Allen grateful to grasp short straw

Even before the final whistle had sounded in the recent Leinster final, Galway’s big win already a foregone conclusion, it was being whispered: “God, after the manner of this beating, I’d hate to be the team Kilkenny meet in the All-Ireland quarter-final!”

That team was decided on yesterday morning, the pairings for the two quarter-finals drawn. Facing Waterford, beaten Munster finalists, are Cork; facing Kilkenny, Limerick.

So be it, said Limerick manager John Allen. “It’s us, but look, no matter how you think about it, if you want to make progress, if you want to be considered their peers, you’re going to have to play Kilkenny, Tipperary, Galway. So here we are, we’re playing Kilkenny.

“Looking back on the year, on that infamous day in February against Clare in the league when we underachieved [walloped 2-24 to 1-13, having led 1-6 to 0-4, serious criticism shipped in the aftermath], I’d certainly have taken being in an All-Ireland quarter-final against anybody, even Kilkenny!”

Kilkenny go in to the game as low as 1/10 with some bookmakers. No problem says Allen.

“There’s going to be no pressure on us, we’ll be going into the game the same way we went into the Tipperary game in Munster, total underdogs — isn’t that a great way to be going into any game?

“Nobody gave us a chance either against Tipperary, nobody — not the pundits, not the fans, not even our own friends! We weren’t too far off the mark that day and we’re in a win/win situation again now really, all the pressure and all the expectation will be on Kilkenny.”

For Cork manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy, it doesn’t matter who they were drawn to meet.

“First of all I want to say we’re just delighted to be there, we’re delighted to have qualified for the All-Ireland quarter-final. That’s what we had set out to do at the start of the year, to make it as far as the quarter-final and that’s what we’ve done now.”

The opposition? “I’d be very wary of Waterford, our recent championship record against them isn’t good and we’re very conscious of that. It’s been a great rivalry over the last decade, some brilliant games, but it would have to be admitted that they’ve got the better of us in recent years, five games now without a win, that’s what would concern us.”

Two of those five games ended in a draw [2010 Munster final, 2-15 each; 2007 All-Ireland quarter-final, 3-16 each], Waterford triumphing in the replay on each occasion, while they also beat Cork in the Munster semi-final of 2007.

Not since 2006 have Cork gotten one over their eastern-border neighbours and given the precocious nature of the team this year, a host of youngsters gaining experience, this will indeed by a major test for Cork.

“It’s a tricky game for us, we have a lot of work to do over the next couple of weeks,” said Barry-Murphy.