Battle Lost but War from far Over

18th Jun 2007

Battle Lost but War Far from Over
Finbarr Barry

Kilkenny are still the only team that stand between Cork and another All Ireland title.

Waterford may have won the battle last Sunday but they certainly haven't won the war and many neutral hurling fans (like ourselves!) are still unconvinced Waterford have the metal to go all the way.

They've got some handy forwards. Dan Shanahan isn't too far off Joe Deane and Ben O'Connor's standard with some tidy points from out wide. When John Mullane isn't fighting his pace is worth noting and he hit some nice points against his, albeit rather sick, marker Brian Murphy and in the second half by debutant Shane O'Neill.

Deane: back to his best

In Cork we don't make excuses for defeats but we're entitled to provide explanations. Brian Murphy was rattled sick in the few days running up the game, Niall McCarthy mangled his foot and Tom Kenny keeled over in the 53rd minute. All three former All Stars had to be replaced.

Add in three suspensions and you have a team that is more experimental than championship - by the end of the game only six of the fifteen who started in the All Ireland final last year were on the field

So many things went against Cork in the run up to and during the game yet the difference between the teams at the final whistle was merely the width of the crossbar at the Killinan End.

Cork fans around the square in Thurles seemed to be in unusually good form after the game. The talk was not of who let us down or where Gerald McCarthy might have got it wrong but more of how exciting the Cork forwards have suddenly become under his stewardship and what will happen when we walk through the backdoor into the autumn's championship shake down.

Whatever about stats and marks out of ten in the papers, Cork fans in Thurles were talking about three players in particular who they think will be instrumental in bringing Liam McCarthy back to Cork:

Fragile Rocks
Kieran 'Fraggy' Murphy has delivered exactly what Gerald McCarthy wanted when he took over: goals. Despite a full force Deise backline and first choice keeper, the new Cork full forward tore them to shreds and made a team who are convinced they're going to win a Senior All Ireland title this year look, at times, woefully inept.

Suddenly all the Brian Corcoran nostalgia of the National League and failed attempts to replace him are gone. No longer do we have to have to debate sacrificing the full back slot to stick the Rock in at number fourteen. It's sorted.

Pa!
What makes us even more giddy about the rest of the season though are Cork's scintillating young guns. Pa Cronin's pace and brute force ability to brush his markers aside will terrorise every defence in the championship. Since the Clare game he has been fine tuned and the B-town wonder was making monster catches on Sunday that even Waterford fans were applauding.

When he turns towards goal with his bounty he generates a unique burst of excitement among Cork fans that hasn't been felt since Setanta ” hAilp'