Talking points from the Cork hurlers victory over Clare
Luke Meade, one of 12 Cork scorers against Clare. Picture: Larry Cummins
The chances of a fit Patrick Horgan not lining out for Cork in the championship are zero, but there is obviously a small possibility that the Glen Rovers man might be unavailable. On Saturday, Cork were able to keep him on the bench and still scored 2-30.
“I don’t think I need to say anything more about Patrick Horgan,” said Kieran Kingston.
“For us, having the opportunity tonight to rest him and not need to bring him in is a positive from the panel’s perspective.
“We all know what he can and what he could so. To be able to rest him in the first week of February is great and that was the intention tonight.”
In Horgan’s absence, new captain Mark Coleman and Shane Kingston both scored from dead balls and that pair were among 12 Cork scorers from open play.
From the half-back line up, only debutant Seán Twomey at left half-forward did not get on the scoresheet but he linked well with Shane Barrett in the left corner. In addition, Pádraig Power marked his first competitive senior appearance with a point off the bench while Luke Meade bagged a goal after he came on.
In the modern game, no team can survive by relying on two or three primary scorers and Limerick – the benchmark for everything – have shooters in their two defensive lines as well as further forward. In the All-Ireland final, the Shannonsiders had 13 scorers compared to nine for Cork: having more players capable of registering is a way for Cork to close the gap.
Cork’s starting 15 had an average age of little more than 24 years, with debutants Ciarán Joyce (19) and Seán Twomey (21) helping to bring the figure down, though the attack featured Séamus Harnedy (31), the returning Conor Lehane (29) and Alan Cadogan (28).
While Patrick Collins is only in his second year as starting goalkeeper, he had a lengthy period as understudy to Anthony Nash and Mark Coleman, Darragh Fitzgibbon and Shane Kingston were all part of the panel in Kieran Kingston’s first year in charge in 2016.
It’s a valuable asset for management to have as they seek to integrate more graduates from the two All-Ireland U20 wins, knowing that a young team won’t lack for leadership.
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