Eoin Cadogan: Cork can grumble but their painful undoing was self-inflicted
CONSOLATION: Galway manager Henry Shefflin with Sean O'Donoghue after the game in Thurles. Pic: Ray McManus, Sportsfile
WALKING out the gates of Semple Stadium on Saturday, it was the first time since retiring that I missed properly it.
That might seem strange in a game where you came out the wrong side but with no safety net and knockout hurling, as a player it’s precisely where you want to be. To date, I’ve enjoyed the spectator life but the first of the All-Ireland quarter-finals was energy-sapping. Every bit of emotion inside was screaming as the game progressed. More difficult was suppressing it as Cork clawed their way back into the final stages.
That’s what knock-out hurling does to you. The safety net of having a second chance is removed. Seeing the contrasting emotions of Cork men falling to the ground after emptying the tank and Galway's players and management ecstatic as they celebrated together, brought back the feeling of what it felt like to be out there.
There’s no hiding. On the good days, the chest is out looking for teammates, supporters, family and friends as you enjoy the moment. Full of excitement and energy, feeling no tiredness or soreness. But when it goes wrong you want the ground to swallow you up. Body and mind in over-drive. The 'what if’s' kick in too quickly. Depending on the stage of your career, 'was that my last game?', 'did I do enough for the group today?', 'why didn’t I go to that ball or take that point?', 'have I enough to contribute to next year - or will I even be asked back?'
Raw want.
Prior to Saturday's game, there was no form book. Both Galway and Cork came into this quarter-final show with uncertainties and questions. The electric atmosphere we were expecting didn’t really ignite til the 45th minute when Cork started to drag themselves back into the game.
The first half felt like the teams were afraid to go for it. With mistakes, too many wides and players holding, trying for the perfect pass. Galway’s set up smelt of a team concerned with Cork's pace and their ability to attack from the 65. Leaving Conor Whelan on the edge of the square, one v one, four across the half-forward line, and one more around the middle of the park, oxygen was at a minimum for Cork to get the running game moving. Add in all three of Cork's half forwards nearly on the opposite 65 at times during that first half, it meant huge pressure in that middle third area, forcing Cork into hitting long deliveries into three forwards faced with five Galway defenders and bodies under the breaks.
On the Cork defensive side of the field, everyone will have an opinion as to how Sean O'Donoghue should have dealt with Conor Whelan better but when you're tasked with marking a forward of the calibre of Whelan, plus 45 yards of green grass, the margin for error is so fine that in the blink of an eye you can be made look very average. For Whelan's goal, the Inniscarra man lost the flight of the ball and immediately, like all good corner backs, moved to stage two in the text book: "Where’s my man?”
Whelan came onto the ball and finished from a tight angle.
It happens and when you're tasked with marking the best inside players in Ireland, nobody should forget how good O'Donoghue has been this year when Cork needed him. Damien Cahalane, who cops so much flak, came out with ball after ball and Ciaran Joyce solidified my opinion that he will develop into a centre-back that we will be talking to for a long time to come.
Luke Meade will go unmentioned and unnoticed by most but throughout he linked the play, tracked back and did the work that not many others will do for the team.
Unfortunately for Cork, only two of the starting forwards scored from play on Saturday. When I look back at that last league encounter in March, out of Cork's 1-26, Patrick Horgan scored 1-13 with only three other starting forwards scoring and the rest coming from backs and midfielders. And it may be my biased opinion but Alan Cadogan’s inclusion for the last 15 minutes was pretty impactful with three points from four possessions. I think it’s fair to ask where has he been all year?
For Galway, when it comes to general play it's very much a case of route one to Cooney at 11 and Whelan inside. Galway forwards' physicality allows them impose themselves in all aspects of the game, but complementing it with a hard-hitting work rate, starting with Whelan - it means the opposition's short-passing game has to be executed perfectly.
Ronan Glennon was named at wing forward but took up that role I predicted, picking up Darragh Fitzgibbon and did so admirably until his legs started to fade. Shefflin had the smarts to bring fresh man-marking legs in the shape of Jonny Coen but Fitzy broke free of his clutches for three points down the stretch. Cathal Mannion was named at 15 and just floated, picking off four points from play. More importantly when Shane Kingston stuck that goal on the restart, Eanna Murphy found a Galway player straight off the puck out to reduce it to a two-point score. Those moments are huge when the margins are so fine.
I had mentioned previously that referee John Keenan’s free-flowing style allowed for an exciting Munster final spectacle as you knew where you stood, but on Saturday some of the decisions from Paud Dwyer in critical moments will add to Cork's frustration. Robbie O'Flynn’s hand pass, Shane Kingston bundling Padraic Mannion over the end line in the final minutes but no 65 and Daithi Burke's questionable collision on Seamus Harnedy in the dying minutes were all decisive moments in such a tight game.
In saying, you control the controllables and Cork had the opportunities but failed to finish the job. Kieran Kingston and co will be left with those long-lasting 'what if' thoughts around the mistakes that led to the goals, not to mention 17 wides and three good goal-scoring chances that went abegging. All were within Cork's control and when the season-ending margn is one point, it’s hammered home even more for the days, weeks and months ahead.
For Galway it’s onwards and upwards to the semi-final in Croke Park - knowing that while their physical make-up might match Limerick's, can their hurling and tactical smarts follow suit?
The winter will be long in Cork as those close to the fire ponder whether they are returning in 2023.
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