Patrick Kelly: New kickout trends leave Cork with a tricky dilemma between the posts: Doyle or Martin?

The Rebels have shown an impressive level of consistency and should target a place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals now.

Cork’s Chris Og Jones shoots defended by goalkeeper Sean Brennan of Meath. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie

Last Sunday week in Omagh, Cork achieved what is surely their most significant achievement of John Cleary’s tenure -  promotion back to Division One. 

To back that up with a performance just seven days later, on the road again in Croke Park, albeit in defeat, is testament to the increasing standard of the “norm” for this Cork football side. Consistency - what has eluded Cork football for so long.

Events after Cork’s defeat put the pecking order of contenders for Sam Maguire into sharp focus. Donegal’s masterclass against the Kingdom leaves us with an obvious top two. The next bracket consists of just another two teams with proven credentials, Armagh and Galway. 

For the first time in over a decade, I am confident to now place Cork on the next rung of the ladder; teams who are all capable of beating each other but unlikely to have enough to go all the way. Mayo, Roscommon, Dublin, Monaghan, Meath, Tyrone, Derry and Louth. Cork have beaten, or run close, all these teams between league and championship in recent years.

Cork have one major advantage over those sides: a lop-sided provincial championship structure. Should Cork prevail at home against a Limerick side who will ply their trade in Division Four of the 2027 league, they will then face the winners of two other Division Four teams, Tipperary and Waterford. Given Cork’s new-found level and consistency, they should find themselves in a Munster final in Killarney in early May. From here on in, all going well, it will pretty much be a game every fortnight for Cork. 

Crucially for Cork, a place in a Munster final guarantees a home tie in round one of the qualifiers. Cork’s aim for the season must be a quarter-final slot, that requires two wins in the qualifiers.

The earliest Cork can now realistically exit the race for Sam Maguire is Round Two of the qualifiers in mid-June. What are the odds, barring injuries, that Cork start that game in mid-June with the same 15 who started Sunday’s league final against Meath? I suggest it is highly likely. Does this near certainty suggest Cork are a settled side with established starters, or point to a lack of depth and serious competition for places? In both home games against Meath and Kildare, and again yesterday (bar the move for Brian Hurley’s goal) Cork haven’t received a massive boost from their bench.

The big topic of discussion in light of Sunday's Croke Park performance will be that of the cúl báire. Stats (from @gaelicstatsman on X) highlight the importance of retention of primary possession. Cork lost five of their own kickouts inside their own 45-meter line. Meath scored 1-10 off Cork’s kickouts. Cork’s decision to start Patrick Doyle instead of Micheál Martin for the majority of the league is down to one key facet of his game - his ability to go short.

To reference Kerry’s struggles in this department very quickly. Shane Murphy deputised for the injured Shane Ryan and did little wrong. However, ask anybody at the Division 1 final and they will say it was Donegal’s work on Kerry’s kickout that won them the game in that first half. Murphy does not have the same confidence or ability to go short as Ryan does. 

Therefore, he played it safe (long to his right-hand side) the majority of the time. Donegal’s aggressive press of four in each line of the forwards meant Murphy had to go long to a contest. Crucially, Kerry were cleaned out on breaking ball.

This brings me back to Cork’s dilemma in the coming weeks. Given the top teams Cork would hope to face in the qualifiers will apply a similarly aggressive press as Meath, Donegal and Kerry all applied on Sunday, does this negate the benefit of starting Doyle over Martin? Martin is a safer bet, solid under the high ball, an excellent shot stopper and a good communicator. However, against an organised and aggressive press, he’ll be reluctant to look short. Will Cork win enough long kickouts against the better teams when it comes to the crunch?

Going back to the stats, Cork scored 2-6 off their own kickouts. This includes Chris Óg Jones’ goal in the second half where Doyle went short to begin an excellent Cork move. The wind in Croke Park was difficult, swirling towards the hill. Video analysis will certainly identify four or five kickouts where execution was the issue. The decision for John Cleary and co will hinge on whether they see the league final as a learning curve for Doyle, a keeper critical to their ability to vary kickouts, or as a chance to return to the experience of Martin.

There were only a few structural disappointments from a Cork point of view. It took them longer than they would have liked to pin down the spaces offered to Meath’s excellent keeper Sean Brennan’s restarts. Secondly, Cork will need to be more aggressive defending the edge of the arc. Meath score three two-pointers from four attempts; Ruairí Kinsella, in particular, being allowed too much space.

Overall, Cork are in a healthy state. The full back line has the pace and physicality to hold their own; they dealt very well with any long balls Meath delivered in. Luke Fahy and Brian O’Driscoll were unusually quiet on the attacking front but alongside Tommy Walsh they form a solid half-back trio. 

Ian Maguire and Colm O’Callaghan are an excellent midfield pairing mixing aggression, work rate and scoring threat. Paul Walsh, who kicked two excellent scores against Meath and Seán McDonnell link play very well with both showing all the attributes of a modern wing forward. Dara Sheedy, who I believe was removed early due to a knock, will continue to develop into an excellent scoring half forward. The established inside trio continue to shine. 

Mark Cronin was the quietest of the three on Sunday but has had an excellent league campaign with his movement and vision making him a real handful. Chris Óg Jones is a real menace close to goal, sniping for 1-3 while leaving behind more goal opportunities. The return of Steven Sherlock has been a huge fillip for Cork football fans; his leadership in taking on shots was exceptional. 

Teams will have to learn that you can’t take a single step off him, your best man marker needs tunnel vision for 70 minutes to lock him down.

Fifteen players won’t be enough to get Cork into a quarter-final; they’ll need 20. The next two months of training and Munster championship matches have to bring Cork to that position to compete with the best. For now, Limerick in a fortnight is the focus.

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