John Horgan on hurling: Questions left to answer after Cork's victory over Galway

There are some venues spread across the country and for different reasons, the away team can find it difficult to come away with the victory.

Galway's headquarters in Salthill is perceived to be included in that list, its location and the sometimes difficult conditions, all the more so in the depths of winter can provide a searching test for the home side's opponents.

In a nutshell, nothing comes easy up there and it certainly did not for the Cork hurlers last Saturday night. It was in stark contrast to a week earlier when the reigning champions romped past a depleted Waterford side who were on the back foot from the outset at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Ben O'Connor would have been happy to get his tenure as Cork manager off to a winning start but, along with the rest of his management team, would have been looking for something different in Salthill, a game that certainly hadn't run its course by half-time.

The league has always been about learnings, finding out about your players, particularly the newcomers on the block that opportunity knocks for. Another one of the priorities would be how the team reacts when it finds itself under the cosh, as Cork were in the opening 20 minutes against Galway.

A couple of times in the opening half, Cork were trailing by seven points, 1-7 to 0-3 after 17 minutes, 1-8 to 0-4 after 25 minutes.

Cork were inferior to their opponents for long spells in the half and the margin between the teams would have been much wider only for Galway's profligacy with their final delivery, a few scoreable frees not converted in their tally of wides.

But the complexion of a game of hurling can change very quickly and this one certainly did leading up to the break when five unanswered points had Cork going to the dressing room just a point in arrears.

Some of Cork's best players on the night were handsome contributors during that spell of dominance, the outstanding Shane Barrett and the returning Seamie Harnedy among them.

Harnedy is now the elder statesman in this Cork set-up, a player of 36 Summers who rolled back the years with a match tally of four points.

Going forward, his vast experience could well be one of the keys that will be needed to unlocking opposition defences.

DOUBLE IMPACT

The Cork management, clearly not satisfied with the performance despite being down by just the bare minimum at the interval, acted fast during the stay in the dressing room and immediately into the fray arrived Brian Hayes and Tim O'Mahony.

Both impacted considerably, Hayes more so and by the end of the game his brace of well-executed made all the difference in the final analysis.

O'Mahony delivered an important point as well and brought a lot more intensity around the middle as Cork raised the bar considerably in the aggression stakes.

A strong physical presence allied to a more aggressive approach on the ball are two of the most important traits in the now far greater demands of inter-county hurling.

Hayes' second goal seemed to have decided the outcome but Galway did respond to make it just a two-point game at the end and that's exactly what Ben O'Connor would have wanted, reacting to all sorts of situations.

The Cork management would not have been happy with the concession of Galway's first-half goal from Tom Monaghan but overall it was a sound enough defensive return with Patrick Collins being forced into just one save of note.

Mark Coleman was again very conspicuous, Rob Downey always made his presence felt and Daire O'Leary at number three held Jason Rabbitte, so threatening a week earlier against Tipperay, scoreless.

One never knows the priorities of any management team where the league is concerned but the Cork sideline will be happy with what has to be described as a positive beginning.

We are only two games into the secondary competition but already it's becoming very clear that competition for championship starts is going to be even more intense this time.

TOUGHEST

On paper anyway, the three biggest league assignments are yet to come, Tipperary in town next Saturday night and Limerick and Kilkenny away.

There was a fine Cork presence in the stand last Saturday so the expectation is that some sort of crowd record for a regulation league encounter could be broken on Saturday night when the oldest foe of them all arrive on Leeside. Things must always be kept in perspective at this early juncture in the season and with each passing game more will be learned.

Some might suggest that the league does not matter a damn and in the overall scheme of things, it's well down the list of priorities. But, at the same time, recent league campaigns have proved to be a springboard for a right cut off the bigger prizes.

Cork are carrying a panel of 36 for this league journey and it's highly likely the management will do their utmost to give game time to as many as possible.

What of their opponents last Saturday night?

That's two losses on the trot now for Galway, certainly not a crisis or anything like that and we all know that it's easy to be misled by results so early in the season.

Micheál O'Donoghue will be disappointed that his team was not much further to the good at the interval in Salthill and overall their wide count was too great.

They certainly need a result from their next assignment.

There is a bit of debate about who Cork's best free-taker is, the player whose consistency from the placed ball will make him the successor to Patrick Horgan

His exceptional level of consistency was always going to be a hard act to follow. Cork are in a strong enough position in that department with Alan Connolly, Darragh Fizgibbon and Deccie Dalton all clincial operators from the dead ball.

Further back, Mark Coleman has been a frequent convertor for Blarney and when Shane Kingston returns from injury, he would not be found wanting either.

It certainly will be interesting to watch the Cork free-taking duties unfold and the importance of the player charged with that responsibility cannot be emphasised enough, a specialist freetaker is so essential.

Horgan was the master, TJ Reid continues for Kilkenny, Aaron Gillane in Limerick and Darragh McCarthy in Tipperary.

The important plus for Cork is that there is no shortage of options, it's just all about getting that type of consistency that the best possess.

It's a long road from Salthill to Leeside, all the more so on a Winter's Saturday night but for the best part of the 70 minutes, the Cork hurlers' performance against Galway certainly shortened the journey.

A nice bit done in just the two games played, but there will be much more to do with Tipp, Limerick and Kilkenny likely to pose even harder questions.