Munster U20 Hurling: One change for Cork as Noel Furlong seeks strong home support

Noel Furlong is hopeful that a big home crowd can play its part as his Cork team target a place in the oneills.com Munster U20HC final.

Following a second-placed finish in the round-robin section, the Rebels host Clare at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh tomorrow evening (7.35pm). 

Having drawn away to the Banner and then lost at home to Tipperary, Cork responded with wins over Limerick and Waterford to secure progression, finishing above Clare on scoring-difference.

There is one change to the Cork side as Oisín Fitzgerald comes in for the injured Ross O'Sullivan, with Zach Biggane named as a sub. Furlong is keen to make the most of home advantage.

“After the Tipp game, you were saying that you've got two monster games on front of you,” he said.

“We got the job done in Limerick in a tough game, and we knew Waterford coming down wasn't going to be easy – they had put up a good strong showing in all of their games.

“I suppose the result was more important than the performance on the night but the key thing for us is we've huge momentum now.

“A home semi-final probably didn't look that likely before the Waterford game. In fairness to our lads there in the second half of the Waterford game, they drove on, they didn't take the foot off the pedal, and they just kept going, you know, four points at half-time, 12 points in the end.

“I’d encourage the Cork public to come and support this team – they’re a very honest, hardworking group, they’re improving every game and the support of the Cork public would be massive.”

That Cork are in such a position compared to where they were after the Tipperary loss is down to the benefits of more time together, Furlong feels.

“The way the U20 works is that we weren’t allowed have a training session or get out on the pitch until January,” he said.

“Then you have the Harty Cup, you have fresher hurling, club U21 football championship, all thrown into the mix. Then, you're out in championship in March.

“You have a new management group with a new group of players, who they never worked with before and you're there saying, ‘There's so much figuring out to do here.’

“There's so many pieces that need to be put together to find the right team, to find the right cohesion, to find the right mix. And then to get the team playing patterns of play, which they get more familiar with.

“From the very start, I said that, the longer we go in this competition, the better we'll get because of that cohesion and because of that patterns of play bedding in.

“That three-week break between Tipp and Limerick was the first actual time that we had all the players available and training together because of all those other commitments and that made a huge difference to us.

“Then you come along and we've got a few practice games in, you're getting a run of wins, fellas’ confidence is building and they’re starting to settle into their positions and the whole thing starts rolling from there.”

They will certainly need all that momentum. The opening draw in Sixmilebridge owed a lot to Cork’s resolve but also to wayward Clare shooting and Furlong is fully aware of what awaits.

“That was a serious battle in Sixmilebridge that night,” he said.

“Clare obviously missed that free at the end and a few other chances but, at the same time, we hung in there.

“We gave ourselves a chance and we got a result which proved absolutely crucial because we'd be back up in Sixmilebridge now again only for that.

“We know how good Clare are, their 17-point score at half-time against Limerick last week was nearly the full amount of what we scored the week before.

“They're a serious team, they’ve players on their senior panel, they've got all the medals from minor in their back pockets and they've beaten Cork the last three years of minor.

“We know exactly what we're coming up against on Wednesday and we need to be giving our best performance of the year really to be progressing in the competition."

CORK (Munster U20HC semi-final v Clare): Daniel O’Connell (Dromina); Denis Cashman (Bride Rovers), James O’Brien (Fermoy), Timmy Wilk (Cobh); Ben Walsh (Killeagh), David O’Leary (Ballincollig), Daniel Murnane (Carrigtwohill); Eoin Guinane (Valley Rovers), Ryan Deasy (Ballymartle); Finn O’Brien (Erin’s Own), John Murphy (Mallow), Peter O’Shea (Erin’s Own); Barry O’Flynn (Sarsfields), Oisín Fitzgerald (St Catherine’s), Barry Walsh (Killeagh). Subs: Oisín Walsh (Youghal), Cian Dunphy (Erin’s Own), Cillian O’Callaghan (Dungourney), Zach Biggane (Charleville), Adam O’Sullivan (Ballinhassig), Johnnie Murphy (Dromina), Dylan McCarthy (Killeagh), Mark O’Brien (Douglas), John Wigginton Barrett (St Finbarr’s).