Goals and strength in depth: How Cork completed part one of the 'Rebel treble' with U20 win

Cork hit the ground running in Thurles, but their early penchant for hitting wides would have worried

Wed, 18 Aug, 2021 - 21:27

John Coleman

Jack Cahalane's goal

Cork hit the ground running in Thurles this evening, but their early penchant for hitting wides would have worried them as the first-half water break approached. Darragh Flynn's early penalty had given them momentum but they had still hit six wides to match the 1-6 they had on the board.

Cahalane's goal gave a fairer reflection of Cork's dominance and was made all the better by the fact that it was something out of nothing thanks to Daniel Hogan's willingness to battle for the ball. The wides continued to mount afterwards (Cork hit 13 in the opening period), but the Barrs' man's major ensured Cork’ lead was as comfortable as it needed to be at the break.

Pádraig Power's goal

The Blarney man has been just as superb in this year's championship as he was in last year’s one. He scores heavily, works tirelessly and never stops moving.

He hit 1-5 here but no score was more important than his 37th minute goal. Cork's first-half lead had been reduced to just three points as Galway came out swinging on the restart, outscored their Leeside rivals by 1-4 to 0-0.

When Power got the ball from Brian Hayes he would have been forgiven if he had taken his point, but he went for glory and got it and Cork were back on track.

Cork's depth

Not a moment, per se, but there’s no doubting its importance. Cork were missing three senior panelists in Alan Connolly, Shane Barrett and Dáire O'Leary. Yet Cork's bench still made a serious impact coming down the stretch.

Glen Rovers' Luke Horgan scored one and made one while Ben Cunningham hit two points and made the surging run that set up his cousin Brian Hayes' crowning goal. This is meant to be a developmental grade and there’s no doubting that Pat Ryan and Co have fulfilled that brief.

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