John Horgan on hurling: Cork should have enough to see off Galway to set up an Old Firm decider

Cork and Galway have the stage to themselves this weekend insofar as there being something at stake in the final round of group games in Division 1A of the league.

This is a knockout game for the right to take on Tipperary in the final of the secondary competition, a draw would be enough for Cork to make it an all-Munster decider with Galway needing outright victory to deny Cork the privilege of having the old foes getting together again with silverware on the line.

One thing is for certain, if Galway triumph they won’t be facing a county from Leinster in the final just a few short weeks away from the start of the championship in that province.

People will have their own ideas on how the new format in the league has gone, but the fact that so many of the games in both Division 1A and 1B this weekend are dead rubbers is far from ideal.

So, the main focus of attention is going to be on that Cork and Galway clash when we’ll discover which of the two will have their league season extended by another week.

Both counties have mixed the good with the indifferent over the past number of weeks, Galway even more so because on most occasions when they play, one just does not know what to expect.

That, of course, could be said about most counties early in the season, with depleted teams lining out and the emphasis very much on experimentation where management teams are concerned.

But down through the years, Galway teams have always been a bit of an enigma; teams that a lot is expected from that contain quality players in their ranks but who don’t deliver on the biggest of days.

TOP NOTCH

Down through the years too the county has produced top-notch sides at minor, U21, and U20 level featuring players with huge potential who just haven’t cut it on the senior stage.

Of course, it has always been recognised that the gap between those grades and senior is vast and only a minority are capable of taking that leap.

The past number of seasons for Galway under the great Henry Shefflin from Kilkenny didn’t produce the dividend that might have been expected when he took the managerial reins and it was no surprise that he stepped away.

In the past, Galway brought in another outside manager in the great Ger Loughnane after his tremendous success with Clare, but that didn’t work out either.

So, the torch has been passed back to Micheál O’Donoghue, the man who led them to All-Ireland glory in 2017, the first to do so since the great days under Cyril Farrell.

There is a perception that one should never go back to try and emulate the glories of the past because history has shown it does not always work out a second time.

That remains to be seen over the coming months in a Leinster championship that is now carrying more jeopardy than it did in the past and there’s greater uncertainty now about which three counties will emerge into the All-Ireland series.

Offaly’s renaissance has certainly been a talking point.

Galway have won three of their five games to date in Division 1A after an opening day loss to Tipperary in Salthill when they under-performed to an alarming degree and lost by 12 points. They subsequently defeated Kilkenny, Wexford, and Clare before being trounced by Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds.

The two heavy losses to Tipp and Limerick left their supporters in a somewhat bewildered state, but as is always the case, what happens in January, February, and early March can have no great relevance in the championship.

At the same time, that inconsistent streak down the years has been very much a feature of Galway teams, when they hit all the right buttons they are capable of taking down any team, but when that does not happen they are very much second best.

Maybe there was an over-reliance on the great Joe Canning for too long and when he departed there was a gap that was going to be very difficult to fill.

One of the newcomers this season, Anthony Burns looked very promising in some games, but he was replaced at half-time against Limerick after being held scoreless by Sean Finn.

They only registered nine points from play in that game and as one paper described it, it was a toothless performance.

But what’s pretty awful one day in the league can quickly turn into a much better one the next and Cork are likely to be tested a lot more than Tipp and Limerick were in Galway’s two defeats.

Cork’s league campaign has gone pretty well and Pat Ryan has thrown open the door to a few newcomers who have not been out of place.

Diarmuid Healy has been the standout newcomer in the victory over Kilkenny while Cormac O’Brien has settled in well as has Micheál Mullins.

However, when the championship comes around, the reliance will still be very much on the more experienced personnel, those who came so agonisingly close to ending a lengthy famine last July.

A Cork draw or win will give us a Cork-Tipp final just a few weeks out from their far more important collision. Many might not view that as an ideal situation, not showing too much of a hand before that championship showdown.

A Leinster opponent in the final might be a better proposition but every game takes on a life of its own.

OVERDUE

If Cork get the desired result against Galway and it is an if, they will have the opportunity of landing much-needed silverware.

Recent league years have revealed that winning that competition can be very productive in instilling confidence into a team, as Clare last season proved when they completed the double. It was a similar scenario with Limerick and Kilkenny before that.

When a big trophy is there to be won you go for it and if Cork manage to get the right result against Galway they should go all out for a first league title in 27 years. But let’s see how this game goes first and Galway are not coming to Leeside to see the sights.

They will have their own agenda and these Galway players need silverware as much as Cork do.

But, on home soil and with a huge following behind them, Cork should have the artillery to see them through and provide us with another chapter in the great story that is Cork and Tipperary hurling.

Verdict: Cork by a couple of points.