Cork will have a lot going for them says former Cats ace Walsh
Cork captain Patrick Horgan leads the team in the parade against Limerick in the All-Ireland SHC final at Croke Park. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
THE Cork hurlers are still in a strong position despite the demoralising defeat at the hands of a powerhouse Limerick in the All-Ireland final.
That's the view of Kilkenny legend and former UCC hurler Tommy Walsh, speaking in his role as an analyst for . The straight-talking Noresider believes the Rebels returned to the All-Ireland stage on merit and can bounce back in 2022.
"There's a lot going for them. They're young, they have the speed, Patrick Horgan is their oldest player and he still has the legs. Their underage is very strong.
"The two best teams were in the final. It was one of those days when a team goes on a run. It's very hard as an underdog to come back from conceding goals like that. They had deserved their place in the final. The worst game to lose is the semi-final."
Walsh, who lined out for the College in the mid-noughties in the Fitzgibbon Cup and Cork Senior Hurling Championship, as well as battling the Rebels in three All-Ireland finals, gave the Leesiders a decent chance before throw-in.
"Coming in I was quietly confident for Cork. I thought they were underdogs but had so many players hurling so well. They didn't just stumble into the final. They were on the crest of a wave with the minors and U20s winning. It just wasn't to be."
A terrific early goal from Shane Kingston, after a spine-tingling pre-match parade where Cork and Limerick supporters created a wall of noise, set the scene for a classic. Instead, the Treaty ruthlessly dismantled Kieran Kingston's side.
"We all thought we had a game. The underdogs need to stay in the game and Kingston showed the hunger, willing to take risks and go for it. We thought 'this could be Cork's day' when they got a point straight away after: 1-1 each.
"It was risky because they go back to the goalie and it goes to the far side of the field where you should have a Cork lad free. Limerick were pressing up though and when Patrick Collins looked up, he could see no one free, especially with the size of this Limerick team.
"If Mark Coleman got the ball he had to try and break the tackle past Cian Lynch, Gearóid Hegarty, Tom Morrissey, very hard to do."
Walsh appreciates the importance of the Rebel faithful to their side, but they were silenced early on by the clinical champions.
"The Cork crowd never had a chance to be the 16th man for Cork like they were against Kilkenny. That day it was like being in Cork there was so many of them, but it was 50-50 between the supporters for the final. That made a difference.
"Because Cork were coming out short it was slowing down the game, which suited the bigger-sized hurlers.
"The zonal defence works very well for Limerick. While Will O'Donoghue and Darragh O'Donovan aren't scoring from midfield they're allowing Limerick sit off with that zonal defence."
To beat Limerick, the Tullaroan native, part of the team that got the better of Fr O'Neill's in the All-Ireland IHC final two years ago, feels you must pick off points out the field and also man-mark their marquee forwards.
"No one seems to be able to get a number 11 against Limerick that scores five or six points from play because Declan Hannon is sitting back all day. They should be able to have a Noel McGrath-type centre-forward who shoots from out the pitch but no one does because of the work-rate of the Limerick forwards and the roles of Will O'Donoghue and Darragh O'Donovan.
"Cork left so much space inside of their full-back line it was impossible to defend that. To do it, they would have to mark very tight out the field: Tom Morrissey, Hegarty, Lynch, so that the ball going in was only 50-50. They didn't though, so the Limerick players out the field had the chance to look up and pick out their passes going in."
App?
