JBM pleased with progress as Cork young guns deliver

New-time arrived in sun-splashed Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday, the clocks all gone forward an hour, but it felt almost like old times as a young Cork side managed by Jimmy Barry-Murphy and hurling with skill, pace and intelligence, raised the spirits of a near 8,000 crowd with a hard-earned but well-deserved win over the old enemy, Kilkenny.

Afterwards the fans rose to acclaim their new heroes, and rightly so. This wasn’t Kilkenny at their All-Ireland best, this wasn’t even Kilkenny with their All-Ireland team, but it was the All-Ireland champions in town nevertheless, and unbeaten so far this year in league or tournament.

For this Cork team then, still very much a work-in-progress, to chisel out a win over hurling’s most doughty opposition — well, it brought back smiles that had been long lost. Certainly Jimmy himself was a happy man. “We’re very pleased,” he said. “We lost a game last Sunday (against Galway) we felt we might get something out of, and against Dublin we won a game we might have lost, so it’s a very tough league.

” I was very pleased with the second-half display, great credit due to the players for the way they played. We were playing a very good team and they were always going to be very hard to beat, but I thought our defence was superb. We kept them scoreless for a long period in both halves and great credit is due to the defence and goalkeeper, they did very, very well; I thought that was where our foundation was laid.”

Played in perfect conditions, it looked after just 10 minutes as though Kilkenny were going to administer another of several beatings they’ve given to Cork in recent years, four points to one ahead, all four of those from Richie Power frees (Richie ended with 1-11 and a straight red card for a wild pull in the final minute to his debit.)

Already, however, there were encouraging signs for Cork. Their point came from a Patrick Horgan free from wide right after a very early foul hit on teenage sensation Conor Lehane by Michael Fennelly and the Midleton youngster would go on to trouble a succession of markers.

Inside, a very lively Cork trio of Jamie Coughlan, Paudie O’Sullivan and Horgan were asking questions of the Kilkenny rearguard, Cathal Naughton’s searing pace on the left wing had Kieran Joyce in difficulty, while Pa Cronin was a good physical match for Brian Hogan.

At the other end Cork were very well served down the spine by the returning Stephen McDonnell (full-back) and Eoin Cadogan (centre-back), while flankers Shane O’Neill, Brian Murphy, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín and William Egan were all combining well, making life difficult for a Kilkenny attack that had scored 5-16 against Dublin last Sunday.

Midfield, however, was the real surprise. Kilkenny had the multi-decorated duo of Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice, Cork had two youngsters, 22 year-old Lorcán McLoughlin and the even more precocious Darren Sweetnam, Leaving Cert Bandon Grammar teenage student. And they held their own, the kids, more than held their own as the game progressed.

Only two points in it at the break, Kilkenny leading 1-10 to 1-8, having played with a strong breeze. Their goal had come in the 30th minute, slightly against the run of play, Richie Power brought down inside the area for a penalty which he drilled home, but Cork’s reply was immediate, Paudie O’Sullivan pouncing on a long McLoughlin free to fire home from close range.

Early in the second-half it was Kilkenny looking good, Richie Hogan with a fine point, Power with two more frees. Unlike their second half performance – or lack of – against Galway last week, however, Cork were not going to fade, outscored the Cats seven points to two on the home stretch to finish worthy winners. Coming when it did, final minute, Power’s red card had no effect on the outcome but Kilkenny had been living on thin ice, referee Michael Wadding yellow-carding seven.

That ill-discipline won’t have impressed Kilkenny manager Brian Cody; Cork certainly did. “Cork never surprise me with their ability to play hurling. They were very good, their young lads very impressive — definitely the better team, we were probably lucky to lose by only two points. ”

With Waterford shocking Galway in Galway, the freak scoring in Kilkenny’s own defeat of Dublin last weekend, it’s been a topsy-turvy league so far – par for the course, says Cody. “You get results like that every year. Last year’s league final we were annihilated by Dublin (Kilkenny went on to win the All-Ireland), that’s the reality.

“We take the league seriously, we wanted to win and I wouldn’t even begin to suggest otherwise. Ultimately the year goes as it goes, it’s a process, and this is part of it.”

Scorers for Cork: P Horgan 0-8 (0-7f); P O’Sullivan 1-1; C Naughton 0-2; W Egan 0-2 (0-1f, 0-1 65); D Sweetnam, C Lehane, P Cronin, J Coughlan, 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kilkenny: R Power 1-11 (1-0p, 0-8f, 0-1 65); R Hogan 0-2; TJ Reid, M Rice, 0-1 each.

Cork subs: N McCarthy (Naughton 48); J Gardiner (Sweetnam 69).

Kilkenny subs: C Fennelly (E Murphy 43); A Fogarty (Reid 51); J Mulhall (Ruth 59).

Referee: M Wadding (Waterford).