Cusack and Walsh know Cork have to deliver

Goalkeeper Donal Og Cusack and manager Denis Walsh know Cork have to recapture the form which saw them dismantle Tipperary back in May if they are to overcome defending champions Kilkenny in Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final.

Kilkenny boss Brian Cody may have the odds stacked in his favour, but he admitted that Kilkenny-Cork clashes are always '50-50 games' and is priming his side for their biggest test this summer.

The Cats are gunning for their fifth All-Ireland title in-a-row, and a victory this weekend would represent their 21st successive Championship win since losing the 2005 All-Ireland semi-final to Galway.

In the red corner, Cork are looking for their first win over Kilkenny in three Championship meetings, with the carrot of a first All-Ireland final appearance since 2006 dangling in front of them.

The Rebels started the current campaign in rude health, with impressive provincial wins over Tipp and Limerick. They were turned over by Waterford in the Munster final replay, however, and needed to show some mettle to beat an improving Antrim side in their All-Ireland quarter-final.

Net minder Cusack, a regular for Cork since 1999, reckons that the current panel has the strength in depth to dethrone Kilkenny and continue on their own path.

"I think the game has very much gone from the day where it was a 15-man game," he said.

"You need as many people as possible, especially with the intensity teams are bringing to the competition now.

"I don't know if there is a right time to be playing Kilkenny. They are going for five in-a-row, and to be honest we are on our own journey.

"This is the semi-final of the third competition we are playing this year - the main competition, and we just want to win.

"We are very aware as to who we are facing and what they are going for, but as I said we are very much on different paths and fair play to them for that."

Losing the Munster title to the Deise, after two hard-fought games, was a real setback, but having to face Antrim so soon after was a good thing in the long run.

"People would have said that we had three games in three weeks, but I think it was a blessing in disguise," added Cusack.

"We were very disappointed having invested a lot in the Munster Championship and invested a lot of ourselves in those games (against Waterford) as well.

"Especially when it goes down to extra-time and it is as intense as it was. When you have invested so much and you lose.

"We had the bitterness of defeat, but we had to pick ourselves up quickly and get back training and prepare for a game within seven days."

Of the Antrim game, the 33-year-old custodian was pleased his side did not have it all their own way in their first outing at Croke Park this year.

"If you look at the start of the game we got four very quick points, maybe before Antrim settled down.

"Niall (McCarthy) got a goal just before half-time, and then Antrim missed two 21-metre frees that were cleared off the line.

"Had things gone the other direction with those few instances, then the result of the game could have been very different.

"Obviously we were very happy to get out of it. That was our intention, and we are back in the All-Ireland semi-final which is where we wanted to be at the start of the year."

Meanwhile, Cork boss Walsh, who has made three changes to the side that ended the Saffrons' run, is preparing his players for a huge showdown with a fellow hurling heavyweight.

He said that while a war of words may have raged between Kilkenny and Cork in the past, he does not believe that there are any ill feelings between the teams.

"Truthfully, I don't think there is any contempt there, to be honest with you. I don't," he insisted.

"I think Sunday's game is going to be a very hard battle. It's going to be a hard, physical battle. And it’s going to be damn hard hurling-wise.

"We would have too much respect and I would have too much respect now for Kilkenny to be going at it other than that.

"The facts are if we can't hurl them on Sunday, we are wasting our time. But there are obviously other ingredients there as well that you have to give yourself a platform.

"You have to beat your direct opponent. Probably, in the Munster final, if you look at even our forward division, we didn't win any of the battles really in those positions, up front in particular."

Pat Horgan has been preferred to Paudie O'Sullivan in the Cork full-forward line for Sunday's eagerly-awaited clash, while Shane O'Neill and Sean Og O hAilpin have recovered from hamstring complaints to gain starting spots in defence.