Kieran Kingston says Cork hurlers will stick to training plan
The Leesiders have lost their first two games, against Galway and Waterford, and Kingston said: “We have to be realistic. We went up to Galway and we played poorly against them — we gave them too much space, we stood off them, we treated it a bit like a practice game.
“That was disappointing for us as a management team, for that to be our first competitive game. Because of what happened last year in the championship we’d have expected a reaction and we didn’t get that.
“From the perspective of the Waterford game, they’ve developed a system of play for the last couple of years that’s very difficult to play against. They showed it the week before we played them when they beat Kilkenny.”
Kingston was swift to point to Waterford’s quality.
“In addition to that system they have exceptional hurlers — a number of them came through UCC, and if you were watching the Fitzgibbon you’d have been aware that some of the top hurlers in the country coming through the colleges were from Waterford.
“Jamie Barron, Colin Dunford, Austin Gleeson, Tadhg de Burca —you’re talking about exceptional hurlers who are playing to a system developed over a couple of years that isn’t easy to play against.
“Saying that, I thought we came to terms with it as the game progressed. We had a week to prepare for it, a new management team working with the squad, so we have to be realistic about where we are in terms of our own plan.
“We could have faded and lost by 10 or 12 points but we rallied and might have gotten a draw. There was the incident with Aidan Walsh, where we might have gotten a scorable free but they got a point — a two-point swing.
“Late on their goalkeeper made a good save from Paudie O’Sullivan to deny us a draw, and over the 70 minutes we probably wouldn’t have deserved that, but I thought we showed good fight towards the end of the game.
“Now, we need to show that from the start. I’m not going to hide behind the last 10 minutes. We need that from the start.” The Tracton clubman said Cork are working to their training plan: “It’s disappointing to be two games in without a point on the board. No doubt about that.
“We said it might happen, though we didn’t want it to happen, though we are happy, in as far as we can be, with our training plan and how we’re going according to that plan. We’re working to that plan and we’re staying with it — it hasn’t involved a lot of hurling up to now, for different reasons.
“Ideally we’d like to have a couple of points on the board at this stage, which would have given us the chance to try a few players on the extended panel. The longer you go without points the more difficult it becomes, the more championship-like the games become.” It’s no easier on Saturday night against Dublin.
“The bookies have Dublin favourites, presumably on the back of our performances and their win over Galway. They’ll have big support with the footballers coming in as well for the NFL game, their confidence will be up, and they’ll have Ger (Cunningham) as manager. He’ll know our players well, that adds another bit of spice.
“It is what it is — we’ll go up there trying to get two points, but I’m sure Ger is saying the same.”
Kingston expects Seamus Harnedy, who tweaked a hamstring against Galway, to be available, but Aidan Walsh had surgery on the nose he broke against Waterford and is unavailable.
Conor O’Sullivan is still out with a groin injury and Colm Spillane’s cruciate injury against Waterford rules him out for the rest of the year. Alan Cadogan is suspended after being red-carded against Waterford, and Shane O’Neill also misses Saturday’s game as he is doing exams.
Meanwhile, Cork will be represented in both All-Ireland Club senior finals on St Patrick’s Day when Diarmuid Kirwan and Conor Lane take charge of the hurling and football deciders. Ovens-based Kirwan is the man in the middle for the Na Piarsaigh-Cushendall clash, while Banteer-Lyre’s Conor Lane will officiate in the Ballyboden St Endas-Castlebar Mitchels game.
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