Surely a KK / Tipp draw would have to be played in Thurles?
The Leinster teams have the much worse deal in the draw, with a 50/50 chance of meeting Waterford or Tipp probably the two best teams in it with KK third.
A few observations regarding Cork:
-
Puck-outs are vastly improved - first option to Lehane/Cooper near the dugouts, or Meade down the middle, second option to Ellis or Coleman short and third option long. Easy to see on TV but tricky for the opponents to stop when they are hit with Nashâs accuracy - the opposition half-forwards, midfielders and corner-forwards have to be on their feet constantly. Colemanâs emergence is of huge importance here - having a top quality passer at half-back open for puck-outs is massive.
-
Worries about a number of the Cork backs - McDonnell was poor and has struggled to regain any semblance of his form under JBM; wouldnât mind seeing Burke getting a start. Joyce is at best a serviceable half-back and Spillane is easily turned. As a unit they are working much better though, and Cooper has worked like a trojan supporting the half-back line over the Tipp and Waterford games.
-
Cadogan, Meade and Kingston were largely on the periphery - more is to come from all of them. Kingston is still good for a couple of god awful wides per game. Meade looked a little lost with the physicality and intensity of the game. Cadogan was being fouled non-stop but should be used to it at this stage.
-
OâKeeffe made a great save for Harnedyâs chance but it was at a nice height - Harnedy should have ran down the throat of OâKeeffe and done a âFraggie Murphyâ at 38 minutes for his other goal chance.
Ellis and Cahalane were shite for the Waterford goal. Meade was blatantly fouled twice in the lead up to it right in front of Kelly.
There is no home/away arrangement in the qualifiers. It is first team out of the hat for home advantage
And Walsh Park wouldnt hold the crowd!
T wouldnât surprise me if they tried to bring it to Dungarvan
I thought Cork were very impressive yesterday and it all started with the puck outs. The most important factor about their strategy was tempo. Waterford never got to set their defence up for the puckouts because Cork had the ball pucked out immediately. Thatâs an old Cork tactic and straight out of the Donal Og playbook. When you have someone as accurate as Nash executing it it means that they are guaranteed a strong chance of gaining possession. So wides become criminal in that situation. Every time you hit one youâve handed possession back to Cork in an advanced area of the field for no return. A cleverer team than Waterford would break this tempo even occasionally. Like fucking his bag of balls out over the fence. Feigning injury. Anything. But we did fuck all despite it being as clear as day.
6 Likes
I donât think it was that clear Fagan, I heard last night that it was the âtranslocation from unconventional to conventional wot done yeâ
2 Likes
I only saw a couple of puck outs but the Waterford lads seemed to be miles (exaggeration for effect) off the receivers. They donât need to be delaying it for half backs to go tight on their men.
1 Like
Hard to see on the telly how Waterford set themselves up but a bit like Limerick, they seemed quite content to let Cork work the ball upfield from the short puck out. Teams like Cork and Clare thrive on shortish accurate puck outs. Frustrates the fuck.out of me when the solution to stop it is so fucking obvious
1 Like
There was one puck-out to Coleman that WD almost bottled him up for and would have been a lifting turn-over (cc @Bandage @Sidney ) score, but Coleman inexplicably managed to bounce through two fairly hefty shoulders and get away to deliver the ball.
Be interesting to see if either Clare or Cork bother with trying to quieten anyone on the opposing team or just go for it. Stop Coleman hitting diagonal balls all day long and see what else Cork can come up with.
Iâd start with rattling Nash. Bury him into the back of the net with a shoulderthe first chance I got and see how accurate his puck outs are after that.
6 Likes
I canât understand why the defending team canât just mark their man for puck outs anymore. Make them fight for their own puck out and win the "dirty ball " Limerick let Clare off with it and Waterford let Cork off with it. Granted ypu wonât stop it every time but Jesus allowing a short puck.out quick or otherwise is asking for trouble
Hammer the hammer?
2 Likes
Now weâre suckin diesel
Thatâs a difficult call for a centre-back when his man is out by the sideline on the other '65.
1 Like
When it came down to it Waterford didnât or couldnât match Corkâs workrate. Cork gambled on off the ball runs and on abandoning their posts to hunt down ball carriers all day. Waterford didnât, and they werenât as prepared to rescue one of their own men in trouble as Cork were.
Itâs no coincidence that the two form teams in the country in Galway and Cork are the two with the best workrate and, on the face of it, conditioning. That counts for a lot in June. Whether or not itâll still be decisive in July and August remains to be seen.
1 Like
I was thinking the same thing last night about Corkâs workrate - Itâs mile above previous years, and even the effort in the league QF against Limerick⌠It was the same against Tipp - when the game was in the melting pot only one team were willing to put their body on the lineâŚ
@caoimhaoin - Thatâs some change in mentality â the likes of Sully rubbing off here ? It canât all be S & CâŚ
2 Likes