Cork hurling talking points: MTU players showed their potential in UCC victory
MTU's Johnny Murphy wins the sliotar from UCC's Sean Moore during the Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup at The Mardyke. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Normally you would expect the second week of January to be extremely quiet on the GAA front but it ended up being a very busy one from a Cork perspective.
The main storyline has to be the greatest day in the history of Kilbrittain GAA when they were crowned All-Ireland Junior Hurling Champions after a serious scuffle against Sligo side Easkey.
Kilbrittain sharpshooter Ronan Crowley really stepped up to the plate in the final, scoring some excellent points from play when his side needed them the most. He lanced over 0-4 from play and each and every one of them was a beauty.
The other Kilbrittain wing-forward Mark Hickey also had his fingerprints all over this triumph. Not only did he land nine vital points, with 0-5 of those coming from play, but he was also involved in what was the pivotal moment. A high and late challenge on Hickey by Easkey’s key forward Andrew Kilcullen resulted in a straight red card to the no 14.
The dismissal was harsh, and any neutral would certainly have felt for the Sligo club. It happened in the 40th minute, with the scores deadlocked at 0-12 points to 0-12.
We will never know how the game would have transpired if it had remained 15 v 15 for the whole hour, but that does not detract from what was a great day for Kilbrittain, and it was a day they will never forget, with local heroes all over the Croke Park pitch.
That game was as emotional as GAA gets, whereas at the Gaelic Grounds on Wednesday night the emotions were about as cool as the temperature as a cobbled-together Cork were easily brushed aside by a Limerick team littered with championship starters.
It was definitely an interesting exercise, in Ben O’Connor’s second game in charge, but the team that was selected was never likely to eke out a win against the strong line-up John Kiely fielded.
In reality, Ethan Twomey, Jack O’Connor, Ger Millerick and Robbie O’Flynn were the only players from the Cork 15 who currently look like they could be in the frame to start come the Munster Championship opener against Tipperary in April. Others, such as Brion Saunderson, Eoin Roche, Cian Darcy and Jack Cahalane might yet have something to say about that, but the odds are probably against them.
In saying that, Cork were very much second best. Cormac O’Brien and Brian O’Sullivan had to be introduced to ensure the scoreline did not get ugly, with both impressing. They'll feature in the league campaign in a few weeks.
Probably of more significance was Thursday’s Fitzgibbon Cup clash between UCC and MTU at the Mardyke, which was one of the main reasons why Cork fielded such an experimental side, of course.
Eyebrows were raised throughout the county by the ease at which MTU dispatched their neighbouring, more famous college, with them being well worth their 10-point victory on the night.
UCC would have been happy enough after 23 minutes when they took the lead thanks to a well-taken Shane Kingston goal, after a superb crossfield pass from William Buckley, and a crisp Peter McGarry point. They were completely outplayed from there to the finish.
From a Cork point of view, it was a good night for anyone in the yellow of MTU, with Darragh O’Sullivan being rock sold at centre-back, Mikey Finn looking the part in midfield and both Diarmuid Healy and Alan Walsh impressing up front, with the pair terrorising the UCC defence.
Healy showed his class at centre-forward, while Walsh will certainly have impressed Ben O’Connor with his ball-winning ability and the manner in which he took some lovely scores from tight angles.
The likes of Ryan Deasy and Johnny Murphy probably would not be considered likely candidates for places on the Cork panel this year, but they too impressed, outshining some of the leading lights in the Skull and Crossbones, with very few putting their hands up in the UCC ranks on this display.
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