Rebels to fall at penultimate hurdle

EVEN searching for pictorial reference points has been futile. Seldom can such powerhouses of the game have so little recent history. That makes the questions harder and the available evidence less reliable.

Is Conor Counihan’s Cork ready to rumble with opposition which believes it has a clear psychological edge for tomorrow’s All-Ireland football semi-final at Croke Park. We will learn much about the Aghada man as an inter-county coach tomorrow. 2009 is his first full season in charge and Tyrone is his biggest challenge. In fact, everyone’s biggest challenge.

Too much store is being placed in Cork’s loud statement against a Kerry side we now know was well off the pace last June. There was nothing in the quarter-final against Donegal to advance or dilute Cork’s claims; in many respects, we are looking at Cork against Limerick for the most reliable reference point for the Munster champions heading into their own UFC (ultimate football challenge).

Given that Limerick are, at best, Tyrone-lite, that doesn’t augur well. There is no-one better than Mickey Harte at turning a side’s perceived strengths into liabilities and if Limerick can shut down Cork’s platform of attack – aka the half-back line – then what will The Great Suffocaters do? Of course there’s a flip side to this debate. If Cork can force Tyrone infield and into aerial combat at Croke Park, they had potential for significant gains. That’s easier said than done on the widest pitch in Championship football, but if it’s achieved, this semi-final is likely to come down to the match-ups between Tyrone’s man-to-man defence and Cork’s fleet-footed attack because Counihan’s side should enjoy greater possession.

The Rebel forward line is Cork in microcosm; potential in abundance but unproven against anything serious beyond Kerry. Ignore Paul Kerrigan’s score-fest against Donegal; let’s see him keep Davy Harte or Philip Jordan going backwards all afternoon. Ditto Paddy Kelly.

Of the starting attack, only Pearse O’Neill and Donncha O’Connor have consistently passed gut-checks. It’s not a day for Daniel Goulding to come up short because analysts and opposition have long memories that way. He may find himself with Ryan McMenamin for company, and no better defender to announce your arrival against – much like Kieran Donaghy on Francie Bellew in 2006.

At the other end of the field, Tyrone have Stephen O’Neill, Owen Mulligan and possibly even Sean Cavanagh. Spot the difference? It’s asking a lot of Ray Carey and even Anthony Lynch to eradicate such a threat from the flanks. He doesn’t like reminding of it either, but Michael Shields had more than 10 bad minutes against Donegal’s Michael Murphy in the quarter-final. Murphy has potential but he’s no Stephen O’Neill. The thought persists that 20 minutes on Murphy would have done Eoin Cadogan and Cork a power of good in that quarter-final turkey shoot. It gave them options. Introducing his presence is a greater risk now.

Yes, Cork have the power and the pace to daze the All-Ireland champions, but sustaining it over 70 minutes is a huge ask. We haven’t laboured the intensity angle and how Cork have prepared for same. Much like facing Beecher’s Brook in your first Grand National, you either deal with or you don’t.

Too many jockeys are blind-sided by that steep drop first time around.

If Cork could get a second crack at Tyrone they’d be favourites in my book. But on the first circuit...

Verdict: Tyrone