Cork
Saturday July 9
All-Ireland SHC Qualifier Round 2
Cork v Wexford, Semple Stadium, 5pm – SKY
Both Cork and Wexford bring significant momentum into the game after their respective qualifier wins last weekend, and yet still have a lot to prove.
Cork played some sparkling hurling at times in their victory over Dublin, but the major caveat is that they had a numerical advantage for most of the match after Chris Crummey was red-carded after 29 minutes.
Despite their extra-man, Cork struggled to put Dublin away and the game was in the melting point right to the finish.
Wexford overpowered Offaly in the second-half of their qualifier win last weekend, but it’s still difficult to know exactly how good they are because Offaly didn’t provide the sternest of tests. Wexford will go into the match as underdogs for that reason, but it’s clear that manager Liam Dunne is relishing that tag.
“We just have to bring our ‘A’ game, focus on our own game, and bring the challenge to Cork. All three teams wanted to draw Wexford. Now Cork have us and it’s up to us to prove a point,” said Dunne this week.
“Cork have four forwards if given space, who can punish us, Patrick Horgan, Seamus Harnedy, Conor Lehane and Alan Cadogan, but we have forwards who can punish them. This is a game that’s not going to be won by any one individual battle; it’s a game that’s going to be won all over the field. It’s a good draw; it’s going to be an interesting game. If we’re not disciplined Patrick Horgan will punish us.”
Cork certainly have the forwards to punish any defence if they’re given the room, so shutting down that space will be a priority for Wexford. Tipperary showed in the Munster quarter-final that for all the skill of the Cork forwards, they can struggle to win their own ball in crowded areas, so expect Wexford to sit deep.
They can afford to do that because they have the luxury of being able to drive long, high deliveries to a brilliant ball-winner like Conor McDonald rather than work the ball more patiently which Cork must do to get the best from players like Patrick Horgan and Alan Cadogan.
That contest between McDonald and Cork full-back Damien Cahalane is likely to be the most pivotal of the match. If Cahalane can curb his influence then a Cork victory seems likely, but if McDonald cuts loose then Wexford are in with a great chance.
Paudie O'Brien
Clare v Limerick, Semple Stadium, 7pm – SKY
History tells us there is usually very little between these two neighbours whenever they meet. Last year’s one-point victory for Limerick in the Munster Semi-Final was typical of the genre.
There’s reason to believe though that Clare have made greater strides forward as a team since then than Limerick have. They beat Limerick in Division 1B of the League this year and went on from there to be crowned Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Champions after beating Waterford in a dramatic replay.
Until they then lost to Waterford in the Munster semi-final, they had won every single match they had played in all competitions this year.
They were unusually subdued in that semi-final defeat to the Deise, but looked reinvigorated when hammering Laois by 5-32 to 0-12 in first round of the Qualifiers. Laois may not have provided them with the toughest opposition, but that’s still serious scoring by Clare.
Limerick weren’t quite so impressive in their qualifier victory over Westmeath. They won by nine points, but laboured for long periods of the match and only pulled away in the closing minutes. A performance of that calibre won’t be good enough to beat Clare, but team skipper Nickie Quaid believes they have the wherewithal to improve.
“I still think there is a lot more in us – I hope that a win under our belt will give us momentum,” said Quaid. “It is a top team now and we were out this time last year so we now hope that we can get to a quarterfinal and we would have two championship wins under our belts then and that would stand to us.
“We have to focus on ourselves more than anything – we have to get ourselves right and if we perform to our best we have a great chance of beating anyone.”
Limerick are still blending in many of last year’s All-Ireland U-21 winning team so a period of transition was inevitable. Their defeats to Waterford in the League semi-final and Tipperary in the Munster semi-final suggested the team hasn’t quite bedded down or has total clarity on the game-plan they’re trying to implement.
Clare seem to be further down that path which is why they’re most people’s favourites to win here, but don’t be surprised if it’s another typically tight contest between these two neigbours and rivals.
