Patrick Horgan: Cork have taken a big gamble going for Alan Walsh over William Buckley

Galway have a free-shot on Saturday at Croke Park with all the pressure on the Rebels but it's hard to make a case for Clare upsetting the odds against a Limerick side looking more formidable than ever

RISING HIGH: Alan Walsh catches the ball on the way to scoring a goal against Kilkenny in the league. It's a surprise he's held his place ahead of William Buckley, who had such a good Munster campaign. Picture: INPHO

Cork had a big call to make coming into Saturday's All-Ireland SHC semi-final but for Ben O’Connor and the selectors, their hands were probably tied after Alan Walsh scored 2-1 against Offaly.

William Buckley had a very strong Munster. He picked off points in every game, linked up well with the half-forward line, you’d have thought he nailed that corner-forward position. It was a bit of a surprise to see him dropped for the quarter-final in the first place and you’d feel for him.

Alan Walsh has a great hand, we saw that up in Thurles from the start, but taking on Galway up in Croke Park, especially with their defensive set-up, the pace of the game too in an All-Ireland semi-final... You’re having to take the ball at 100 miles an hour, your man glued to you.

I hope it goes well for him but I still felt Buckley had enough done.

The advantage for Cork is they have two target men now, Walsh and Brian Hayes, and then Alan Connolly can come a bit deeper. 

Connolly’s form in the last couple of games wasn’t hectic but he’s capable of taking off. Cork need him to. Serious goal threat when he’s firing.

It’s a big boost that Tim O’Mahony and Tommy O’Connell were fit. Knowing the Cork medical team I was confident they’d be back. They weren’t going to be needed for Offaly so they’d have circled this Saturday the minute the Munster final was over. The boys will bring a lot of physicality and aggression to the middle because it’ll be a warzone.

Leinster worked out very well for Galway. They were beaten by Dublin but they were able to coast through to qualify after making that statement in hammering Kilkenny. Even in games against Kildare and Wexford when they had slow starts, they took over when it mattered. They could let their U20s off at their own age for a few games, didn’t have to risk lads who were injured.

After an impressive league, they weren’t really playing at the same level before the Leinster final but then completely dominated that game.

Freedom to hurl

They’ve a really good chance here against Cork. There’s no pressure on them and it’s a free shot because they’ve built a new team, but they’ve done it very quickly.

I see it all the time, teams can struggle one season and come back at it with a totally new approach and hunger. They’ve added youth but the likes of Daithí Burke, Cathal and Pádraic Mannion, Conor Whelan, they’re moving as well as they every have.

We saw what Galway were about way back at the start of the league up in Salthill, when they should have beaten Cork. They had a real run at it in the first half and should been out of sight really only for the missed chances. They kept Cork in it actually because they should have been away for slates and then Cork got on top in the second half.

They’ve a very defensive style but they’re still putting up big scores and when they break, they do it at pace and they’ve created a load of space beyond the 65 to run into. It’s very hard to counter if you fall behind and they’ll be looking to put Cork on the back foot on Saturday.

With the way they set up they’ll pull Cork out of position and they’ve that out ball to Jason Rabbitte. He’s only 20 but I think he’s top class. 

Dublin's Paddy Smyth tries to prevent Jason Rabbitte of Galway from grabbing possession. Picture: INPHO/Tom O’Hanlon

Damien Cahalane will be on him and while Damo will match up well in terms of strength and speed, his height is an issue for every defender. Like he takes the ball very high in the air, so it’s hard to get a bat in and he’s able to shoot over the shoulder for points as well, and that’s impossible to block cleanly when he’s got that reach.

Now look, Cork’s defence has been excellent this year. Seán O’Donoghue and Niall O’Leary are as good as any corner-backs in the country, so you’d be hoping they do well on Aaron Niland and Conor Whelan but it’ll still be about working as a unit. That’s where Tommy O’Connell and Tim O’Mahony play their part, massive engines and great at covering the half-back line.

Galway will look to get Cathal Mannion free to sweep but means Cork can use one of the Downeys or Mark Coleman in the same role in front of Rabbitte. That could backfire on Mícheál Donoghue.

If Galway get a purple patch at the start, that would put them in a very strong position. Cork are favourites but Galway’s odds are crazy, 3/1, that’s not right at all.

The only big plus for Cork though is how consistent they’ve been, not just this year, but for a while now. They’ve seen it all before, very experienced as a group.

This is the first game back up in Croke Park since last year’s All-Ireland final, and, right, that didn’t exactly go to plan but fellas won’t even think of that. There’s way too much going on during championship week in terms of prep to be looking backwards.

It’s the same with the stat that was being thrown out that Cork haven’t beaten Galway since 2008, that they’ve lost the last five meetings. None of that stuff comes into these games. Obviously, supporters will be talking about those records but the players couldn’t care less.

Like I played in 10 All-Ireland semi-finals and won four of them, but we lost six of the first seven. The only semi we got through the first few times was Dublin in 2013. That was nothing to do with the 'Croke Park factor' or whatever you want to call it, we probably just weren’t good enough in most of those games. A few things might go against you but overall, you have to get to a very high level to win matches at this stage of the season.

The atmosphere will be unreal for this game, massive crowd, fierce noise and all the rest but Cork will be well used to that. There’s nearly more pressure at the moment playing at Páirc Uí Chaoimh because you don’t want to be beaten on your home patch.

The surface is top class but I always found in Croke Park the grass was a bit longer than the Páirc or Thurles, so you have to adjust to the bounce but you see the run of the sliotar in the warm-up so it’s grand.

Outside noise

Same as always, there were plenty of distractions for Cork during the week. There was the story about Ringmahon Rangers giving that walkover against Bohs because the game could clash with the All-Ireland final. Again, none of that stuff matters at all to Cork. You really are in a bubble and that goes for Galway, Limerick and Clare too.

Everyone else can do the talking, you stay away from it. Social media, all that, should be ignored. None of it helps, whether they’re saying you’re great or useless. It happens on the outside and you make sure it stays there.

A few people were on about the fact Johnny Murphy is reffing as well, given he’s from Limerick, but that doesn’t come into it at all. He’ll be the same as the players, totally tuned into doing the best he can.

Referee Johnny Murphy throws in the sliotar between Clare and Cork at Cusack Park. Picture: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

I think Cork will get over the line but they’ll have to dig deep. There’s a strong bench there, with Buckley, Barry Walsh and Hugh O’Connor having gotten a lot of game-time and then Seamie Harnedy, Kingston as well. That could be the difference.

We’ve focused on Saturday’s semi-final but I can only see one winner between Limerick and Clare. Basically, Clare will need to produce something we just haven’t seen all year from them.

Fellas are saying Clare have a ‘game in them’. Galway definitely do, but I find it very hard to make the same argument for Brian Lohan’s side. They’ve taken two big beatings already and Limerick are just way too consistent to be caught. There’s no better team to expose your flaws and I think they’ll be far too strong.

They’re on an absolute mission to win another All-Ireland and Clare aren’t going anything as well as they were two years ago.