Lacklustre Cork rebuild Dublin morale
Cork on the other hand were well short of last week’s sharpness and some of their defensive play showed inexperience and was naive.
There is no substitute for determination or enthusiasm and Dublin had these in abundance, particularly after their first goal.
Their strong running, good support play and crisp stick passing was near championship pace as they ran the show for the final 60 minutes.
The Rebels played as if they believed the Dubs, poor against Tipp, would be easy pickings. An attitude that seldom brings success.
Cork’s defence, shredded last year in this fixture, showed an immaturity and carelessness at times that is very costly at this level.
A simple high ball to the edge of the square, easily defended by ‘tying up’ one’s opponent, caused the first goal while a casual mistake by substitute Stephen McDonnell, and poor covering subsequently, led to the second.
Avoidable frees were conceded. Christopher Joyce and Damien Cahalane committed two fouls when Cork were attempting a comeback.
Resolute defending and taking your opportunities are always necessary for any successful resurgence. However, Daniel Kearney and Patrick Horgan each struck poor wides, Alan Cadogan might have found the unmarked Harnedy when attempting to goal from a narrow angle and Conor Lehane missed the target when a goal was needed.
The Rebels opened brightly. Luke Meade was dropping off into midfield. His pace and positioning caused Dublin problems. Meade’s movement was again central to Shane Kingston’s scoring burst before half-time. However, Cork need to develop a system to maximise this duo’s talents.
The Dubs got to grips with them by dropping attackers back and using a three-man midfield. Niall McMorrow, who thrives in space, was highly influential.
A man-marker on McMorrow, rather than Daniel Kearney, who plays a loose role, might have been a better option for Cork.
Early on, Dublin were struggling, possibly low on confidence after their mauling by Tipp.
In that situation, Cork should have hounded the Dubs, marking tightly, crowding midfield and pressuring any Dublin defender in possession in the half-back line. Cork should have been raising questions in Dublin minds.
Instead, they allowed the visitors too much time on the ball to build attacks. Alan Cadogan should have gone for the jugular instead of tapping over the first point while Pat Horgan spurned a good goal chance in the opening minutes. An early Cork goal might have rocked the opposition.
Defence begins the moment the opposition have possession. Cork needed to contest Dublin puckouts vigorously. But Cork’s forwards and midfielders afforded too much space to their opponents while wing-backs Christopher Joyce and Mark Coleman also stood too far off their men.
Dublin goalkeeper Conor Dooley found his men on his own half-back line and half-forward line regularly. This gave Dublin the platform to get into the game.
Chris Crummey, Liam Rushe, Niall McMorrow and Eoin Conroy gave strong performances in the middle third and Dublin hit 1-8 without reply in the first half. Cork went 15 minutes without a score.
The Dubs visibly grew in confidence after their goal and but for some crucial stops, including another penalty save by Anthony Nash, the game could have been over at half-time.
The Dublin attackers targeted Nash’s puckouts, twice making interceptions leading to easy points. It was also obvious that Cork haven’t fully worked out their short puckout strategy.
Right corner-back Killian Burke struggled to get the ball away from his corner on a number of occasions, having received a short delivery from Nash. These hiccups improved Dublin’s morale while Cork’s began to nosedive.
Ryan O’Dwyer’s placement on the edge of the square worked well while the six changes made by Dublin’s management from last week had the desired effect. They also won the sideline battle, comfortably getting the match-ups and timing of their substitutions correct.
Eoghan O Donnell’s curtailment of Alan Cadogan was highly significant, although Cadogan wasn’t helped by the quality of the deliveries into him, a continuing problem.
Cork freetaker Patrick Horgan had a complete off-night. He is a confidence player. Once he missed his second free, he should have been relieved of the duties. Spurning relatively easy free chances saps morale.
Dublin’s two Ger Cunninghams will be well satisfied with their performances and the manner of this victory. Heading into very difficult away games, Cork manager Kieran Kingston will be extremely disappointed.
