Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Cork haven’t kicked on from last year. Yet...
Cork's Luke Connolly kicks a point against Clare at Cusack Park in Ennis. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Prior to a ball being kicked this weekend Division 2 South was on our minds as so many permutations were possible.
As it turned out, Kildare and Clare topped the Division and get to look up rather than down in a fortnight. Cork won in Ennis yesterday but the home side did enough over the three games to deservedly get a shot at getting into the Division 2 league final, and more importantly an opportunity to secure promotion to Division 1. Mayo are in good form though, but at least they have the guarantee of being in Division 2 next year, something Cork still have to earn.
Colm Collins deserves massive credit for how competitive he is keeping Clare. Yes, he has good players at his disposal, there is a rich football tradition in Clare, particularly in west Clare and he surrounds himself with good people but what he is achieving should not be underestimated.
Clare are well organised and are more defensive than they have been for the last few years. They get a lot of bodies back, work hard and counterattack at pace when they force turnovers. They are good at keeping a forward or two in place to maintain a semblance of shape and they are effective when they kick in transition.
A great example of this came in the first half with Gavin Cooney’s point. Ian Maguire had temporarily situated himself at 14 and Cork went long to him but Cillian Brennan successfully broke it away from him. Clare immediately broke downfield getting the ball to David Tubridy (who was sensational throughout) who in turn kicked inside to Cooney, for him to convert. It was a classic counterattack score. However, this approach is tiring to play and sustain for 70 minutes.
This showed as the hosts visibly tired in the last quarter. They will need to try and balance their approach. Significantly they have also deepened their panel. They are able to hold a few players to impact from the bench. Keelan Sexton, Conal Ó hAiniféin, and Aaron Griffin all operated in this role yesterday. Griffin was extremely lively and effective when he came on winning a free and kicking a great point. That depth in their squad will be important as the summer goes on.
Cork are hard to figure out. With the players at their disposal and with the management group they have in place I feel they haven’t kicked on from last year. Yet. They now have a fight on their hands to maintain their status. I would have expected them to have at least been in the play-offs, if not promoted.
Brian Hurley’s cameo yesterday best summed up their performance. The Castlehaven man looked good, kicked two great points, and then got needlessly sent off when his presence could have helped Cork kick for home, and ensure that they had enough scored to make the play-offs. I’m sure Ronan McCarthy will be having a one-way chat with him this week.
Cork did win the game and played well in patches but we still expect more from them. Some of their individual players played really well with Ian Maguire, John O’Rourke, Seán Meehan, Ruairí Deane, Seán Powter, and Cathail O’Mahony all to the fore. At times however, particularly in the first quarter they were unbelievably pedestrian. There was no pace on the ball, they played a lot of horizontal football back and over in front of the yellow wall that Clare had erected across their 45. No one was looking to take the ball at pace and the player in possession wasn’t looking inside for a possible kick pass.
When they got frees out the field they went backward on a number of occasions displaying a serious lack of ambition.
There is a time to hold possession like that, when in control of a match late on for example, but not that early in a game. We had a rule in training that every free had to go forward to encourage ambition on the ball and movement further up the field. This all played into Clare’s hands and allowed Seán Collins sweep in front of his full back line and also get some assistance from Daniel Walsh at times to further close down the space.
To be fair to Cork, they clocked this and during the first-half water break they certainly changed things up. There was a noticeable change in pace. They moved the ball quicker, they were quicker on the ball and they also varied it. Ruairí Deane thundered into the game and it forced Collins into a decision between sitting or marking. Luke Connolly picked a couple of lovely passes inside that lead to scores, a role that suits him against teams with a lot of bodies back. They mixed it much better.
When we were confronted with a mass defence, I hated to see our players slowing down on the ball. While not wanting our lads to force something that wasn’t on, and thus playing into the opposition’s hands, I still wanted to see urgency on the ball, to make sure that the player in possession was moving at pace, that handpasses were crisp and accurate and that we played with the head up to be aware of the opportunity to kick inside when it presented.
“Patience with pace” was the expression I coined for it. Maguire’s point in the first half was an excellent example of it. Cork held onto the ball for over a minute, but crucially they were moving the ball quickly and stretching Clare. Eventually, Powter broke the line and delivered an accurate handpass inside that allowed Maguire come onto the ball and kick the point. They are dangerous when they play like this, but equally, they are toothless when they slow everything down. I am sure they will continue to work at it.
O’Mahony announced himself nationally during the All-Ireland winning U20 campaign a couple of years ago. He was outstanding when introduced yesterday. He is game, elusive and accurate. He got four points from play and with a better and more frequent supply this would have been more. His converted 45 at the end was the jam on top of his personal performance. He is a real summer forward and Ronan McCarthy will find it hard to hold him from now on.
Both teams left Ennis relatively happy yesterday, but the big stuff happens from now on. Both groups will know it is about building on early-season gains as everything from now on is effectively straight knockout.
