The Echo Sport Podcast: What happened to Cork's five-year football plan; hurlers heading for league final

The Echo Sport Podcast takes in all the latest GAA action. This week we discuss the state of Cork football.

Barry O'Mahony analyses a strong performance at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh against the Louth team that knocked them out of last year's All-Ireland series. Mark Cronin and Chris Óg Jones led the line with aplomb while Colm O'Callaghan grabbed the critical goal.

It was a welcome reprieve for John Cleary's side who gave themselves a good chance of escaping relegation and if they beat Cavan away they'll secure a top-four finish and avoid a possible Tailteann Cup appearance.

However, the state of Cork football is still a major concern for all Rebels. The U20s taking a heavy beating, albeit in a challenge, from Louth didn't help, especially as underage results in recent years have been a disappointment outside of Munster minor titles in '21 and '22.

Clon delegate Tommy Lyons slated the board recently for failing to conduct a proper analysis of where it's going wrong for a county with so many players. That's before we mention the 'five-year plan' which didn't yield any solid success.

Where can improvements be made? The geographical spread of Cork football strongholds and the hurling preference in many areas certainly aren't helping...

On the local front, St Finbarr's, even without Steven Sherlock against Éire Óg, and Clonakilty, are the clubs to beat in Division 1.

OVERDUE

Turning to next weekend, we preview Cork and Galway which is certain to attract a huge attendance on Saturday night in the Páirc given it's a defacto league semi-final with the winners taking on Tipperary.

Now that Cork are two wins away from secondary silverware for the first time in 27 years, there's a bit of pressure to make the most of this opportunity.

No doubt Pat Ryan and his selectors will take it in their stride but the team selection will be interesting with some big players due back.

Now in its third season, every week Éamonn Murphy will be joined by The Echo team including Barry O'Mahony, Denis Hurley, Rory Noonan, John Horgan and more to discuss all the latest Cork GAA news on and off the field.

You can listen to the Echo Sport Podcast every week wherever you get your podcasts or on www.echolive.ie/podcast