Patrick Kelly: Looking for Cork defence to make a strong statement against Limerick

Westmeath's Ronan O'Toole is tackled by Mattie Taylor, left, and Kevin O'Donovan of Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Two years ago, Cork gave Limerick a trimming in as one-sided a contest as I have witnessed. That same year only London placed below the Shannonsiders in the league. The fact that Limerick are given an outside chance of causing an upset in Saturday's Munster SFC semi-final reflects the steady improvement under Billy Lee since those low points.
At home in the Gaelic Grounds, after a decent Division 3 league campaign and a comprehensive victory over Waterford in the Munster quarter final, they will see this as a chance to ambush a Cork side which may find it hard not to have one eye looking towards Killarney.
For Cork, this is one of these tricky games where even in victory their performances will be questioned and downplayed. It's 'only Limerick'. Being such heavy favourites requires a different sort of mentality to a fifty-fifty contest. The modern mantra of 'following the process' comes to the fore, where players focus on basic skills, tactical game plans and key performance indicators as opposed to focussing on the quality of the opposition. Regardless of what is said, the Cork players will know they should be beating Limerick but the drive to perform has to come from within a competitive squad where any slip in standards will see a starting position lost.
Under Ronan McCarthy the players will know they have a manager who isn’t slow to make those changes should they be deemed necessary.
A slow start is, in fact, the last thing Cork can afford. The alarm bells were ringing in last year’s Munster final defeat as early as the third minute as Tipperary raced into a three-point lead. Cork can’t afford such lethargy. Two years ago they had the game wrapped up inside fifteen minutes. As underdogs Limerick need a solid start. Firstly to give themselves confidence, but as importantly it would cause some doubts and uncertainty in this Cork team only nine months after Tipperary exposed them in last year’s Munster final. Should Cork display a lack of intensity or sloppiness in the opening quarter, it could be very difficult to spark a team into life if the collective mind-set isn’t right.
Cork’s preparation for this game has been far from ideal with a huge amount of injuries to contend with since the league. Recent challenge games against Tyrone and Tipperary will have provided the final chance for fringe squad players to push for starting places, although the named team sees a near full-strength Cork.
Reflecting on the league campaign it’s hard to know whether to be glass half full or half-empty with Cork. Three wins out of four suggests a very decent showing and in a normal league calendar, Cork would likely have won five or six of their seven games and been in with a great chance of promotion back to Division One.
There is a steady trickle of young players being given their opportunities and a forward line that is consistently putting up big scores. It doesn’t take a genius to work out where Cork’s major issue is. The concession of 2-12 (Kildare), 1-18 (Clare) and 0-25 (Westmeath) points towards either a dearth of quality defenders or a system that has not found the right balance.
It is old fashioned to just point to the defenders when the modern game requires a defensive mindset from the full forward line back. Tracking runners, slowing the play down and aggressively defending the scoring zone is now a fifteen-man effort. Looking back on that frantic first half against Westmeath where Cork conceded 14 points, numbers back wasn’t the issue for Cork, it was not engaging the man with the ball that was the problem. Too often the extra man/men stood off without committing to double-ups to force turnovers while defenders were also too easily beaten in one v one situations. The lack of a physical presence in defence could be an area for opponents to target.
The named Cork team further suggests they are placing their trust in the youth of Daniel O’Mahoney and Seán Meehan to anchor the heart of the defence. One would imagine that Seán Powter, named at corner back, will be identified to play the role of sweeper if as expected Limerick drop a corner forward out into midfield. Powter, alongside Ian Maguire are the two key players in injecting pace into Cork’s running game.
In the absence of the injured Killian O’Hanlon, Paul Walsh is proving to an able replacement and added to the presence of young Brian Hartnett at wing forward, there is an athletic look to the middle of the field for Cork. John O’Rourke had a good league campaign and will look to provide the link between midfield and the dangermen in the full forward line. The enforced retirement of Ciaran Sheehan and the untimely injury to Cathail O’Mahony has been offset by the emergence of Dan Ó Duinín and the excellent form on his return from injury of Brian Hurley, who looked sharp in his substitute appearances against Clare and Westmeath.
With a steady supply of ball that duo alongside Luke Connolly should ensure that Cork have the firepower to put Limerick to the sword.
One would expect the game to pan out as most of Cork’s game did in Division Three last year with the opposition defending in numbers and looking to break. By all accounts Limerick deployed similar tactics against Derry in their recent Division 3 outing, but I’d expect Cork to be prepared and equipped to be patient and careful in possession and to pick holes with their strong running game. The hope for Cork is that a comprehensive win will further consolidate their system and also ensure a settled team for a tilt at redemption in Killarney in a fortnight’s time. But a quick start will be half the battle.