Picking the Cork minor and U20 hurlers who stood out

The month of March may have begun in wintry fashion but we say adios to it with longer evenings and the knowledge that the hurling season is now well and truly up and running.

Both the Cork U20s and minors began their respective Munster campaigns in the past week and, of course, there is the small matter of a senior national league final in front of a packed SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh this Sunday.

Wednesday night saw Noel Furlong’s U20 side open their championship campaign against Clare up in Sixmilebridge, with them somehow emerging with a share of the spoils despite being outplayed for the majority of the encounter.

The Clare attackers left a huge amount of scores behind them, as they seemed to possess stronger athletes around the middle of the pitch, but the Cork youngsters must be applauded for the way they hung in there and got themselves a valuable draw at such a tricky venue.

Killeagh’s Barry Walsh and St. Finbarr’s John Wigginton Barrett were the clear standouts in the Cork attack, with Walsh scoring 0-12 and Wigginton Barrett 1-3 of Cork’s final 1-16 tally. 

Obviously, this team will have to unearth more of a scoring threat if they are to be in the picture for provincial honours and beyond.

Fermoy full-back James O’Brien is also deserving of praise for his performance minding the house, while Bride Rovers’ Denis Cashman and Dungourney’s Cillian O’Callaghan both made key interventions at crucial junctures to prevent likely Clare goals that would probably have put the game beyond Cork.

Next up is a meeting against a much-fancied Tipperary outfit who came a-cropper on home turf against Limerick last Tuesday night. That defeat makes them dangerous and vulnerable at the same time. 

Cork will know that huge improvements will be required all over the pitch to emerge victorious in that one.

Friday night saw the much anticipated first outing of Fergal McCormack’s minor side in the lion’s den that is the Gaelic Grounds and they emerged impressive victors on a scoreline of 2-25 to 0-21.

While the U20s only had three scorers in their game against Clare the minors showed that they potentially have far more arrows in the attacking quiver given 10 different players scored.

The Cork half-back line of Michael Tadhg Brosnan, Bobby Carroll and Colm Garde are the launching pad for this side and look an extremely strong trio for this level. 

Glen Rovers youngster Brosnan can hurl in any line of the pitch and utilise his athleticism to score from deep, slotting three points on Friday, while Lisgoold’s Garde is excellent in the air and in terms of distribution. 

Captain Carroll in the middle, from Dromina, is the least flashy of the trio, but it is this simplification of the game that makes him such a good centre-back for this side.

GOOD UNIT

Five of the six starting forwards got on the scoresheet, but all contributed brilliantly in terms of general play, and they look a good unit. To nit-pick, then perhaps the attack might be lacking one proper ball-winner. We will see later in the campaign whether that becomes a problem or not.

Which brings us to the coming week with the much-anticipated league final against Tipperary on Leeside on Sunday.

This will be the sixth league final that Cork will have played in since their last victory in 1998 when they saw off Gerald McCarthy’s Waterford in Thurles by 2-14 to 0-13.

Cork lost the next one, against Kilkenny in 2002, by the bare minimum, but the four appearances since have not gone well.

In 2010 they lost by eight to Galway at Semple Stadium, in 2012 it was Kilkenny in cruise control, and in 2015 they fell by 10 to Waterford at the same venue. 

The most recent defeat came against the Déise again, back in 2022, where a 2-11 total from Stephen Bennett ensured that Waterford empathically won by 4-20 to 1-23.

All eight of Cork’s scorers that day are still involved in the panel and for even more motivation, the game will take place in front of a huge home crowd.

The first championship tie against Clare a fortnight later will certainly be in the back of their minds, but Pat Ryan’s side will be hoping that they can have their cake and eat it too. 

Lifting silverware in front of their fans will certainly be worth the risk.