John Horgan on hurling: Cork had that bit extra in the tank

THE feelgood factor surrounding the Cork hurlers brought over 16,000 souls to Páirc Uí Chaoimh and it was important that, outside of the black and amber brigade, they went home happy enough.

On a scale of one to 10, it was a game that rated around the seven-mark but when push came to shove in the minutes that mattered coming down the home stretch, Cork had that bit of extra in the tank to reach a first league final in seven years.

They timed it perfectly, hitting 1-3 late on which illustrated a newfound positivity, which must be good for a squad containing a number of players still very much in the infancy of their inter-county careers.

Success is breeding success at the moment and the five wins from the six games is a perfect response to the torrid time Cork endured in the final game of last season. Kieran Kingston has reason to be pleased with how things have developed since, just 70 minutes away from a national title.

They’re getting as much out of the campaign as they can, but at the same time, not peaking too soon. We have all too often seen counties peak too early in the season and go backward when the far more important questions are posed in the championship.

Cork had just the one blip in Wexford Park when there was nothing at stake.

Cork’s attitude to the league in past years might have been somewhat indifferent. There was no consistency, one good win was followed by a poor loss and entering the championship arena you did not know where you stood.

This time, the depth in resources and more aggressive dimension are encouraging. Maybe the consistency over the entire game that the management craves is not there yet and that was evident last Saturday when Kilkenny were far more tuned in for longer periods in the opening half.

Cork found themselves trailing by six points and the Kilkenny triumvirate of Billy Ryan, Eoin Cody, and Martin Keoghan were causing problems, Cody and Ryan rifling over some good points and Keoghan executing the game’s first goal which he followed up later with a second.

Come the championship, giving a team like Limerick an early advantage like that might prove to be very damaging and finding yourself on the back foot so early in the game could have fatal consequences.

The Cork response was admirable this time; in particular, Alan Connolly from the Rockies showed up very well. A repeat performance in the final on Saturday will catapult him into serious contention for a starting place against Limerick on Easter Sunday.

Competition for places is beginning to intensify and the time is here for those with that ambition. One player who has certainly nailed his colours to the mast is Ciarán Joyce.

Nobody wants to put any great pressure on one so young, but he’s impressed with his reading of games, distribution, and the type of controlled aggression that Cork have lacked in the past. He delivered a fine point again here and that is something that might be very important in the tightness of a championship encounter.

Darragh Fitzgibbon was in terrific form again, back to his brilliant best. 

Many questioned Conor Lehane’s absence from the squad last season but that’s history now and his recall has been fully justified and he will be a key player.

The concession of two goals will be a source of some concern to Kingston and the overall first-half display needs to be much better going forward. Three of the starting six forwards scored just three points between and that must be improved upon too.

There’s just one game to go now and less than three weeks out from the championship. There is some debating still to be done before things are finalised and there are still some questions to be addressed.

Things are progressing along the way you would want them to be and qualifying for a league final has to be looked on now as a help more than a hindrance.

The final will be 'make your mind up' time for the management regarding the 15 they will pick for the Easter Sunday showdown that might well be a season-defining encounter.