Goulding gearing up to finally make his mark

IF there’s a feeling out there that this is Cork’s time then the same could be said for Daniel Goulding.

The man from Ovens might not be a ‘marquee player’ yet but he will be.

Goulding first popped up on the nation’s radar back in 2003 when he was already an attacker of note on a minor side which reached an All-Ireland semi-final.

It was with the U21s that his star really began to rise. When Cork lost the 2006 decider to Mayo he was his side’s top scorer.

Within 12 months, Cork had made amends, beating Laois in an epic final in Thurles that was decided virtually on the buzzer by a free from none other than Goulding.

By the by, he was top scorer on the day and in the competition overall, a contribution that was noted when he was named as the sponsors’ star of the future for that year.

So far, so good.

“It’s always good to be winning,” he says of his and Cork’s recent underage pedigree. “A lot of fellas have won major titles over the past couple of years so that can’t be a bad thing.”

If there has been one wobble, one speed bump, on his path thus far it was his progression from underage star to senior starter. It took a while. Longer than expected.

James Masters saw to that.

Both citeogs, the word was, rightly or wrongly, that Goulding was too similar a corner-forward to Masters who was topping the scoring charts.

But Goulding’s break came when the Nemo marksman fractured a jaw in a 2007 quarter-final against Sligo.

In stepped Goulding to score three points and, though he reverted to the bench for that ill-fated final against Kerry, he scored 1-1 on his introduction.

“I thought it was a low-key final two years ago. We were in that game at half-time, down two or three points. Neither team had played well and we just didn’t get the breaks in the second half. There’s a lot of new players since then and a lot of players gone, retired, but we’ve still the nucleus of that side. The fellas that have come in have pushed everyone else. There’s great competition for places.”

His own career has gathered pace since.

Goulding started every championship game last summer and claimed 3-18. The highlight was arguably a scintillating goal scored against Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final replay. This year has been much the same. He won a Sigerson Cup medal with CIT back in the spring and stands now as Cork’s top scorer from play this term with 2-14.

That is significant for a man who used to score a large chunk of his points from frees and his ability to sniff out goals has been just as welcome this last two years.

“It’s going all right but it’s going to be a massive battle and the other three or four games are going to be an irrelevance.

“It’s whatever situation presents itself, you try and take it – whether it’s a point or a goal – as all forwards do.”

Goulding is, in fact, pretty typical of the entire Cork forward unit. Talented though they all are, none is yet a household name. One that could carry an advertising billboard nationwide.

Compare that with Kerry, who could have Kieran Donaghy and Tommy Walsh sitting on the bench, and it is clear that Goulding and Co. have yet to leave an indelible mark on the game.

Right now, that looks like it may be just a matter of time.

* Man of the match betting: 16/1