How the Cork footballers can pull off an upset against Kerry

The number of surprise results we've seen so far should give encouragement to Cork as they head into the lion’s den in Fitzgerald Stadium for the Munster Football final this weekend.

Westmeath shocked neighbours Meath in the Leinster quarter-final, while Dublin were lucky to get out of Aughrim by the skin of their teeth after a two-point victory over Wicklow on the same day. A Division 3 side beating the Division 2 champions and a Division 4 team rattling a side relegated from Division 1. 

Up in Ulster we had the sight of the Division 1 champions Donegal being well and truly scalped by Division 3 winners Down. We also had Mayo’s no-show against Roscommon in Connacht. These results would suggest that, for this year at least, the provincial championships are not priorities for a lot of counties with lofty ambitions.

It might just be that the new rules have become a leveller now, but what is more likely is that a lot of the teams with serious ambitions to go deep in this year’s championship may be tailoring their preparations to peak at the business end of summer, leaving them vulnerable earlier in the campaign.

The reformatted All-Ireland series begins on the weekend of May 23-24, but it is from round two onwards that teams need to be moving through the gears.

Rounds two, three and the All-Ireland quarter-finals take place on successive weekends in the second half of June. We will go from 16 teams to just four. 

All this could potentially present an opportunity for Cork on Sunday in Killarney as Kerry will surely look to be at their best from next month onwards.

They did not exactly shoot the lights out against Clare in the semi-final. The Banner men are not as tough a nut to crack as they were a few years ago. They have lost their Division 2 status and only avoided the drop to Division 4 by a point in this campaign.

They were still able to kick 1-14 against Kerry in Ennis, while shipping only 2-19. That performance certainly suggested that Kerry are operating in the lower gears, though of course they'll be more focused for the visit of their dear neighbours.

The Kingdom seemed very reliant on the Clifford’s up top in that game. David was his usual classy self when helping himself to 1-7, while brother Paudie managed 1-3. Kerry’s five other scorers managed 0-9 between them. 

Cork will undoubtedly look to limit the influence of the Cliffords, although that is easier said than done.

The match-up of Daniel O’Mahony on David Clifford could be worth the entrance fee on its own and it will be extremely interesting to see who picks up Paudie Clifford.

Cork might have ended up beating Tipperary by a handsome margin of 4-18 to 1-12 in Thurles but it was looking sticky as late as the 49th minute when the teams were locked on 1-7 each. Cork won the next 18 minutes by 3-11 to 0-2 to ensure there was to be no shock.

This powerplay was timely as Cork’s second-half displays have been poor this year, with Limerick outscoring Cork in the second period of the Munster quarter-final, despite the hosts having the wind at their backs. It goes without saying that no team is going to gain a championship victory down in Killarney without a decent second-half showing.

MISSING

Dara Sheedy was instrumental in adding an extra layer to Cork’s attacking play in their successful promotion push in the league, but John Cleary will more than likely have to plan without the Bantry youngster. Brian Hurley is also set to miss out, so Cork’s strength in depth up front is about to be severely tested.

It was a positive to see Conor Corbett back against Tipp, scoring a goal, while Ruairí Deane also had a positive contribution off the bench. Cork will need another big impact off the bench if they are going to win for the first time down in Killarney since 1995.