Cork football talking points: Conor Corbett showed his goal threat in Páirc hammering
Séan O'Dea of Limerick is tackled by Conor Corbett of Cork. Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
YOU’D have to go back a long time to identify the last time Cork scored six goals in either league or championship and in truth it could have been 10.
They had threatened goals in the last outing against Dublin but on this occasion that potential was realised in the most glorious fashion.
The standard was set by Ian Maguire, who finished off a flowing move to score with the utmost confidence and that exemplary execution rubbed off on the rest on the goal-scorers.
In the McGrath Cup win over Kerry, when Cork netted five times, Colm O’Callaghan chipped in with two and he was next on the list with another impressive finish.
Sean Powter learned from an earlier miss, when his shot cleared the crossbar instead of flashing in underneath, with Cork’s third goal before skipper Brian Hurley also got in on the act, once more with a clinical finish.
The expectations weigh heavily on the shoulders of young Conor Corbett given his under-age form and his introduction for the second half offered the prospect of more goals.
Indeed, it only took the Clyda Rovers star just two minutes to show his class and he also grabbed the sixth after Ruairi Deane had one disallowed for a square infringement and Steven Sherlock cracked a shot off the crossbar, too.
JUST as critical to Cork’s development was a third successive shut-out of opponents as Limerick joined Kildare and Dublin in not being able to breach the Rebel defence.
It’s an important stat because Meath had exposed Cork in the opening game by finding the net on three occasions, when Cork couldn’t find any but still shot 19 points in defeat.
Granted, Cork enjoyed some luck, notably, when Brian Donovan eventually found room and time in behind the full-back line early in the second half only to witness his stunning shot rebounding from the crossbar.
Keeping Limerick goalless will stand to Cork on the run-in, starting with a tricky visit to Ennis to play Clare on Sunday and an equally fraught tie away to Louth before all-conquering Derry head south.
IT’S something you wouldn’t see too often but when Daniel O’Mahony, the Cork full-back, deliberately fisted the ball over his own crossbar on the half-hour, it had people wondering was this a historic moment.
You might see a shot deflected off a defender carrying the crossbar but the Knocknagree UCC Sigerson Cup winner didn’t hesitate in directing a dangerous pass across the goalmouth over in the knowledge a point conceded was better than a goal scored by the visitors.
