Cork teams look to double up in second round of games
Having got their campaigns off to the best possible starts last weekend, all 3 Cork teams are back in action this weekend as they bid to make it two from two with tricky looking ties coming up.
Obviously the Cork v Limerick game on Saturday night will be seen as the big one, and judging by the advance sale of tickets, close on 25,000 could very well be in attendance.
John Cleary’s footballers make the long trip to Newry on the back of their win, where the new playing rules certainly had an impact across all 4 divisions.
The general agreement is that they make for a far better spectacle, just look at the scores racked up by most counties, a few tweaks here and there look likely as the competition evolves, but all in all it was very positive.
Allianz NHL Division 1A
Cork v Limerick on Saturday in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh at 7.30pm
“Delighted with the win in very difficult conditions, it’s never an easy place to come but the lads adapted well and we were always in control,” said Cork manager Pat Ryan after what turned out be an easy win over Wexford last Saturday.
The objective of the league is to try and win it. “We are in 3 competitions; the league, the Munster Championship and the All-Ireland, and we try and win them all. Obviously the All-Ireland is the main one, but we see where the league takes us.”
One downside was the red card picked up by Deccie Dalton who was in great form. “I didn’t think there was a whole lot in it, Deccie is not a dirty player and to be fair neither is Rory (O’Connor) they were surprised it was red, we will look at the video and may appeal.”
Cork did appeal and it was actually heard last night (Wednesday).
So it’s Limerick next and Pat is really looking forward to that. “Yeah it’s huge going by the sale of tickets and this will be another big test. They are still everyones’ fancy for titles and while there has been a few changes, there’s plenty of experience on and off the field to make for a big game.”
It will be Limerick’s first outing as they had a bye last week, but manager John Kiely has said, “We really enjoy playing in the ‘Park and while we know it won’t be easy we are looking forward to it, it’s a fantastic venue, incredible opposition as well and it will be a tough contest no doubt.”
Limerick beat Waterford in a challenge game last Sunday and speaking afterwards the manager said “the next few weeks will be a building process towards the championship, the more competition the better but we will still be trying to develop players”.
Like Cork they have a few lads carrying knocks; a few of them didn’t feature against Waterford, among them Darragh O’Donovan, Declan Hannon and Peter Casey.
The depth is the squad is strong while new captain Cian Lynch, Gearoid Hegarty, Shane O’Brien, Cathal O’Neill and Adam English could all feature.
One call will be interesting - who gets the number 1 jersey in the absence of Nicky Quaid (a huge loss it must be said), could it go to Shane Dowling after his return to the squad?
Pat Ryan and his management team will be keeping a close eye on the UCC v MTU Fitzgibbon Cup game and hoping that the players involved, and there’s a lot will come through unscathed, and the starting 15 will be impacted by that.
Patrick Collins was impressive against Wexford, as were Brian Hayes and Padraig Power - good to see him back, while Ciaran Joyce, Alan Connolly, Mark Coleman and Eoin Downey might come in the equation.
These sides produced two epic encounters last year, Cork winning both and a couple of years ago again on a Saturday night they played out another cracker. Expect this one to be just as good.
Cork with the benefit of a competitive outing last week might just be that bit sharper enough to get them over the line.
With the furore in the last few days about TV viewing, don’t worry - as always it’s live on C103.
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Cork v Down on Sunday in Páirc Esler Newry at 1pm
A first round win in 8 years for Cork last Saturday will give them a nice boost as they head to Newry, a venue where wins are hard to come by and the home side will be determined to bounce back having lost to Roscommon in their opener.
In fact for long periods they looked like winning that game, but a couple of two pointers and a Ciaran Murtagh goal when the Down goalkeeper was out the field proved the turning point.
John Cleary was delighted with the win over Meath. “Happy with getting the two points, a few areas of concern, lost our way for a bit. We should have been more comfortable near the finish, but pleased to win.”
As for the new rules John was very happy. It’s a “much better game to watch, coach and to play. We were a bit worried as it was our first competitive outing under them, but very positive for everyone.”
A key area is discipline and “our players are aware themselves what’s required as we are on the sideline, because any indiscretion will be punished by a two pointer”.
There might be a few tweaks after the league. “There could be and if there are, we will embrace them and get on with it, as will all counties and hopefully in the long term football will be the winner.”
The visit to Newry will be another test. It’s “never an easy venue to go to and get a result, it will be a challenge like all games are in the division.”
John accepts it’s a tough one: “We will dust ourselves down, look at Down tomorrow, get back to training during the week and go again.”
Injuries will once again come into the equation, as John explained: “It looks like Micheál Aodh (Martin) won’t play (he made a vital save in the first half), and Brian (Hurley) picked up a knock in training and will also miss out, but as we always say it’s an opportunity for others to step up.”
Down looked impressive in their game against Roscommon, scoring 1-20 and not winning is good shooting.
In that tally was 6 two pointers from outside the arc, 4 from full-forward Pat Havern. Cork will want to curb this talented attacker.
James McGuinness, Ryan McEvoy, Odhran Murdock, Paddy McCarthy, Danny Magill and Ceilum Doherty all played well and like their management will be keen to bounce back from the loss.
The Cork starting 15 is unlikely to change much from the Meath game.
Patrick Doyle will get the nod in goal, while Daniel O’Mahoney, Maurice Shanley and Mattie Taylor (another great goal) will feature in defence.
Brian O’Driscoll was the stand out player against Meath although listed at RHB he popped up everywhere and kicked some great score from play and placed balls.
The midfield pairing of Colm O’Callaghan and Sean Walsh got in an amount of work but were not that dominant from kick-outs and will look to remedy that.
Chris Óg Jones really flourished in attack and keeping him as one of the 3 up all times suited the Uibh Laoire player. Mark Cronin was another to impress, Sean Powter’s energy and work rate never lets up while Eoghan McSweeney made important contributions.
As John said: “It was by no means perfect but it’s a start” - an assessment I am sure the players will agree with.
It will give them confidence and if they can improve on certain aspects that they were disappointed with, they are well capable of winning this one and make the long journey home that bit shorter.
Coverage of the game on 96FM and C103 from 1pm on Sunday.
Lidl Ladies Football National League Div 2
Cork v Galway on Sunday in Tuam at 2pm
There was a winning start for a somewhat new look team and management last week but a much stiffer test awaits Joe Carroll’s group in round 2.
Joe was delighted with the win: “Great to win your opening game. We played very well in the first half, dipped a bit in the second period but the game was probably over at that stage.”
The manager also confirmed that WAFL player Erika O’Shea was back with the squad. Jokingly he said: “I managed to keep it under wraps for a few weeks but Erika is a quality player and will bring a lot to the group and hopefully we will have her for a prolonged period.”
Galway like Cork were relegated last year but did win an All-Ireland semi-final, so on home soil they might be expected to win this one coming on the back of their 2-9 to 0-7 win over Tipperary in Fethard at the weekend.
Cork struck for goals early on with Libby Coppinger (2) and Hannah Looney the scorers, Laura O’Mahoney, Sarah Leahy, Katie Quirke, Maire O’Callaghan, Aoife Healy and Emma Cleary all played well in what was a one sided contest.
Joe made the point that “the ambition is to get into Division 1 and if we win Divison 2 on the way all the better, but promotion is the target”. They can go along way achieving that if they can win on Sunday.