Miskella: We need Goulding

CORK can’t afford to be without Daniel Goulding for their All-Ireland quarter-final, warned John Miskella.

The Eire Óg forward limped off in the first-half after straining his ankle and left Croke Park on crutches.

After losing Colm O’Neill and Ciarán Sheehan to leg injuries, Miskella is keeping his fingers crossed Goulding will be fit for their last-eight game.

“It’s big, especially after Ciarán Sheehan going the last day. Daniel is probably the biggest forward we have so we definitely need him back for the next day.

“Lads came in and did well. Barry (O’Driscoll) got a concussion straight away after coming on. Fiachra Lynch came in and did very well as well.”

Miskella believes Cork’s first-half display when they slotted home two goals made it much easier for them to drive on after the turnaround.

“We had a lot to work on but we still went in five points up. They have quality forwards and maybe they won too many breaks in the half forward line. So we have a lot to work on in the next few days. But going in five points up at half-time knowing that we had a bit of a breeze, we were happy enough.”

Kerry aren’t far away from Miskella’s mind. After his last goal chance in Killarney, that’s probably understandable but even though they couldn’t be drawn against them yesterday evening they haven’t been forgotten.

“The last few weeks we have trained hard and worked hard. We talked about it for a few days, but it’s behind us now.

“We want another crack off them. We only want to do one thing this year — and that’s repeat what we did last year. That’s our aim and next week is another game. Kerry are favourites now with Dublin. They played some great football, they put themselves out there to be beaten and we’re hoping to catch them.”