Life’s a breeze for Quirke

FITZGERALD STADIUM on summer Sundays has not been a constant thread during Alan Quirke’s football career. Despite the scarcity of appearances, the Valley Rovers net-minder warms to the prospect of Sunday’s Munster SFC showdown.

“I’ve actually only played there once against Kerry in the senior championship. I missed out two years ago because I was injured but I’ve played there a couple of times with the juniors. It’s a great venue to play in.

“The big thing is that it can be a very warm venue. It’s a bowl-like stadium and if the sun is shining, it’s going to be very warm. It can be a windy venue as generally the wind blows down the field opposite the dressing-rooms.”

Capricious breezes are particularly relevant for Quirke. The accuracy and length of kick-outs are key variables in the modern game, and Quirke zones in on them prior to matches.

“We’d work a lot on kick-outs in training as that’s becoming an important part in the game. Generally people point out the stats afterwards what kick-outs you won and lost, so that’s important. We do a lot of goalkeeping work while the other lads are involved in outfield drills. We do a good bit of specialised work.

“Having worked with Billy Morgan for a couple of years, he’d have been very good at giving us goalkeeping drills. We’ve brought that forward and added bits and pieces to it as the years change.

“Certain aspects of soccer would be useful but I think it’s dangerous to do all similar drills. There are big differences in that firstly you’re allowed to be tackled when you gain possession and secondly your opponents can use their hands. To an extent you use some of the same drills but you have to tailor them.”

Since Quirke established himself as Cork goalkeeper in 2006, he has had the familiar sight of Graham Canty anchoring the challenge in front of him. But with Canty released to the open prairies of the half-back line, Michael Shields has slipped into the role.

“Michael made a big decision in coming back from Australia last year that he wanted to play for Cork rather than be a professional sports man. But he’s a very dedicated guy and a fine footballer. I hope things work out for him this year.”

The make-up of the full-back line has seen further change with Ray Carey emerging at right-corner back. Carey’s graph enjoyed an upward swing from Cork IT’s Sigerson Cup success and Quirke feels that it is the kind of triumph which Cork can benefit from.

“None of the members of the panel would have had previous Sigerson Cup success. I think the last time a Cork team won it was in 1995. To see those lads winning Sigerson medals and U21 medals is a good indicator of success. The players have done very well in fairness. There’s good competition this year. It’s a step up but they’re going well so far.”