Cork hurling top scorers: Rebels must convince Seamus Harnedy to stay on like Patrick Horgan

Thu, 25 Jul, 2024 - 08:40

Eamonn Murphy

THE Cork hurlers came within a puck of a sliotar, through a couple of questionable calls and some frustrating misses, away from the All-Ireland.

Liam MacCarthy will reside in Clare for the winter and the famine on Leeside rolls into year 20.

As close as Pat Ryan's charges came to glory, there are bound to be a few changes to the team for 2025. The likes of Pádraig Power, Ben Cunningham, Micheál Mullins and Daire O'Leary, standout performers when Cork collected U20 All-Irelands in recent years, are among the young guns looking to force their way into contention.

In Ryan's first season at the helm, Damien Cahalane and Brian Roche started all four games in Munster while Ger Millerick, Tommy O’Connell and Luke Meade started three times. None of them clocked major minutes this summer, however.

Cork had a 38-strong squad and placed a major emphasis on training ground and A versus B form, which saw Jack O'Connor move up the pecking order as an All-Ireland final sub. They made six changes for their second match in Munster as they were looking for a better balance between speed and size after the loss to Waterford.

The changes to the panel won't be drastic next season, with Patrick Horgan, who turns 38 next May, intending to hurl on and the whole county praying Seamus Harnedy (34 last week) follows his lead.

Horgan was the Rebels' top-scorer, as expected, and with 0-12 against Clare overtook Lee Chin as the leading scorer across the board this year, and is now 10 points ahead of TJ Reid on the all-time list.

Leaving out the frees, Horgan shot as much from play in this campaign as Harnedy and Alan Connolly, and a point behind Shane Barrett and Darragh Fitzgibbon. Harnedy's 1-20 was particularly noteworthy as he missed the Offaly victory through injury and grabbed 0-4 in both Croke Park battles. He's a banker to be rewarded with his third All-Star.

You could argue he was even better lately than when he was previously honoured in 2013 and '18. Those seasons, of course, also ended on what-ifs as well.

Maybe, just maybe, Cork can give Harnedy and Horgan the conclusion their magnificent careers deserve yet.

CORK CHAMPIONSHIP SCORERS:

1. Patrick Horgan 5-74 (1-57 f, 1-0 pen, 0-3 65); 3-14 play (23);

2. Alan Connolly 4-13 (0-2 f); 4-11 play (23);

3. Shane Barrett 2-18; Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-24;

5. Seamus Harnedy 1-20;

6. Declan Dalton 0-21 (0-11 f), (10);

7. Brian Hayes 2-13;

8. Shane Kingston 0-9; Robert Downey 2-3;

10. Robbie O'Flynn 1-4;

11. Mark Coleman 0-5;

12. Tim O'Mahony 0-4;