Three reasons the Cork hurlers saved their season

ANOTHER week goes by, and Cork have produced another outstanding performance that exceeded everyone’s expectations.

I honestly didn’t expect to see the Rebels one-up the incredible fight they put to Limerick, but somehow they have – and they’ve done everything possible to keep their hopes at advancing to the All-Ireland series alive.

Now, it’s over to Limerick to get a result against Waterford. While the Déise will be fighting to keep their championship hopes in check, Limerick will be itching to put their result against Cork right and secure qualification for another Munster final, and with home advantage I expect they’ll prevail.

It’s not worth worrying about that as it’s out of Cork’s hands, but the fact there’s a chance after those first two games is pretty remarkable.

THE TURN AROUND 

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a big swing in performance between two sets of games, but Cork have raised their level beyond our expectations.

Each game has been better than the last in terms of performance, and this was another week where the substitutes were as impactful as the starters.

Not only did Cork produce another monstrous scoring effort, but the Rebels were their sharpest defensively out of the four games, even if Tipperary didn’t do enough to threaten Pat Ryan’s team.

Crucially, Mark Coleman was back to his best and just in time if Cork are going to have a chance to deliver in the All-Ireland series.

Aside from the goal at the start of the game Patrick Collins was again impressive, while Eoin Downey and Seán O’Donoghue were rock solid and much more comfortable overall.

Niall O’Leary was incredible, by far the best of the backs and even managed a point for his efforts. Rob Downey and Tim O’Mahony did their jobs perfectly for the second week in a row.

Tommy O’Connell and Ger Millerick were also great additions off the bench.

SCORING 

Cork managed a whopping 4-30, with 4-25 of that coming from play. It’s genuinely outrageous how clinical the Rebels were, scoring 74% of their shots in the action. On the contrary, Tipperary only converted 55% of their in-play chances, hitting nine wides from 23 attempts.

Darragh Fitzgibbon was outstanding when surging forward especially in the first half, and Luke Meade worked for every single ball when he replaced the injured Ethan Twomey.

Shane Kingston was another who delivered from the bench, scoring four crucial points to seal the win. The fact he’s struggling to find a starting spot despite being so clinical as a substitute tells you everything you need to know about the form of Cork’s forwards right now.

Patrick Horgan and Seamus Harnedy showed their class and experience as always, while Alan Connolly’s hat-trick wasn’t much of a surprise given how threatening he has been in front of goal.

That 4-30 was achieved without Robbie O’Flynn again.

There’s a lot to look forward to if Cork make it out of Munster, but it all hangs on next week’s games.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 

Cork can actually still qualify for the Munster final, though it would take a lot to go their way.

As it stands, Limerick lead the way with four points on the board and a +16 scoring difference, followed by Cork with four points and +15. Clare have the same four-point tally, but their scoring difference is 0. Waterford lie fourth with three points and a +2 difference.

Should Waterford beat Limerick and Clare lose to Tipperary next weekend, We’ll see Waterford top the group with Cork second, Limerick third and Clare fourth.

If the reverse happens and Limerick and Clare both win (as is most likely) Cork will take third and the qualifier path, while the Banner and the Treaty will contest the Munster final for the third time in three years.

If Limerick and Waterford were to end in a draw and Clare avoid defeat, Cork will be out of the Munster Championship as head-to-head will come into play, so that loss to Waterford could still come back to haunt the Rebels.

However, a Limerick and Waterford draw will not be fatal for Cork should Clare lose – as that will leave Cork, Waterford and Clare on 4 points each, and the scoring difference will see the Leesiders through to the Munster final and Clare out of the Championship.

We can be thankful for the Banner’s narrow win over Waterford at the weekend.

There’s also the possibility of Limerick not making it out of Munster – as a defeat to Waterford and a Clare win over Tipp will send the Champions out on head-to-head, dictated by that all-time classic we witnessed in Páirc Uí Chaoimh just over a week ago.

We can only dream.