Minors footballers a bright spot on a dark weekend for Cork GAA faithful
Cork's Joe Miskella and Eanna Lynch celebrate with Ballincollig teammates. Picture: INPHO/Bryan Keane
“I’ve seen this game before”.
A message sent at 4.40pm on Saturday, as Galway slotted their seventh point in a row to go 1-20 to 1-14 ahead in the All-Ireland hurling semi-final.
There was only 11 minutes gone in the second half yet the game felt done. One point up at half time to being a beaten docket. It all felt eerily similar to last year’s All-Ireland final collapse to Tipperary.
It was the same system failure. Decision-making went out the window. Cork players seemingly were outnumbered under every dropping and loose ball. An opposition side revelling in the sight of their favoured opponents visibly struggling in front of their eyes.
If Cork reckoned that they had dealt with last year’s collapse and moved on, then Saturday proved that they clearly have not.
Ben O’Connor’s side are undoubtedly a very good team. They won all four round robin games in Munster before losing the final to Limerick by the bare minimum, despite being down some key players. They then completely dismantled Offaly in the quarter-final so there is no sufficient hurling reason why they should have capitulated so badly against Galway.
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The reason is clearly psychological, as the collective scar tissue completely strangled Cork to the extent they were not able to get anywhere close to the levels they are capable of.
The news that both Tim O’Mahony and Tommy O’Connell were fit enough to start was greeted as a major positive but in hindsight, it looks to have been an error to put two compromised players in the engine room, as Galway easily won the battle of the middle third.
The Cork half-forward line also underperformed. Shane Barrett was one of the few players to display leadership, clipping over three points even if he was chasing goals long before the end. Darragh Fitzgibbon scored two fine points but he will remember this game for his dismissal. His first yellow card was incredibly harsh and the second one the same.
With Cork lacking leaders in this sector, the game was crying out for Seamus Harnedy but the experienced St Ita’s man never came on. Will we ever see him in red again?
Indeed, bar the introduction of Cormac O’Brien at half-time for the booked Damian Cahalane, the Cork management were extremely slow to use their bench. You could argue that it was almost game over by the time Robbie O’Flynn, William Buckley and Barry Walsh came on between minutes 48 and 53.
Considering that Galway outscored Cork by 0-15 to 0-2 from the 30th to the 53rd minute, it is obvious changes were needed earlier. Cork had been guilty of being too slow to make switches in the Munster final and repeated the error here.
With 16 minutes to go Cork were seven points and a man down. There was no way back. They were done. Just like last year, a second yellow to a key player effectively ended any hope of a late Rebel revival.
In contrast, the Cork minor footballers were nine points down with 25 minutes remaining in their All-Ireland final against Tyrone in Newbridge yet there was still belief they could come back.
Keith Ricken’s side have been superb all year and would not have been overly concerned being seven down at the break as they knew they were going to have the elements in their favour in the second half.
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Goalkeeper Rory Twohig has been a leading light all year with his scoring prowess with his huge left foot, but his netminding duties impressed on Sunday, making a series of fine saves to thwart Tyrone.
Captain Joe Miskella did not have his best day in the Munster final against Kerry but he was the main man in Newbridge, kicking two classy two-pointers, 0-5 in total, while he was the main orchestrator of Cork’s attacks.
The brilliant victory was definitely the tonic that Cork GAA supporters needed after a terrible Saturday.
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