Clinical Cork limber up for Killarney

THEY spent yesterday afternoon in Páirc Uí Chaoimh but Cork’s footballers had subconsciously drifted to another stadium long before the finish of yesterday’s Munster SFC semi-final stroll against Waterford.

When Daniel Goulding prodded the ball to the net in the ninth minute to catapult Cork into a nine-point lead, thoughts among players and the talk amongst supporters began to revolve around Fitzgerald Stadium.

The Killarney showdown that looked inevitable after the Munster GAA chiefs spun the draw drum last October was always going to come to pass. Cork’s blistering start yesterday against a beleaguered Waterford side meant their path to a provincial decider on July 3 was assured.

Similar to the manner in which Kerry dispatched Limerick on Saturday night, Cork never allowed any sense of anxiety to creep into yesterday’s game.

This was routine business. They pounded the Déise defence from the off and the subsequent deluge of scores enabled them to cruise to an 18-point victory.

Waterford may have been plying their trade in Division 3 of the league this spring as opposed to the basement level they have inhabited over the last decade, but that did little to bridge the yawning chasm that existed between the power, skill and pace of Cork and the Déise. Thomas O’Gorman once more embellished his reputation as a tight-marking defender, captain Tony Grey kept foraging throughout at half-back while Gary Hurney showed flashes of his ability when serviced in attack.

But that was never going to be enough. This was a lopsided affair from the early stages as a result of Cork’s ruthlessness and dominance.

What did Conor Counihan learn from this encounter? A moot point, much like the post-match dissection of the runaway quarter-final win over Clare a fortnight ago.

The fact they have not had a gut-check to date in Championship 2011 does raise its own issues, ones the management are more than aware of. Of course, Kerry will certainly provide a rigorous test, but there is much to admire in the fashion that Cork have been pulverising their opponents of late.

The clinical edge they displayed in front of goal yesterday will please Counihan.

After the Clare game, he spoke ruefully of the chances to raise green flags Cork had spurned. They atoned in style as five balls whizzed past Waterford netminder Kieran Cotter. Considering they’d struck four goals in the eight games en route to glory last September, Cork improved their strike rate immeasurably.

The opening goal in the fourth minute may have had a touch of fortune about it when John Miskella’s long hoof forward deceived Cotter and looped into the net but thereafter they carved open the Waterford defence with sparkling play and crowned moves with splendid finishes.

Goulding displayed his poacher instincts with two strikes, one in each period, and indeed was foiled twice for the hat-trick early in the second half, first by a fine save by Cotter and then a timely block by Kieran Connery.

Paul Kerrigan walloped home a stinging drive in the 18th minute that pushed Cork into a 14-point lead even at that early juncture while the fifth goal was the pick of the bunch, a bullet into the top corner by Fintan Goold in the 43rd minute.

Despite their visible supremacy, the desire amongst the Cork players to maintain a high tempo throughout was noticeable. In that respect the performances of Kerrigan, Goold and Miskella were encouraging. That trio were all forced off through injuries in the opening half of the league final with Dublin in April and those ailments impeded their football thereafter. But with full fitness regained, Kerrigan and Miskella were both hungry for possession from the off.

Miskella’s attacking raids, yielding 1-2, were redolent of the free-scoring form he displayed in 2009, while Kerrigan charged incessantly through the Waterford defence. When introduced in the second half, Goold demanded possession and was at the heart of Cork’s drive until the finish.

In a generally high-tempo performance by Cork, there were a couple of black marks. Their concentration wavered in a 15-minute spell before the interval as they attempted too many audacious passes and some sloppy play allowed Waterford to string together a few points.

Conceding two goals will not sit well either with a defence that prides itself on being miserly.

The first was a Gary Hurney penalty on the stroke of half-time after he was fouled by Eoin Cadogan and left Waterford 3-8 to 1-6 adrift as they headed for the dressing rooms. The second saw Brian Wall pump in a free in the 60th minute with Alan Quirke misjudging the flight of the ball and it fell into the net.

But that’s nit-picking. The issues that will vex Counihan now is settling on the starting 15 that’s best equipped to claim the scalp of Jack O’Connor and Co. Six alterations were made to the line-up yesterday, none of them appreciably weakening Cork’s hand.

Then amongst the substitutes that were thrust into action, Fintan Goold put his hand up for selection, his younger brother David picked off two tidy points and Denis O’Sullivan looked like a man intent on building on his impressive campaign so far.

Ray Carey, Jamie O’Sullivan, Pearse O’Neill and Noel O’Leary were never asked to unzip their tracksuit tops.

Four weeks to go and there’s plenty to consider.

Scorers for Cork: D Goulding 2-2, P Kerrigan 1-3, J Miskella 1-2, F Goold 1-0, F Lynch, D Goold 0-2 each, D O’Connor (0-1f), P Kelly, C Sheehan, A Walsh, G Spillane, E Cotter 0-1 each.

Scorers for Waterford: G Hurney (1-0 pen), B Wall (1-0f) 1-1 each, S Fleming 0-2 (0-1f), S Briggs, B Phelan, T Prendergast, R Ahearne 0-1 each.

Subs for Cork: N Murphy for Walsh (39), F Goold for Sheehan (39), G Spillane for Miskella (45), D Goold for Goulding (55), D O’Sullivan for Shields (55).

Subs for Waterford: R Ahearne for Hennessy (33), T Connors for P Hurney (45), C Phelan for Connery (50), K Power for Phelan (53), J Hurney for Walsh (57).

Referee: Pat Fox (Westmeath).