Galway on the rise but Cork's real Championship is now in March

Keith Ricken: We would like to stay up in Division 2, there is no doubt about that. It would be good for the lads to stay in Division 2. But I don't fear relegation. Going down playing lower football is not something I fear.

PRESSURE: Galway forward Damien Comer in action against Kevin Flahive of Cork at Páirc Ui Chaoimh on Saturday.

Allianz FL Division 2: Galway 3-22 Cork 2-17.

UNBEATEN Galway continue to look upward. As for winless Cork, their gaze is now nervously and firmly fixed on a relegation battle.

What Saturday’s result confirmed is what most had predicted all along: that Cork’s League fate would be determined by their closing three games against fellow Division 2 strugglers Meath, Down, and Offaly.

Four rounds in and the quartet, who occupy the bottom half of the Division 2 table, do not boast a single victory between them. Their respective winless runs mean they are tightly bunched heading into the deciding weekends, only a single point separating fifth-place Meath from current wooden-spooners Down.

Incredibly close will be the push to escape not only Division 3, but the spectre of Tailteann Cup involvement in the months ahead.

Keith Ricken said that Cork’s remaining three games will be “great preparation” for the championship. One may take an alternative view: The next three games are Cork’s championship.

Failure to avoid the drop and the county is likely headed for a summer in the new second tier, unless of course this rebuilding project can be sufficiently fast-tracked to topple Jack O’Connor’s Kerry in the Munster semi-final.

“It is certainly in the melting pot now,” said Ricken of the scrap for survival. “We would like to stay up in Division 2, there is no doubt about that. It would be good for the lads to stay in Division 2. But I don't fear [relegation]. Going down playing lower football is not something I fear.

“My fear is that we don't have consistency. I am trying to bring consistency and I see us trying to be consistent and trying to play a good brand of football, and trying also to have structures in place. What I want to be is in a better place in 12 months.” 

Cork, though it didn't take much, were significantly improved on their Derry display. The hosts matched Galway stride for stride during a most open first half of football where the play oscillated up and down the field at a rate of knots. At a similar pace did the lead change hands.

A second minute Blake Murphy goal and a pair of Steven Sherlock white flags had Cork four in front inside three minutes and while the Galway response was to reel off 1-5 without reply to open up a four-point advantage of their own, the aforementioned Sherlock and Murphy then kicked five on the spin to haul Cork level at 1-9 apiece.

It was essentially a first-half of whatever you can do we can do too, the sides inseparable at 1-12 apiece at the break.

Encouraging from a Cork perspective was the dominant midfield partnership of Ian and Rory Maguire, although the latter is likely to be redeployed further back the field when Brian Hartnett and Brian Hayes return from injury given Cork’s main issues remain in defence.

The winners found scores far too easy to come by in the second period, goals from Damien Comer and Shane Walsh on 52 and 54 minutes maintaining the westerners' winning start and push for promotion.

Walsh, who also supplied Galway’s opening goal from the penalty spot, finished with 2-7. His influence ballooned following the injury-enforced withdrawal of Sean Meehan on 43 minutes.

Indeed, were it not for goalkeeper Chris Kelly’s second-half heroics, he and Galway would have finished with a much greater goal count.

“The benefits to such an open game is that we attacked from deep, which meant other lads got on the scoreboard besides the normal two or three,” said Joyce.

Cork, vowed Ricken, will continue to fight on. Player morale, he added, remains strong.

“I feel like Job at the moment. Everything that could go wrong is going wrong. Every time we train, it is nice. Every time we play a match, it pisses rain on us and there is wind. Today is the first day it didn't rain on us. I was saying, great, at half-time. Then, all of a sudden, that happens in the second half and you have a couple of injuries. It is hard when things are not going your way. These lads are giving it their all and you can't give any more than that. It can be hard, but we are not going to go away from it.” 

Scorers for Cork: S Sherlock (0-10, 6 frees), B Murphy (1-2), D O'Connell (1-0), K O’Donovan, T Corkery, R Maguire, I Maguire, J O’Rourke (0-1 each).

Scorers for Galway: S Walsh (2-7, 1-0, pen 4 frees), R Finnerty (0-4), D Comer (1-1), M Tierney, D McHugh, D Conneely (0-2 each), K Molloy, P Conroy, O Gallagher, T Gill (0-1 each).

CORK: C Kelly; B Hennessy, K Flahive, T Corkery; K O’Donovan, S Meehan, M Taylor; I Maguire, R Maguire; D Dineen, F Herlihy, C O’Callaghan; B Murphy, S Sherlock, J O’Rourke.

Subs: C Kiely for Meehan (43, inj); P Allen for Corkery (58, inj); E McSweeney for Hennessy (62); D O’Connell for O’Rourke (65); M Martin for Kelly (66, inj).

GALWAY: C Flaherty; S Kelly, K Molloy, L Silke; D McHugh, J Daly, J Heaney; P Conroy, M Tierney; P Kelly, S Walsh, O Gallagher; R Finnerty, D Comer, D Conneely.

Subs: T Gill for McHugh (15-26 mins, temp); C Sweeney for Gallagher (40); T Gill for P Kelly (55); F Ó Laoí for Heaney (60); D Silke for Walsh (64); N Daly for Conroy (69).

Referee: C Reilly (Meath).