Last summer concluded with a live podcast hosted by Off The Ball at the Cork Opera House, featuring Jimmy Barry Murphy as the main guest. When asked about his humility, which he nonchalantly dismissed, he touched on the strain that comes with being associated with Cork.
“As an athlete or a coach, criticism resonates with you,” he explained. “When I was part of the Cork team as a player and a coach, I was often heavily criticised – especially on a Monday morning, following an unfortunate Sunday game loss. People were not shy to voice their opinions.”
A crisis is a common encounter in the championship. While not everybody experiences it, everyone is susceptible. Post the weekend, Cork and Clare’s hurlers find themselves in a predicament, in the grey area between a bout of serious lethargy and a minor cold that will recede after a few days of moaning. Complaining is a feature common to both conditions.
In any case, they aren’t well. Cork failed to secure a victory in a match everyone had presumed they would come out on top of; Clare navigated themselves into a position where defeat appeared improbable, yet they still lost. They face each other at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday, leaving the losing team in a precarious situation.
The structure of the football championship has evolved into somewhat of a labyrinth, where practically no team is ousted from the Tailteann Cup until early June and from the Sam Maguire until mid-June. Conversely, in the Munster hurling championship, owing to its rapid pace, a team’s season can be in jeopardy even before April has concluded.
The round-robin system was debuted in 2018, and it soon became apparent that a successful first match was critical. However, as more data was collected, it was revealed that an initial defeat wasn’t necessarily the end. In Munster, both Cork and Clare managed to qualify twice, despite losing their first match.
Nonetheless, Cork remains the solitary team to have qualified after losing their first two matches, a feat they accomplished in 2022 – not for the faint-hearted. That year, they faced off against a Waterford team, who, only a fortnight ago, had been considered strong contenders for the All-Ireland title and whose season was on the brink of collapse.
The most intriguing aspect about Cork’s roster on Sunday was its striking similarity to the one fielded at the Walsh Park contest two years earlier. A dozen players participated in both matches and two substitutes from the previous game started in 2022 for Cork.
The question then comes to mind as to what brought about this change? Waterford on this Sunday showcased a display reminiscent of their prime under Liam Cahill’s guidance: resolute, athletic, and assertive. In contrast to 2022, Cork could no longer hold them back.
A prevalent and incapacitating issue for Cork has always been their defensive play. In the previous year’s Munster championship, Cork was involved in three out of four of the highest-scoring games. Against opponents such as Tipperary, Limerick and Clare, Cork yielded scores of 2-25, 2-22 and 3-25. On this particular Sunday, they allowed a score of 2-25, accurately mirroring the average of those three games from the previous summer.
In the first 20 minutes in particular, Cork’s defence was unbalanced by Waterford’s runners and their overall strategy. The resultant gaps were distressing and difficult to defend. Nevertheless, the fault lies with the players in the opposition half who underperformed.
Upon assuming managerial duties, Pat Ryan set about instilling a culture of thorough tackling and altruistic covering. Over the past year and a half, there is robust evidence suggesting a change in that direction. Tommy O’Connell at centre field serves as the epitome of Ryan’s plan; his defensive abilities, especially his tracking and scramble defence, were once again exemplary at Walsh Park. On Sunday, however, a determined team adhering to fundamental principles outperformed Cork, marking the essential difference.
A similar defensive challenge posed problems for Clare in their match against Limerick. The experience bore an eerie resemblance to their first game of the previous year. On that occasion, Tipperary arrived in Ennis and achieved five goals, at least three of which were due to catastrophic defensive errors.
“It’s incredibly difficult to score at the other end when you’re conceding so easily”, commented Brian Lohan shortly after the game a year back. “The goals granted were practically handouts.”
Lohan lamented on Sunday that the outcome of matches is significantly influenced by goals, following a sudden turnaround in the game caused by Limerick’s trio of goals in the last quarter. He expressed disapproval at the lack of solid defending from our side, leading to what he considers preventable goals.
In the inaugural championship round the previous year, Eamon Foudy was named the starting goalie despite his minimal league experience, marking his championship debut. His performance under duress against Tipp led to him being sidelined in favour of another player in the subsequent match against Limerick.
Limerick’s opening two goals on Sunday could have been prevented by Eibhear Quilligan, who was not spared the criticism. While he faced suspicions about his capabilities a year prior, the decision to bench him for the upcoming game against Cork is unlikely to be the answer.
The challenges encountered in the concluding quarter of Sunday’s match were primarily strategical. Limerick’s second goal was the result of a straight drive through Clare’s defence, while Gearoid Hegarty, unopposed for their third, found himself eerily solo on the right flank.
The hurling championship is unforgiving. Clare and Cork had confidently embarked on the championship journey after months of intense training. Their performance throughout the summer is now likely to rely on who can best fine-tune their strategies within this week.
By Sunday night, one team will be dealing with a predicament, while the other won’t be nursing a single worry.