Ryan: Cork will have to step up to survive
Team manager Eamonn Ryan admits that but for the luck they enjoyed in the opening half against Galway they could have lost their grip on the title.
“We were very disappointed with our first-half performance. Only for Elaine Harte (in goal) and some wayward shooting by Galway, we probably would have been too far behind at half time to recover,’’ he said. “Having said that, we played well in the second half.
Alluding to ‘mitigating circumstances’ — including a tiring six-hour bus journey — he pointed out that they hadn’t played a game for six weeks and had players involved in club games up to three days beforehand.
“Galway left us off the hook. We didn’t make our luck — we genuinely had luck. Once we survived half-time we were happy enough, but if Galway had got a goal it would have calmed them down and helped to improve their shooting.’’
Again, in preparing his team for this game, Ryan has had to contend with several girls playing camogie games, while the attack has been hit by the loss of Laura McMahon with a serious knee injury. Rena Buckley is back in the panel after touring abroad, but she won’t be starting.
“Nobody is talking about four in-a-row,’’ he added. “It’s just match to match.’’
Dublin were the only team to beat Cork this year (in the League) and they are undefeated in championship football since Mayo knocked them out in the quarter-final in 2004.
“Everybody recognises that we have to improve especially after the way Tyrone played against Dublin.’’
The Tyrone captain Maura Kelly (girlfriend of Ryan McMenamin) accepts that they have to hit top form to have any chance of winning. The game marks the first meeting of the counties at senior level, but they meet in the junior final of 1995 which Cork won. Four years later Tyrone captured the title and they have been in the senior ranks since.
En route to the semi-final they played Down and Monaghan in the Ulster championship, and then knocked out Monaghan and Dublin.
She agrees with the popular view that Cork remain the team with all the talents. “They are very strong in defence and up the middle, and their midfield so full of running. Then they have so many good forwards. They are definitely a good all-round team.”
On the positive side, their own forwards have been performing well, particularly Gemma Begley. And, the girls have the added incentive of trying to emulate the Tyrone seniors and minors (as well as their own minors, who lost to Dublin recently) in getting to the All-Ireland final.
The game is fixed for 3.30pm and will be preceded at 1.45 by the intermediate semi-final between Longford and Clare.
CORK: E Harte; C Walsh, A Walsh, L Barret; S O’Reilly, B Stack G O’Flynn; J Murphy, B Corkery; N Cleary, M O’Connor, A Murphy; V Mulcahy, A O’Shea, D O’Reilly.
TYRONE: S McVey; S McLaughlin, M Kelly, S Keenan; A Hagan, L Donnelly, C Fox; N Woods, S Donnelly; C McAliskey, G Begley, C Donnelly; C McGahan, E Gormley, L Hughes.
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