Denis Walsh the new Cork manager must have wondered last Sunday evening what the hell he’d let himself in for, after Kilkenny had subjected his side to their heaviest defeat for many a year.
The only reason I can’t give you the correct year is that I don’t think I had been born. I’ve never seen a Cork team get beaten by 27 points. They had no answer to a merciless Kilkenny side who were relentless in their execution. The Kilkenny manager Brian Cody stated after the game that they didn’t set out to teach Cork a lesson. If this is so the players and himself were definitely singing off a different hymn sheet. I wrote in last weeks column that the league needed a classic, well we duly got it, but it was one sided. Kilkenny players have been notably quiet about the Cork strike during the last few months, but last Sunday much to the crowds delight they seemed to show them what they thought of the whole affair. It seems the Cork boys wont be winning a popularity contest this year. It speaks volumes when fans from our deadliest Leinster rivals Wexford and Offaly cheered at half time in Wexford Park when the half time score was announced. I believe it was the same at the clash in Pearse Stadium where Galway and Tipperary were battling it out. John Gardiner last year’s captain and one of the main speakers during the strike foolishly came out with a statement last week that their chances of winning All-Irelands the last two years were greatly reduced because Ger McCarthy was manager. Whether he realised it or not at the time he was indirectly undermining Kilkenny’s great achievement of the three-in-a-row. It’s likely this proud Kilkenny side won’t be drawn into a war of words over Gardiner’s comments but you can bet your bottom dollar that they will put it in the memory bank and use it for motivation if they meet later in the championship.
It may only be the month of April but this current squad have sent out a severe warning in their last three matches that they have no intention of shutting up shop and being happy with the silverware they have won over the last decade. In fact it looks quite the opposite, they seem to be raising the standard bar even higher. I realise it’s dangerous to be praising the team so early in the year, but it’s hard not to acknowledge how they’re performing - it would be like sticking your head in the sand. The only thing I wouldn’t agree with is standing ovations at half time. I know people mean well but it sends out the wrong signal to the opposition, the only time for ovations are in Croke Park in September when the job is hopefully done.
I spent last Sunday in Dublin, Donnybrook to be exact in the inner sanctums of Radio 1 where I was asked to give my thoughts during the afternoon. I had the advantage of watching both games at once courtesy of a split screen. However, I must confess my eyes were always drawn back to the clash at Nowlan Park. When you are involved in TV or radio work the golden rule is always to be impartial but I couldn’t help to punch the air when Richie Power got the first of his three goals. By the time he registered his second we knew a rout was on the cards and that another league final appearance lay in store.
The competition for place again this year is as fierce as ever. You only have to look at the centre field situation where four good men will battle it out for two positions. Ultimately it will be the training sessions which sorts out who gets the jerseys. Kilkenny’s recent slick performances have given ammunition for the media once again to blow us up. There the usual talk of who’s the second best team in Ireland (Kilkenny substitutes ) — mind you Brian Cody wont let his side buy into that. You only had to look at the Waterford game this year which showed when their heads are not right they are beatable, but when they’re tuned in they seem unstoppable.
Where do the Rebels go from here? Denis Walsh will have to pick them up, dust them down and get on with it. They will have to knuckle down to some serious training ahead of their championship clash with old rivals Tipperary. They have enough talking done, now is the time to back up what they fought for. The question is will Walsh shake up the squad after that dismal display last Sunday?. It’s a perfect opportunity for him if he so wishes as no player can say a thing after that performance. While the game in Nowlan Park looked open and uncompetitive the other big battle of the day between Galway and Tipperary was the complete opposite. They went hammer and tongs at each other. Galway had an outside chance of making it to the League Final if they had seen off the Premier county.
The game boiled over during the first half and referee Barry Kelly had no option only to send a couple of players for an early shower. Galway looked to be in control mid way during the second half but they paid dearly for allowing Tipp opportunist Lar Corbett to scramble home the decisive goal. Even with one round left to play the results of last weekend has determined that it will be a Kilkenny/Tipp league final most likely in Thurles on May 3. The Premier men will seek retribution for the hammering they received in Nowlan Park recently. The Cats also will be hoping the incoming president Christy Cooney will be as lucky for them as our own Nickey Brennan was. Now wouldn’t it be sweet to beat Tipp in a final and have a Cork man hand over the cup, two birds with one stone spring to mind!.
