John Horgan on hurling: Cork will be wary in Waterford despite early successes

So far, so good for the Cork hurlers. 

The All-Ireland champions from last season and the national league victors from a couple of weeks ago were defeated in the opening two games of the Munster championship. On the pitch, it's been a basket full of positivity so far.

The injuries to two of the best defenders around, Ciarán Joyce and Robert Downey, have clouded the picture to some extent. However, the recent results have provided fresh optimism for a county that was in the doldrums following last season's All-Ireland final day in Croke Park.

One more victory in their two group games in the province will seal a place in the Munster final.

You cannot ever look beyond the next game in this ultra-competitive campaign and the sights are now firmly set on Waterford on Saturday night. Win, lose or draw, there will be another game to negotiate against Clare in two weeks but it's all about this trip to Walsh Park for now.

That venue has been described as many as a graveyard for visiting teams, a very unhappy hunting ground, and through the corridors of time, Cork teams across all grades have had difficulty in getting anything from it.

Those of us old enough still remember 1967 and 1974 when the Leesiders left with very empty plates, on both occasions with just 14 men.

Just two years ago, Cork came up short again and the other Munster counties have had their difficulties there as well.

You only have to go back to last Sunday week when Tipperary, despite being in the ascendancy for so long, failed to seal the deal after being 11 points to the good at the interval and three points in front very deep in stoppage time.

Kevin Mahony from Ballygunner denied the Premier with a super goal to secure a draw and that outcome could well have serious consequences for Liam Cahill's team further down the line.

Where Waterford were concerned, that precious point has given them a new lease of life and they have given themselves a semblance of hope of emerging from the province for the first time since the introduction of the Round-Robin format.

In their previous game, they gave Clare their belly full of it in Cusack Park before the Banner men got home in a game that wasn't decided until a last-gasp goal from Shane Meehan put daylight between the teams.

So, it would be fair to state that in both games, Waterford's attitude and battling qualities were very evident and Cork have been well warned in advance that there's every probability they will be tested fully again.

GOAL MACHINES

In their two games against Clare and Tipp, Peter Queally's team have banged in seven goals, evidence of their ability to breach opposing defences.

Cork are going into this game bereft of the spine of their defence, without Joyce and Downey at full-back and centre-back respectively and given how well both had performed, their loss is great.

But the show must always goes on, the depth of your resources, this time your defensive resources, come to the forefront for what may well be a stern test of their credentials.

Since the announcement of the two injuries, many different alternative formations have been put forward by pundits and supporters alike. The situation will have been fully addressed by Ben O'Connor and his management team who announced their team on Thursday night (with Damien Cahalane in the number three geansaí and Eoin Downey switching to six).

Who goes to full-back and centre-back was the main topic of conversation and the outcome of those queries may well have been decided on the training ground behind closed doors last weekend. The A v B match was more relevant this time than it might have been in the past.

It would probably be right to suggest that Cork's attacking options off the bench and from those not included in the match day 26 are greater than the defensive ones.

In all squads, now players have to be versatile, playing in different positions and that can be done more in the forward sector. Full-back and centre-back are very specialised positions and not everybody can man those berths with the same degree of stability.

There are plenty of different combinations that the management have probably discussed at lengh and how best they can cope with a Waterford team that have potent attackers.

There's a debate too on whether Waterford are too reliant on Stephen Bennett to secure their scores and against Clare he was on fire. He delivered 3-12 of their tally that day and that won't be the case all the time.

In saying that, Dessie Hutchinson, Jamie Barron and Sean Walsh can trouble the best of defenders and Austin Gleeson is a strong option off the bench.

The improvement in the Cork attack from the league final defeat has been considerable and Darragh Fitzgibbon, Shane Barrett and Alan Connolly were very much to the forefront against Limerick.

There's been talk of moving Tim O'Mahony from midfield to the half-back line and Fitzgibbon returning to midfield. Damien Cahalane has bagfuls of experience at full-back and will give 110% if he gets the nod there.

VITAL

Billy Nolan is a very good goalkeeper and getting past him won't be easy for the Cork attack and Waterford won't be short of belief in the aftermath of the draw with Tipp. This game is huge for them as far as qualification goes and a loss would almost certainly rule that out.

Cork, on the other hand, win, lose or draw will still be in an advantageous going into the final game against Clare in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

On balance, they are a better team than Waterford but the Munster hurling championship has proved to be a great leveller in the past.

Cork won't have the huge support that they had in Thurles or against Limerick because of the ground capacity in Walsh Park and must be far more effective than they were in the opening sequences against Limerick.

Without the Shane Barrett goal that day, things could have become very uncomfortable.

Ben O'Connor will demand more consistency within the 70-plus minutes and if an advantage is gained it must be hammered home.

There will be an awareness too that a Waterford team playing at home have taken big scalps in the past even if in the final analysis they came up short in getting one of the three qualifying places available.

Getting the best out of those who will replace Joyce and Downey will be a priority for Cork and if the attack plays to its full capabilities, they should be okay.

This Waterford team won't lie down. They didn't against Tipp. They have exhibited their character and in Munster there is no such thing as a given.

But Cork will have been made aware of the test that awaits and being forewarned is forearmed. They will win.

Verdict: Cork.