Cats pounce on their prey

WHEN people awoke from the snorefest of Cork and Kildare, the entertainment resumed in Croke Park yesterday.

Kilkenny and Tipp had started us off in the minor All-Ireland semi-final, some brilliant skill by several of the Kilkenny players confirming my belief that this was the best minor team I’d seen this year, then, after the Cork/Kildare football debacle (with apologies to Conor Counihan, for whom I have great time), we had the real spectacle.

I would definitely say, the first 20 minutes of this game yesterday between Kilkenny and Cork was as good a hurling exhibition as you will ever see anywhere. Not an inch of freedom was given to anyone — we even had a good old-fashioned dust-up, which Michael Wadding had the very good sense to more or less ignore, just getting on with the game without a single yellow card being waved.

It was physical, it was manly, it was totally admirable, not a sneaky blow thrown, but this is something I’ll have to get back to later.

Five points each it was after that 20 minutes, and even die-hard football men like John Maughan and Martin Carney were on the edge of their seats alongside me, totally captivated, engrossed, though Mayo is a long way from either Cork or Kilkenny.

And then, like a cat playing with a mouse, Kilkenny pounced, went for the kill. Four points, two from Eoin Larkin, one each from Aidan Fogarty and Eddie Brennan — who hadn’t touched the ball ‘til then, the 28th minute, so tight was this game — had Kilkenny nine points to six in front, when we had the killer claw.

Eoin Larkin again, and what a goal it was. After that goal though, for me, the real turning-point of this game; the one time he got away from JJ Delaney, Ben O’Connor had a chance of a goal but shot wide; immediately after that miss Kilkenny struck again, Eddie Brennan again, and now, instead of it being 1-9 to 1-6, Cork with their tails up, it was 1-10 to 0-6.

Fogarty and Brennan finished off the scoring for Kilkenny in that half, Ben O’Connor got a point back for Cork, but 1-12 to 0-7 at half-time, it was more or less over. This wasn’t Galway that Cork were playing, a team they came back against two games ago, this wasn’t Clare, whom they overcame in the quarter-final.

I said it on Saturday, those two teams were almost totally reliant on one forward in each of those games, Joe Canning for Galway, Niall Gilligan for Clare. I said also, Kilkenny forwards in the same situation would eat you, like the thrush ate the robin. And they did, they devoured Cork yesterday.

I thought at half-time, and I don’t know if this was a deliberate decision, the Cork ploy of delaying their return onto the field worked out well. The chant, REBELS, REBELS, was echoing round the ground, the massive Cork support made themselves heard, and not for the first time, this team responded.

Kilkenny got the first two points of the second half but then Cork had their purple patch, five points in a row bringing the deficit back to five points. And then an important thing happened; Eoin Larkin went down, ‘injured’, stopped the play, broke the Cork rhythm.

John Gardiner was incensed, rightly so — he knew what was going on. But it worked — this was the cat playing with the mouse again; not alone can Eoin Larkin hurl, he has a brain also – a typical Larkin. Kilkenny scored the next point, order restored.

The major problem for Cork was that their forwards were completely tied up. I felt it was a strange call to take off Niall McCarthy, as at least he was trying to win the ball, had the physique; I felt Cathal Naughton should have gone first, possibly Patrick Cronin also.

And Jerry O’Connor at corner-forward? No, just not right; Jerry is a brilliant player, but I feel injury has taken its toll this year, while Ben was also very well held by JJ Delaney — not for the first time either, which begs the question, why didn’t Cork take Ben away from JJ?

I predicted that Kilkenny would move JJ from full-back to the wing to do just that job on Ben; they did, and it worked, Ben held scoreless from play, though he was fouled a couple of times. I predicted also that Noel Hickey would be back at full-back, Kilkenny’s own rock, and what an outstanding game he had.

As we’re talking about rocks, I also stood by Cork’s Rock, the real rock, and Diarmuid O’Sullivan was one of the few Cork players who stood up yesterday, who stood out; Martin Comerford taken off, Richie Power taken off, says it all.

This man doesn’t owe Cork anything, doesn’t owe hurling anything. Will we see him again? I hope so, and not alone for his hurling, but for his presence – he’s a character, gives the game a lift every time he takes the field.

Final word on Cork for this year; they’ve been tremendous over the last few years, but I think they went to the well once too often, were beaten by a better team.

They should have made more moves up front, and made them earlier, should have gone to the bench sooner. Got away with it against Galway and Clare, but you won’t get away with that against Kilkenny.

I’ve long admired these Cork players, individually and as a group, and I noticed Donal Óg yesterday — and he had to have been feeling pain — give his jersey to James McGarry’s young fella after the game.

Gestures, and this was noble, from a player who gets an awful lot of unfair bad press. One thing I have to comment on, however; what Tom Kenny did to Cha Fitzpatrick was totally out of character, but that doesn’t excuse it. I’m pretty sure no-one feels worse about it this morning than Tom himself, and I’m certain he didn’t mean to inflict any major damage. Hopefully it’s not too serious, and we’ll see Cha again in a few weeks.

As for Kilkenny, a major worry for them now — apart from Cha’s injury — is, can they move on again from this for the All-Ireland final?

This was a big performance, but they wouldn’t want to rest on their laurels if that three-in-a-row is to be achieved.

Given the manager they have, given the mindset of those players also, their maturity, I don’t think there’s any danger of that.

Kilkenny qualified for three All-Ireland finals in 24 hours this weekend, the intermediate on Saturday, minor and senior yesterday — hurling, that’s their religion.

But now, roll on next Sunday, and the other semi-final.