Dara Ó Cinnéide: When will Cork achieve their potential?

One of the many pleasing aspects for Kerry supporters ahead of the replay against Cork last Saturday was that, win or lose, it offered their team another chance to iron out the kinks in their game against top quality opposition.

The replay, whether won or lost, would give the sideline gurus on both sides extra meat to chew on (context as Eamonn Fizmaurice likes to call it) as they went about improving their performances further down the line.

We now know Kerry won and Cork lost, but why are some people giving Kildare a chance in this evening’s Round 4A qualifier game? If it was Kerry who lost that game in Killarney, would anybody give the Lillywhites even a fighting chance of beating them? Given there was so little to separate the Munster giants over the course of 150 minutes of football this month, why at the end of the month are victor and vanquished being judged so differently? What has changed in a week? For the second time in a week, Cork will get to play a game that will be won and lost in the few inches between their players’ ears as much as it might be out on the pitch.

You cannot come to Killarney as united and keen as they appeared three weeks ago and be unlucky as they were without doing it again or at least trying to do it again. Otherwise, everything Cork have planned for in the Munster campaign, everything they brought to Killarney on two big occasions and every positive that they have done since beating Dublin in the opening game of this year’s league counts for nothing. It may as well never have happened.

The closeness of the contests between Kerry and Cork should have confirmed Cork’s place amongst the country’s elite sides but, despite the expectation that has hung over them since Conor Counihan’s reign, Cork can no longer be viewed as potential All-Ireland winners. They have lost too many players to hurling and to retirements.

Having invested so much mental energy in trying to win a Munster title makes them vulnerable today but a few adjustments should see them have a say in how we view, championship favourites, Dublin’s chances in two weeks. When the initial disappointment of last Saturday’s defeat subsided, Cork would have had big decisions to make and some very big questions to answer this week.

Are they frauds or are they for real? When are they going to wake up to their potential? Are they going to use the James O’ Donoghue penalty from the drawn game as the latest in a long line of grievances that feed into the Cork narrative of near misses against Kerry? Or are they going to cross that bridge and move onwards with purpose to Croke Park? Whatever latent dissatisfaction there is in the county with Brian Cuthbert’s management must be set aside for this match. Getting over the Kildare challenge is something the Cork players are going to have to figure out for themselves.

The more experienced members on the panel will know going to Thurles this evening that whatever momentum Kildare have gained by beating Offaly and Longford is nothing compared to what the two battles in Killarney have given Cork in terms of championship experience. But the last thing Cork want is to feed into the sense of hope that Kildare might bring to the game. Key Cork players will have to lead from the start and let Kildare know in very stark terms that they’re up for the battle.

When people talk about leadership or a lack thereof within this group of Cork players, I assume they speak of the quiet strength that sees apparently ordinary players do extraordinary things at the time of most need. Was that strength not there from start to finish three weeks ago and was it not there again the last day when Jamie O’ Sullivan won the first high ball between himself and Kieran Donaghy after only 10 seconds? Or when Brian O’Driscoll dashed forward to kick his first-half point? Did Mark Collins not take responsibility and show leadership all through the course of the last two games? Barry O’Driscoll also had his moments when announcing himself as a championship performer of decent calibre and Colm O’Neill led from the front in very trying circumstances.

The key for Cork this evening is to get as many of these players as possible contributing at the same time. Alan O’Connor will be disappointed with his showing the last day but will be energised by the return of Eoin Cadogan to midfield, who will give legs and aggression in an area that lacked such qualities a week ago. We don’t know what shape John O’Rourke and Ian Maguire are in, but their presence among the subs this evening suggests that they’re ready for action, giving Cork options off the bench that they didn’t have at the start of July. Patrick Kelly’s passing and clever running will be missed but Colm O’Driscoll may give more grunt to compensate for the loss of guile in the short term. That will do outfield for now but for Cork to really thrive, they need to find ways of getting the inside line more involved.

Brian Hurley, one would have thought, would have been exhilarated by the prospect of taking on either Ciarán Fitzpatrick or Ollie Lyons after the suffocating presence of Shane Enright in the last two matches. I suspect his omission is just a temporary measure to try and help him take stock after a few disappointing days out. Any man who scored 1-5 in his last championship game in Croke Park is surely worth a start if Cork overcome Kildare.

All week Kildare supporters have been clinging to their history in the qualifiers – they made five quarter finals in a row between 2008-2012 during the McGeeney era and a semi in 2010. They can also cling to the record of teams with a seven-day turnaround after provincial defeat and to the vain hope that Cork will be demoralised after allowing the big fish slip off the hook again. Such hope appears misplaced to me as Cork are the superior team and, provided they are not in self-pitying mode, should win.

It may be a bit wide of the mark to say both Fermanagh and Westmeath are in bonus territory and thus have nothing to lose ahead of this evening’s round 4A qualifier in Breffni Park. Fermanagh, for one, are a team of genuine ambition having gained promotion from Division 3. Were they to lose this evening it would have to be regarded as a setback as their stated aim, if manager Pete McGrath’s comments after their Ulster semi-final defeat to Monaghan holds true, was to still be playing football in August. Westmeath, who take Fermanagh’s place in Division 3 next season, also have much to lose.

If the Leinster runners-up don’t perform, a memorable provincial campaign and the prestige of an already under siege Leinster championship is at stake. By taking young Killian Daly out of the full back-line and selecting Kieran Gavin and Frank Boyle inside, Westmeath have a more grizzled and hardened look at the back. They will need that edge as very few full forward lines left in the championship carry as much menace as Tomas Corrigan, Seán Quigley and Ryan Jones. With John Heslin and Ger Egan sidelined, Westmeath have been dealt a big blow and if Quigley can straighten his aim after suffering the yips two weeks ago, I expect to see Fermanagh in Croke Park on August weekend.