Tony Considine: Limerick used to fear Cork, now it's the other way around
Cork captain Sean O'Donoghue leaves the field after receiving a second yellow card against Clare. Picture: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
THE Waterford-Tipp draw in Walsh Park has opened up all kinds of possibilities in this championship.
I'd say Pat Ryan was a happy man as, outside of Limerick, especially with their scoring difference after the big win over Tipperary, it's still wide open for the other four counties.
We often give out about things that happen in the GAA but you have to say this is a brilliant concept for both provinces. It gives everyone a fair chance of making progress. It is completely in their own hands. No excuses. The way it should be.
This week is a huge week for Pat Ryan and for Cork hurling. A lot of doom and gloom around after championship defeats but you have to remember there were two teams playing the last day. Clare brought their 'A game' and for long periods Cork brought the same, two counties under enormous pressure.
Clare probably showed that bit extra to get over the line, even though they too made a lot of mistakes. Cork seemed to make more and paid the price, especially with the sending-off of Sean O'Donoghue. He probably knows well that he was completely wrong in what he did.
One thing for sure this week is that they cannot afford to make those kind of mistakes. They have got to get everything right this Saturday because any errors will be punished by Limerick.
As I said before, they tend to play as individuals, which they are very good at. At times. I also think they take too much out of the ball, maybe overplaying the passing game, like they did against Clare.
When the score is on, you should take it if you are in the best position to do so. They seem to overplay it when going for goals. They would be advised not to do that against Limerick, a team that smother you at every opportunity given.
Movement of the ball against Limerick at all times is crucial. Cork will have to use their pace, which they have plenty of, but speed of thought is vitally important too.
Run at Limerick at every opportunity. There is no point stopping the ball against them, as they are a very physically imposing team. Cork need to go back to being a lot more direct in their hurling.
Puck-outs and more importantly puck-out strategy, which was not good against Clare, is very important in the modern game.
While that is not good for a goalkeeper to be doing that, I have to lay the blame with the guy who is supposed to be receiving the ball. A lot of players like loose play now, especially in puck-outs, but sometimes when they have to fight to win the dirty ball they do not want to know. Surely that is not the goalkeeper's fault?
You have got to get the right balance. The player receiving the ball must fight a bit more for it. I also believe the goalkeeper must be more accurate in finding his man, whether he is marked or not.
One huge thing is missing for Cork at the moment, and it's something they should be really concentrating on. That is to put the fear of God into teams when playing Cork, especially in the Páirc.
That was something that Cork teams always had in the past, there was always that fear factor. Even when teams were in a good position to beat them, that fear of Cork nearly always came into their mindset.
This has been missing in Cork teams for the last number of years. People do not fear taking them on anymore. Definitely not like they used to.
The Blood and Bandage seemed to be very intimidating for a lot of teams. Why has that changed so much? Is it the way Cork are preparing their hurlers now?
Has it got something to do with how they are brought up from the academies? Have they lost some of their old traditions in development squads?
The guillotine is hanging over Cork this Saturday evening, and it's a big green one, and Limerick would love to drop it. A huge weekend for Cork, for Pat Ryan and his team, and for Cork hurling.
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