Can the Cork midfield conquer O Sé and Scanlon?

INDIVIDUAL battles win wars.

To win Sunday’s All-Ireland final,

Cork need to win their battle with the Kerry midfielders.

So Nicholas Murphy and Alan O’Connor are the men in the spotlight.

They must bring their “A” game to Croke Park for the biggest game of their careers and take the fight to Darragh O Sé and Seamus Scanlon.

For Cork to capture Sam Maguire, midfield is a battle that cannot be flinched.

The big question is whether they have the wherewithal to do so?

A defining image from most of Cork’s defeats to Kerry in headquarters has been the authority and dominance that an fear as An Ghaeltacht has played with.

We all remember different things – his dominance of Murphy, or his red card for faction fighting with Pearse O’Neill last season.

The one constant has been his ability to raise the troops when they need rising.

It is impossible to shake the sense that when Kerry meet Cork in Croke Park, Darragh O Sé is the midfielder with the most influence.

He is Kerry’s on-field general.

If Cork could break his governance, they would have one foot on the victory podium. Seamus Scanlon too has been hugely impressive in recent seasons; however, the Currow man does not galvanise his team, or his supporters, the way Darragh does.

O Sé’s use of possession, his inspirational scores and his soaring catches must be stopped.

Can Cork do that?

I believe that they can.

Nicholas Murphy is a quality midfielder, but one who has lived in O Sé’s shadow on the biggest days and in the principal stadium.

Surely the Carrigaline man will rev himself up to take no prisoners and not to be held hostage himself at 3.30pm on Sunday?

Certain days define player’s careers and Sunday could be one for Murphy. If he plays well and Cork win, his legacy will be as a player who stood up when the need was greatest.

If not, well, his critics will say: “A fine player, but he was never able for Darragh O Sé.”

Sport is harsh and no doubt Murphy knows the sentiment about himself. His pride should drive him on to have an almighty effort at knocking down that straw man.

Beside him, Alan O’Connor will have his own personal reasons to have a big influence on proceedings. He will want to excel after having his semi-final cut short by a harsh red card. Justified or not, he took the lonely walk like a man.

He took his misfortune on the chin and the team’s tremendous focus was illustrated by how he did not moan or groan. He just walked away and had belief in his team-mates’ ability to dig deep against Tyrone and progress to the final.

They did just that and payback time for them is next Sunday.

Alan needs to use his height, power and magnificent workrate to the maximum benefit for the team and that requires massive self-discipline, especially in the tackle.

Billy Morgan would contend that Marty Duffy is a fussy referee.

Let’s be fair, they have had their differences, but Duffy is referring the games according to the guidelines set down. The Sligo man consistently gets in the 80s and 90s on his assessment forms and that is why he has been given Sunday’s job.

It is up to Conor Counihan to make sure that his players tackle properly and stay within the rules.

Big men like O’Connor and his partner Pearse O’Neill, can look a little clumsy in the tackle.

They need to be careful that they stay on their feet and don’t go too high, but the hits have to go in, and runs have to be covered.

Pearse O’Neill will have a role to play too, coming down the middle for kick-outs from Quirke with his midfielders going left and right.

The ploy worked superbly in Munster, but Jack O’Connor will have Mike McCarthy on red alert to nullify that threat.

In every dressing room in Ireland, managers say that the team that wants it the most, wins. That is especially true around the central diamond, and I expect Murphy and O’Connor to be the keener duo this Sunday.

They will have to contend with a lot of traffic from Galvin and Kennelly searching for breaks, and big Quirke joining the fray, however, with Canty covering their rear, they can attack the ball with absolute conviction.

Rebel supporters have waited long enough.

Sunday should be their day to rule the midfield roost.