Stage set for high scoring hurling final

Cork are determined to win back-to-back titles in the forthcoming All Ireland hurling final.

But their opponents Galway, who have not won the Liam McCarthy Cup, since 1988, are equally focused on victory.

Inspirational Galway corner back Ollie Canning said today that supporters on both sides were hoping for a high-scoring final.

“The Cork lads, like ourselves, are just concentrating on winning the game. If it comes down to a point or two at the end then it’ll be exciting one way or another,” he said.

The novel pairing of Cork and Galway has captured the imagination of hurling fans who had been resigned to watching the third All-Ireland final clash between Cork and Kilkenny in three years.

Cork and Galway supporters will spend the next two weeks anxiously seeking to get hold of tickets for the September 11 final in the 82,000-capacity Croke Park.

Mr Canning, who has won two All-Star awards, said both Galway and Cork were fit, mobile teams.

“You might think it would be very open but, sometimes, games don’t go like that. It depends. We’ll obviously be trying to close it down more at the back and Cork will be trying to do the same.”

Galway reached the final by defeating Kilkenny in a thrilling semi-final that featured 55 scores.

Mr Canning said there had been mistakes made but added that they had increased the level of excitement in the game.

“As somebody said later, if you drive a car at 150mph you’re bound to crash at some stage. That was the way it went. The ball was up and down the field. Looking at the video, there was a point at one end and then the other with five or ten seconds.”

He and Cork forward Joe Deane were in Dublin to publicise voting for the Guinness hurling Legends team, which both of them are in the running for.

Joe Deane said that from the start of the year, Cork’s target was to repeat their All Ireland success against Kilkenny last year.

“It’s something that hasn’t been done much over the years. Kilkenny proved what a great side they were by doing it. It was obviously our main motivation this year to put back to back All-Irelands together,” he said.

However, he said that if Cork lost, it would mean the team had been been defeated in two of the last three finals.

Cork reached the final by overcoming Clare in the dying minutes of a closely-contested semi-final.

Deane said that while the two semi-finals were fantastic games, the final would be completely different again.

“It’s very hard to predict what way the game is going to go. Our game is very tight and intense, a lot of pressure and very physical. The Galway and Kilkenny was a lot more free-flowing so it’ll probably be a mixture of in between, I’d imagine.”

Deane said that while his team had not been playing to the best of their ability, they had came through some tough games.

“We’re delighted with the results but we have to pick it up again if we’re to win the final. As far as we’re concerned, any sort of a winning margin is fine,” he said.