'Their technical ability on the hurling pitch is unbelievable': Half-forward line drives Cork to victory

With an attendance of 8,464 in Pearse Stadium, Thomas Monaghan’s early goal and Cathal Mannion’s blistering start had the Rebels in a hole. Their path out of it lay in three things: bite, the bench and one brilliant half-forward line.

Mon, 02 Feb, 2026 - 05:00

Maurice Brosnan

AHL Division 1A: Galway 1-21 Cork 2-20

League games are qualified ventures, but even still, everything Cork sought coming up the road to Salthill was found on Saturday night. They fought back from seven points down in the first half to dog out a gritty two-point win.

Between them, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Shane Barrett and Séamus Harnedy scored 13 points. Barrett hit six points from seven shots. Fitzgibbon created both goals for super-sub Brian Hayes. Mannion has had many eye-catching displays for Galway but his striking was poor here, and Galway lost wing-forward John Fleming to an early injury. He was one of three Tribesmen to limp off the field.

In the end, their half-forward line couldn’t tilt the balance in the same way that Cork’s did.

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“They are brilliant,” said Brian Hayes post-match. “When they first came in, I was in awe of the likes of Séamus and Darragh. Their movement across the lines, their technical ability on the hurling pitch is unbelievable.

“It is no coincidence that Shane, Séamus and Darragh are the ones practicing the most during the week. First out on the pitch and last off it. You can see today, their skillset is second to none.”

Each goal was a microcosm of what these teams are trying to do. Galway demonstrated their newly emphasised running game to work a score for Darragh Neary. Mannion’s two points from play came in the first six minutes. The goal was of the direct variety. A long ball to Declan McLoughlin was arrowed inside to Jason Rabbitte by John Fleming. Tom Monaghan did what he often does and drove down the centre, collecting the pass and rifling past Patrick Collins.

Cork all but walked both of their goals in. It was a pattern that the Dublin footballers perfected in their peak. A runner breaking down one wing, a finisher lurking at the other. Hayes demonstrated his goal-scoring instincts last year and picked up where he left off.

“That is something we worked on a good bit last year, creating those 3v2s. Unfortunately in 20224 we were on the wrong end of a few big games where we missed those chances. That is something we focused on last year.” For Micheál Donoghue, there was plenty of positives in the loss. They scored the last five points of the evening with Aaron Niland taking off frees and clipping one more from play.

“We were probably unlucky that we lost a few lads through injury and they came back then,” he said. “We would have been really disappointed with the goals we conceded. Coming from long puckouts, we probably didn’t deal with those in the first incidences and got punished for it. In saying that, we have to take the positive with the group – that we were seven down and brought it back.”

As for Cork, they march on now with the same edge that defined them for much of last season. Hayes has had a good break after his lengthy club campaign and is glad to be back in the thick of it.

They face Tipperary next. That brings with it its own baggage. Talk of last year’s All-Ireland final collapse, another bumper crowd, the heated rivalry. Boil it all down though and where else would he want to be? The All-Star cites Gerry Hussey’s addition as performance coach while insisting that this is a simple idea.

“We didn’t forget about last year. We have addressed it. It is in the past now and we are looking forward to 2026.

“His (Hussey) ability to have a bit of craic in the room. I think you saw it there last weekend. At the end of the day, we are having a bit of fun playing hurling.

“Sometimes it is a bit too serious, you get nervous and worked up about things but at the end of the day, we are doing what we love and when you commit to that before the game, it is easier to play and perform.”

Scorers for Galway: C. Mannion 0-10 (0-8 frees); A.Niland 0-5 (4 frees); T. Monaghan 1-0; G. Lee 0-3; D. Neary, C. Molloy, D. McLoughlin 0-1 each.

Scorers for Cork: B. Hayes 2-0; S. Barrett 0-6; S. Harnedy 0-4; A. Connolly 0-4 (3 frees); D. Fitzgibbon 0-3; B. O’Sullivan, T. O’Connell, T. O’Mahony 0-1 each.

GALWAY: D. Fahy; J. Ryan, C. Trayers, R. Glennon; P. Mannion, D. Burke, D. Loftus; G. Lee, T. Monaghan; D. Neary, C. Mannion, J. Fleming; D. McLoughlin, J. Rabbitte, A. Niland.

Subs: C, Molloy for Fleming (27 – Inj); TJ Brennan for Glennon (43- Inj); C. Fahy for Burke (Inj – 50); S. Linnane for Monaghan (57); C. Daniels for Trayers (65).

CORK: P. Collins; N. O’Leary, D. O’Leary, E. Roche; E. Downey, R. Downey, M. Coleman; T. O’Connell, B. O’Sullivan; D. Fitzgibbon, S. Barrett, S. Harnedy, B. Roche, D. Dalton, A. Connolly.

Subs: B. Hayes for Roche, T. O’Mahony for O’Sullivan (both half-time); R. O’Flynn for Dalton (48); H. O’Connor for Harnedy (64); B. Keating for Fitzgibbon (70).

Referee: M. Kennedy (Tipperary).