Midleton v Glen: Cork selectors will monitor Tommy O’Connell’s switch to six 

WHILE Midleton and Glen Rovers will be entirely focused on winning the Sean Óg Murphy Cup when they meet in the Premier Senior Hurling Championship final there will inevitably be the sideshow of how various individual performances impact the make-up of the Cork panel.

One of the most interesting aspects will be the performance of Midleton’s Tommy O’Connell in his new role at centre-back. Up until now, he has been mainly regarded as a midfielder or wing forward, where he sparkled in the 2019 U20 All-Ireland campaign, scoring 1-10 against Kilkenny in the semi-final and 1-2 in the defeat to Tipp in the final.

He lined out in an attacking role for Midleton in the 2020 championship and bar rattling over four points in the rout of Ballyhea the matches against Sarsfields and Douglas pretty much passed him by, as the Magpies failed to get out of the group stages.

He went back to U20 duty with Cork late last year, playing in the Munster semi-final against Limerick at midfield, and would have been considered one of Cork’s key players at that grade, yet he was pulled ashore when the game was still in the melting pot in the 48th minute, replaced by Darragh Flynn. He subsequently played the entire Munster final against Tipperary, but was down the list in terms of key men for Cork that night, and certainly wasn’t the star he had been at that grade the previous year.

BACK ON FORM

199 days later Cork beat Dublin to win the first of three underage All-Irelands the county would win in the space of seven weeks, and while O’Connell’s midfield partner Brian Roche was awarded the Man of the Match gong, the Midleton man was back to his influential self, slotting two brilliant points from play in a brilliant display in Nowlan Park.

Midleton coach Ben O’Connor has since entrusted him with being the lynchpin in defence, and while there were certainly growing pains in the early games his display in the victory over reigning champions Blackrock in the semi-final was somewhat of a Rubicon crossing, as he gave a battling display in the Magpies' number six shirt.

Kieran Kingston will certainly have taken notice. O’Connell probably was not in their plans before that semi-final, but should he repeat that performance against Glen Rovers then that may change.

Many will expect Castlemartyr’s Ciaran Joyce to get a chance to step up as the Cork centre-back next year, but he does have another year left at U20. 

O’Connell could be another alternative, or even as a shield in front of Joyce, while freeing up Mark Coleman to play in a more advanced role.

The Glen’s Robert Downey is another player who could easily bolster that Cork half-back line. He impressed for Cork at full-back last year, but mainly when teams hit long ball in on top of him. Managers will be aware that they can get joy if they play the ball into the corners when he is at three and his performance in the half-back line for the Glen against Sars, and particularly the manner in which he shackled Sars’ big man James Sweeney, showed that he would probably be more suited in a match-up against someone like Gearoid Hegarty.

Throw Tim O’Mahony into the mix and there are three or four players who could lock down the half-back line and defensive midfield berths for Cork, something that is badly needed after last year’s comprehensive All-Ireland defeat at the hands of Limerick.

Midleton have had other star performers, with Cormac Walsh being another player that has made the transformation from poacher to gamekeeper, as he has excelled in his new wing-back role. Older players such as Paul Haughney and Luke O’Farrell are in great form, while Conor Lehane has been back to his magical best, and playing so well that the inevitable question will be asked as to whether he should be recalled to the Cork panel. 

It certainly would be a Hollywood storyline if he were to return and help Cork to All-Ireland glory.

Perhaps the surprise package of the campaign has been the scintillating form of Cormac Beausang, who sliced over seven points from play against Na Piarsaigh, before hitting four against Erin's Own in the quarter-finals and then a stunning 1-4 against the Rockies in the semi. His pace and finishing means he is a serious weapon at club level.