Cork minor hurlers have more to come after promising start in Tipp
Cork wing-back Dean Cosgrave clearing the sliotar against Jake Donnellan Houlihan, Tipperary at Semple Stadium. Picture: Brendan Gleeson
WITH the trip to Walsh Park on April 21 to signal the start of the championship looming for Cork fans, there are two vital hurling games in the Páirc.
The minors and U20s got their campaigns up and running last week on the road, and now John Meyler's young charges host Limerick on Thursday and Ben O'Connor's All-Ireland champions take on Clare the following night. In the provincial round-robin format, the top U20 county progresses directly to the Munster decider with second and third colliding in the semi-final. For the minor, the top two go to the Munster final with the third- and fourth-placed sides paired up with Leinster opposition in preliminary All-Ireland quarter-finals.
Having been beaten by Tipp, the minors need to get the better of Limerick and on the evidence in Thurles and based on results at U16 level, they should be good enough to.
Given the Rebels were 1-10 to 1-2 behind coming up to half-time, their battling efforts were impressive, Mark O'Brien, Adam Lee and Luke Murphy fired some excellent scores and Conor Noonan was a powerful presence across the half-back line. Michael Tadhg Brosnan, U17 again next season, displayed the athleticism that lit up last winter's Premier 1 minor hurling final success for Glen Rovers over Douglas.
Cormac Deane was the other U16 to start against the Premier and of course supporters were intrigued by how the son of Leeside legend Joe would fare. A clever tackle and assist laid on O'Brien's goal but the Killeagh teen is better out the field than in the number 15 geansaí he wore last Thursday. He was midfield when his club landed the Premier 2 minor county.
Meyler and his selectors, which includes Seanie McGrath and Vincie Hurley, have good options if they want to make changes, with John Murphy and Jack O'Brien the standouts off the bench in Tipp. Peter Barrett is another gifted forward and his clinical finishing fired Midleton to U15 and U16 success in recent seasons.
It's very hard to gauge how the minors will fare and that has been the case since the grade dropped from U18 unless you've a group as obviously talented as the 2021 squad that swept to the big prize. They're now on the age at U20 and charged with defending their Munster and All-Ireland crowns.
They got the job done in Waterford in awful conditions last Friday where the most interesting aspect of the line-up was the deployment of Erin's Own club man Oran O'Regan at centre-back.
He hurled up front from the majority of his career and is now occupying the berth that Barrs colossus Ben O'Connor, now tied up with Munster Rugby, filled with aplomb.
O'Regan has the experienced James Dwyer and Darragh O'Sullivan in defence with him but adapting to a new position is still a big ask.
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