Seamus Harnedy: Pressure is on for Cork

The league opener didn’t go too well for Seamus Harnedy. The drudgery of pre-season wasn’t proof against an early tweak that sent him to the sideline. He found the net in the interregnum between injury and substitution, though.

“Against Galway, the first ball that came my way went down the line,” he says. “I made a burst to get it and I felt a bit of a tweak or a tug in my leg. That was only four or five minutes in, my first instinct was just to run it off in the next few minutes, but unfortunately I couldn’t.”

Cork management were about to take him off but events intervened. A long ball into the Galway square, Patrick Horgan contested it . . . “the ball broke to me and I didn’t have to move too far.

“It was very disappointing to be taken off injured in the first game of the campaign, just a few minutes in. I’m hoping it’s all behind me now. In fairness to Deccie (O’Sullivan) and the medical team physios, they’ve been brilliant. They got me off the field just in time and nipped it in the bud.

“You’ve all the hard slog done from very early in the year and you’re just keen to get out on the field and put it into practice, but there are knocks in every sport. And other fellas are champing at the bit to get in as well, so it gives someone else a chance.”

It meant Harnedy couldn’t play against Waterford in the next league game. For a man who can practically see Waterford from his own home between Killeagh and Youghal, not to mention his family ties to the Déise, it was hard one to miss.

“There’s always a rivalry between Cork and Waterford and particularly the last couple of decades, there’s a nice spice to it. It was tough watching from the stands, but going forward I’d like to see myself playing in every game.

“It was a tough night but it was very encouraging the way the lads closed it out. I suppose we only drove it on when Aidan (Walsh) got injured, I don’t know if that’s a good or bad sign, but you’d have to be happy with the way the game ended, and that’s something to take into this weekend.

“But we’ll have to deliver a more complete performance, obviously. We’ve been good in patches in the last two games without getting up to the required standard.”

Dublin had a good win over Galway, Cork’s conquerors the first day, and are at home, with a good home crowd likely to show for the the double-header against Cork. Harnedy isn’t fazed.

“We’ve had a few good displays in Croke Park in the last few years, though we’re probably under a bit more pressure going into the weekend than Dublin. They have some points on the board and we need to do the same. We need to get a performance and to be more consistent.

“We’d love to get a result out of it but they’ll have their dander up after a good result over a good Galway team. They’ll be well fired up and on their home patch in front of a good home crowd, too.

“But any day you get to run out in Croke Park is a blessing. It’s a great chance as well. I know it’s a league game and not a championship match, a game in the All-Ireland series, but if fellas can’t get up for this, Saturday under lights in Croke Park, what would they get up for?”

The St. Ita’s man, now working in AIB Midleton, acknowledges losing can become a habit as quickly as winning. “Exactly, and that’s why we’ll be keen on giving a rapid response this evening. We know it’ll be a hard game, and (Dublin manager) Ger Cunningham will have them well fired up. We had two tough battles with them last year, remember, the second day (the NHL semi-final) we came back from 12 points down and pinched it from them, really, in Nowlan Park.

“Obviously we’ve met on a number of occasions and none of those games have been runaway wins for either side. I’m looking forward to a tough encounter, but we’ll have to match them in terms of attitude if we’re going to have any chance.”

He’s ready? “I trained well during the week to make myself available for selection. Ready to go.”