| Cork v Kilkenny - A preview by Liammac (www.rebelgaa.com) |
| All the talking is nearly done. The throw in
is fast approaching. It won't be long now before we find out who is going to
be first to 29 All Irelands. A lot of people are expecting a classic on Sunday given the amount of All Irelands between both side and the way they've played so far this year. I have been watching All Ireland finals for 20 years now and the only stonewall classic All Ireland we've seen in that time was Cork's win over the great Galway side of the time, back in 1990. We've seen plenty of good matches, but not many great ones. I think Sundays game will be in the good category but won't make the great one. There's too much at stake for it to be a free flowing open game of hurling. Traditionalists from both sides going up on Sunday will see both teams playing a style of hurling that they are not known for playing. Under Brian Cody, Kilkenny have placed a lot of emphasis on having physically big and strong players on the team. These players still have great style and that largely why they are going for three in a row, as they've got the balance just right. Cork on the other hand have adopted the tactics, used to great effect by Newtownshandrum, this year in an effort to maximise the talent available. This running game is only suited to teams who have fast midfielders and forwards who love to run with the ball. Cork certainly have these type of players. How Kilkenny try and counter that without giving away too many frees is something I'm sure that Brian Cody will have given plenty of thought to, especially given the trouble that the Clare forwards caused when they ran at the Kilkenny defence in the drawn match. In my opinion the winning and losing of this game will come down to which half back line dominates most. This may sound simplistic but given the style of both teams the performance of the half backs will be crucial. I presume that Cork will line up with Gardiner, Curran and Sean Og. Curran and Sean Og in particular have been magnificent this year so far. I would assume that Kilkenny will start Hoyne on Curran. Hoyne is a vastly underrated player in my opinion. He doesn't get all that many scores which is why he's so underrated in my opinion. That is not the job that Cody gives him. He's in there to win the hard ball and make life difficult for his opponent. That's exactly what he did with Ken McGrath and it worked. Curran has not faced anyone like him yet this year but he's shown this year that he's definitely up to the task. I presume also that Kilkenny will start Shefflin left half forward on John Gardiner. It would make sense for Kilkenny to start their star man on Cork's loosest defender. Also factor in the fact that Gardiner hasn't played much recently, had a poor munster final and the fact that he must still have scars from last years final and it would be the obvious thing to do. Donal O'Grady will be well aware of this though and it will be very interesting to see if they switch Sean Og over on him. I would expect Kilkenny to line up with Walsh, Barry and Delaney. This would mean that Delaney would again pick up Ben O'Connor who he so successfully subdued last year. If the Cork captain is to prosper this year Cork need to give him the type of low ball that he wasn't getting last year. If they play high balls down between the two Delaney will win them all day. If however O'Connor gets the chance to run at him then Delaney could be in trouble for the first time in a long time. The battle between Niall McCarthy and Peter Barry will be a very physical one. Barry has been playing his best hurling in years since the Wexford game this year. After a couple of poor showings in the Munster championship McCarthy has been very impressive although he still hits far too many wides. Tommy Walsh has been playing some great stuff since his switch to the backs as he wins an amount of ball. However he concentrates too much on the ball and not enough on his man at times. I'm not sure if Timmy McCarthy is the man to take advantage of this. O'Grady should, in my opinion, put serious thought to switching McCarthy and O'Connor before the throw in as O Connor would fully exploit Walsh's looseness. McCarthy was given a job to do in the Munster final to keep Tony Browne out of the game, which he did. I didn't think it was necessary to do that to Browne but if it was done successfully to Delaney, then Kilkenny could be in trouble. A lot of people are putting a lot of emphasis on last years final and how it will effect the result on Sunday. Cork believe they left it behind them and this will be used to spur them on next Sunday. Kilkenny on the other hand take offence to the suggestion that they were lucky last year and will want to set the record straight this year. I thought that Kilkenny deservedly won last year and Cork can have nobody to blame but themselves for not taking their chances. Kilkenny were stronger than Cork last year and their experience meant they were able to grind out a victory despite the fact that they didn't play as well as they could. However after the final last year and the experience of this years Munster final, Cork should have that gap narrowed a great deal. A lot of talk has gone on about the choice of referee on Sunday. Aodhan McSuibhne is not the greatest referee in the country but I fail to see at present how his appointment will benefit either team. However he does have a big job on his hands. Something he must clamp down on is the steps rule. Too many times this year I've seen forwards win the ball, turn and run at defenders taking numerous steps and thus drawing fouls from their opponents as there is no way to defend this. DJ Carey and Niall McCarthy are prime exponents of this tactic. McSuibhne, to his credit, spotted Waterford players doing this and pulled them up on it. The fact is that if a forward is fouled after taking ten steps then it should be a free out, not a free in. If McSuibhne clamps down on this early on it could lead to a much better game. I expect Sunday to be a very tight game. Goals will be scarce and vital to whoever gets them. On past form one would expect Kilkenny to be more capable of getting goals. Corks full back line looked very suspect in this regard in the Munster championship as Diarmuid O'Sullivan carried on from where he left off from last years championship. Since the Munster final however O'Sullivan has given much more mature performances and indeed the interviews he's given since have also been more mature than some of the ones he gave earlier in the year. It is vital for Cork's hopes that he concentrates solely on his job as a defender next Sunday. Kilkenny are not a forward line that you can give goal opportunities to and expect to win. Just ask anyone from Waterford that. Cork scored two goals against Tippearary this year which were largely as a result of Brian Corcoran's experience. He took Philip Maher out the field on both occasions and left space inside for the half forwards to score. I would expect that a similar tactic on Sunday is Cork's best hope for scoring goals. I would be surprised if either team scored more than two goals on Sunday, but I'd be absolutely amazed if a team scores three and doesn't win. And so to the prediction. To be honest I'm not at all sure. Not many neutrals are I suspect. It's just too tight to call with any certainty. The possibility of the first draw in the All Ireland final since Kilkenny drew with Waterford way back in 1959 is a strong one I think and at 15/2 I'd be very tempted for a wager on it. Put a few quid on that and you'll win enough money to buy your ticket for the replay! Anyway head on the block time, with absolutely no conviction whatsoever, Cork to win by one solitary point. Anything could happen though, as Cyril has been telling us all summer, "it's all about what you do on that given day". Whatever happens us neutrals are looking forward to a fascinating encounter. Cork v Kilkenny - A preview by Liammac (www.rebelgaa.com) |