronin picked up some neat points.

Colm O’Callaghan as ever worked tirelessly in midfield while Brian O’Driscoll, Ruairí Deane and Paul Walsh were impressive.

Will John hold Maguire and Sherlock in reserve or will he give them starts in what is a big game? A win here with Offaly next up would put them in a good position in what as everyone knows is a very competitive division.

Cork will be without the injured Sean Brady, Cathal O’Mahony is in the mix for Sunday while both Kevin O’Donovan and Conor Corbett are both progressing and could feature in the coming weeks.

Not an easy place to go to, a tight compact pitch, but boosted by the manner of last Sunday’s win, Cork might just get over the line.

The match again is live from 1.30 on C103.

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Cork v Galway on Sunday in Páirc U Rinn at 2pm

In the immediate aftermath of the draw with Kildare, Joe Carroll had mixed emotions.

“Happy enough with the draw but disappointed at the two goals we conceded but look it’s virtually a new team. There was a lot for the players to learn from that game and we move on to next week.”

What also pleased Joe was the comeback, “3 points down late in the game we battled away and got the draw which we probably deserved.”

Katie Quirke was once again top scorer and it was the Bride Rovers player’s 5th point that secured a valuable point.

Abigail Ring, Aoife Healy, Melissa Duggan, Emma Claery, Leah Hallihan, Rosie Corkery and Abbie O’Mahony all played well for Cork.

Galway were impressive winners against Meath with Katie Slevin getting 0-7 including a 2 pointer, while Andrea Trill, Niamh Divilly, Leanne Coen and Roisin Leonard all had big games for the winners.

This is another tough test for this developing Cork side and might just prove a bit beyond them to get a win.

Ladies football are trialling new rules, the majority of them similar to the men’s game and the general consensus even after just 1 round is positive.

The 2 pointer, moving the ball forward for dissent are among them and it will be interesting how many are retained after this trial period.

All-Ireland Minor Camogie Championship

Cork v Tipperary on Sunday at The Ragg at 2pm

A short few days after winning the Munster Championship in a tight game against Limerick that went to the wire, Cork now begin the round-robin phase of the All-Ireland Championship.Cork battled hard to get the better of Limerick and the manner in which they won it will give them confidence for this game, especially as the Ragg is a tough place to go.

Lexi Manley, Lauren O’Connor, Caitlin Ryan, Ciara Murphy and the match winner when introduced as a substitute as she was carrying an injury, Leah Hannigan are important players for Cork.

Tipperary won the Munster shield and with home advantage will fancy their chances but Cork are well capable of building on last Sunday’s win and make a winning start.

Final word

The pitch in Páirc Uí Chaoimh was in immaculate condition last Sunday and not many grounds could take two games at this time of the year. It’s a credit to all involved and certainly was a factor in two very good games.