What Cork will turn up? The games against Offaly and Dublin spooked me a little bit about Cork. I accept the medical cert as an explanation for a lack of energy but the performances fell a long way off the defining levels reached against Limerick, twice, and for half the Tipperary match.
They have had a split season of their own. In the first match against Waterford, they were poor – trying to run it through the lines when even then Alan Connolly and Shane Barrett were crying out for early, direct ball.
There were also disciplinary issues in the first two matches, with a red card in each.
Then, third time out, against Limerick, everything went long, energy levels were up and the Cork crowd got behind them, freeing the genie from the bottle but only, it appears, on licence because he has occasionally disappeared back in there.
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Early on against Tipperary was an example until just before half-time when Alan Connolly’s goal popped the cork for a sparkling second half.
That form with its direct ball, unbelievably fast puck-outs, high tempo, high energy, pace from the middle with Darragh Fitzgibbon, Ciarán Joyce and Mark Coleman tearing through from wing back and Barrett with his really high gears – I think that wins.
If they can reproduce that with the consequent goals, Clare will struggle to beat them because had Limerick reached the final, I would have fancied them to win. So, if Cork are as good as or better than Limerick that should be enough.
Any flagging in those octane levels has consequences because the crowd don’t get fired up and that extraordinary synergy of excitement in the stands and abandon on the pitch suffers.
Can they maintain that state of mind through two weeks of absolute hype and delirium in the county? In that respect, the experience of the 2021 final will be invaluable because the personnel isn’t much different from that beaten to a pulp that day by Limerick.
That’s an active driver for improvement and not allowing the same thing to happen again.
These various factors lead me to believe that they will perform.
Clare have been impressive in recent years, maintaining a high level of competitiveness against the dominant team of the age and also a strong CV against Cork, who have to go back three years for a last championship win, the 2021 All-Ireland qualifier in Limerick when it took a sensational save by Patrick Collins from Tony Kelly to keep them in it.
Again, though, which Cork? During a commendable Clare win in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, a couple of months ago, Connolly and Brian Hayes were very dangerous but Shane O’Donnell and Mark Rodgers ran amok against the home defence.
Clare have Tony Kelly on the up, having been a fleeting presence in earlier games. He was affected by the first-half malaise against Kilkenny but responded strongly after half-time and shot the point that left Kilkenny needing a goal.
Their strength has been in the forwards and, if they win, there will be no debate about Hurler of the Year. Shane O’Donnell has been in phenomenal form, bouncing off defenders, and were he to win as much ball as Aaron Gillane and Séamus Flanagan did for Limerick against Cork, he’s far more of a goal threat, as they are more likely to come around outside the defender for a point.
O’Donnell is going inside the defender as quick as light and will draw fouls – culminating in a red card for Seán O’Donoghue in the Munster match.
Ryan Taylor’s timely return from injury is a huge plus. His mobility and appetite for action coming into the semi-final reversed the momentum created by Cian Kenny for Kilkenny. He isn’t scheduled to start but I can’t see Lohan leaving him to sit on the bench for long.
Clare won’t be able to shut down the long puck-outs but they can make the middle third a battleground to stem the supply into the Cork full-forward line. Their half backs are going to have to be rock steady in the air and in Donie Nealon’s mantra ‘block the ball’ – ie keep it in front of them and not let it in behind.
Diarmuid Ryan, John Conlon and David McInerney are big men, who won’t be disadvantaged by high ball but they will be pressurised with Séamus Harnedy, Declan Dalton and even Brian Hayes coming out to compete.
Barrett, the likely choice for Hurler of the Year if Cork win, also poses a major challenge for Conlon with his pace and energy, which blew Declan Hannon out of it in the semi-final.
Wides will also be an issue. Clare have gone through phases of inaccuracy, which will be doubly costly in that it both costs you a point and allows a super-quick puck-out because the referee doesn’t have to note a score.
Their Munster final was undermined by chaotic and inaccurate free-taking so credit is due to Aidan McCarthy for buckling down against Kilkenny and giving a flawless display off the tee.
I have had doubts about their back four – even in the semi-final, goalkeeper Eibhear Quilligan was exceptional but still managed to cough up a goal, which kept Kilkenny on life support.
Adam Hogan had a great match on Eoin Cody but, as a line, they can be prone to error and conceding frees although Conor Leen’s arrival has improved them as a unit. There’s no room for error back there.
These teams produced an excellent match earlier in the summer and there’s every chance they can repeat that. When it’s all over, my sense is that the bottle will be empty and Cork will have their first Liam MacCarthy in 19 years.
