Cork hurling analysis: Forwards only won 11 of 28 long deliveries but defence battled well

Moments before the throw-in of the Cork-Kilkenny game on Saturday evening, as the stadium announcer was speaking about the late Ray Ryan, Dave Nolan and Paul O’Sullivan wrapped their arms around the shoulders of Ray’s brother, Pat.

As all the Cork players, management, backroom team and a couple of county board officials were gathered tightly together, universally united along the 45-metre line facing the tricolour at the Blackrock end of Páirc Uí Chaoimh for a minute’s silence, the sustained round of applause which suddenly broke out around the stadium reflected the collective warmth and heartfelt goodwill towards Pat Ryan and his family.

“It will have been hard for the players to see the pain their manager is in,” wrote Anthony Daly in his Irish Examiner column on Saturday morning. “But, in a reverse way, it will drive them on too to give that bit more to show Pat and his family how much they really mean to them, and the county.” 

Ryan is such a well-loved and admired figure around the county that nothing less was expected from the players. Tragedy always frames perspective but it also stokes the desire amongst family and friends to show greater love and affection for those affected.

“Pat is the leader of our group and we love him to bits,” said Rob Downey in his post-match interview on TG4. 

We were very conscious this week to put in a performance that he’d be proud off, but also his family would be proud of as well. Hopefully we did that.” 

After a week of such sadness, hurling didn’t really seem important but, in another way, it can often matter even more when set against the backdrop of tragedy and loss. Saturday’s game was more important than ever in how it offered the Cork and wider GAA community another opportunity to express their support for the Ryan family.

JOB DONE

Cork’s performance was patchy, but they got the job done in a game where the standard was never going to matter as much as the result.

It was a poor match but Cork will have been happy with multiple aspects of their performance. Their defence was excellent, especially Niall O’Leary and the Downey brothers while Ciarán Joyce showed the much-needed improvement that was required from him after the Tipperary match.

Damien Cahalane did well when he came on while Ger Millerick also had a fine game before he went off injured, having won three long deliveries in front of Harry Shine. That was a theme of Cork’s defensive play all evening, with Kilkenny only winning 28% of the long ball they played into their attack, a large percentage of which was cut out by O’Leary and Rob Downey.

Cork will be disappointed with the manner of how they conceded the two goals but their defending going back towards their own goal was far better than it has been, especially with runners coming through the centre.

Billy Ryan’s goal stemmed from O’Leary failing to move his feet and make a proper connection with a handpass to Rob Downey but O’Leary had initially secured that possession from another Kilkenny turnover.

In the first 19 minutes alone, Cork forced four turnovers from Kilkenny players running towards the Cork goal with menace, one of which led to Diarmuid Healy’s goal. 

Healy latched onto a breaking ball off a long-free from Tim O’Mahony but that free had been won by Joyce after Shane Barrett had dispossessed Killian Doyle.

When Barrett had a goal chance saved by Eoin Murphy in the 42nd minute, the play had begun when O’Leary again won a long Kilkenny delivery off a breaking ball. When TJ Reid had a goal chance to draw the game with the last play, Reid wasn’t able to make a connection on a batted effort because of the smart and disciplined defending from O’Leary and Cahalane.

PROMISE

The biggest plus of the evening was the display of Healy; from 13 possessions, he scored 1-5, was involved in two more scores, and set up another point chance. His ball-winning ability set him apart as an underage player but Saturday again showcased Healy’s raw pace and his willingness to keep shooting.

Barrett scored 0-2 and had direct assists for 0-4 while, from seven possessions, Patrick Horgan scored 0-3, was fouled for two converted frees and had another assist.

Brian Hayes, Robbie O’Flynn and Declan Dalton only had a combined 12 possessions but the biggest concern of the evening for Cork was how poorly they fared off long deliveries into their attack, winning just 11 of 28. At one stage either half of half-time, Cork won just two out of 13.

It was clear after the Tipp game that Cork needed to be more direct but Saturday also showed that they needed to be more precise – and more willing to win that dirty ball.

Cork will take a lot of learnings from Saturday night because they’ll need to. They shipped four points in four minutes off puck-outs just before the break. Kilkenny only had a 50% conversion rate. Two of Kilkenny’s three best players on the night, Huw Lawlor and Cian Kenny, were gone off when the game was in the melting pot.

Still, context frames everything. Saturday night was never about the performance. Everything was about Cork showing Pat Ryan and his family how much they mean to the whole county.