Noel Furlong: Cork's victory over Kilkenny inspired minors to Munster final success

Cork players celebrate at the end of the game. Picture: INPHO/Ken Sutton

Cork minor hurling manager Noel Furlong has said his Munster final winning charges were inspired by the county’s All-Ireland senior semi-final victory over Kilkenny.

Cork’s provincial final win means all three Cork hurling teams - senior, U20, and minor - will contest All-Ireland finals in the next fortnight.

“Watching the seniors was inspirational to all of our lads, and with Pat Ryan and the U20s, you can't beat confidence for lads to be coming back with silverware,” said Furlong.

“Cork's record at minor over the last 10-15 years is not what it should be and so it was up to our group this year to make sure that whatever we could do to rectify that, we would do it.

“We had three good games and three good wins and are delighted to have the Munster Cup going home.” 

With three All-Ireland finals involving Cork teams now imminent on the horizon, Furlong has a job on his hands to keep his young players exclusively focused on their All-Ireland bid.

“There are three Cork teams in three All-Ireland finals coming up, so the hype is going to be the hype. We can only control what is inside in our camp and literally, we are going to meet in the morning, do our recovery session, and box off tonight's game.

“We have got a big game coming in two weeks and all of our focus and energy needs to go there immediately and that is exactly what we will be doing. Saturday or Sunday week, we'd be just hoping to get a performance.” 

Reflecting on their Munster final-winning performance, the manager acknowledged that the hard work was done in the first half, at the end of which Cork led by 11.

“There was a strong wind there. We won the toss and played with the wind as we wanted to get out of the traps early. We got a good start and that is huge in a final, having that momentum. It was just a case at half-time then of regrouping and making sure we held onto our lead.”