Cork v Dublin

[TBT]

What annoys me is people are saying this Cork team is done. Which is bull, they're looking for the easy way out because what I saw last night was just 15 guys who didn't look at all comfortable playing the game they were playing. 15 guys who had plenty left in them, just not sure where they were going or what game plan they were using. This Cork team is a lot better then what we saw out there against Dublin. A Cork team that could and can beat an untested Galway, if we get the team right, if they click, it's more then doable.

We can't seem to get the team to click, there were some good individual performances from a few but in general, we just couldn't get going against Dublin. To be honest I saw it coming, I thought we wouldn't trash Dublin and we didn't, and not because we were at the end, but because I felt like they'd be a stumbling box, they were always going to make it hard and I knew we had to get rid of one of those games from our system. We had so many more gears that if we needed to we could have pulled out and should have really, just for the fans comfort if not they're own. The problems were more to do with the teams attitude then the game itself. They didn't seem bothered at times. It's easy to blame it on the players, "at the end of the road" but that's bull.

We lost to Tipp because of pure stupidity and unfitness from Corks part. Not because ours weren't up to it, we had 7 points on Tipp, we looked comfortable and we were playing better then them, but at the end of the first half the legs went and we conceded a goal. The same thing happened at the end of the second half, our legs went and we ended up loosing. Take nothing away from Tipp, they deserved to win, but they didn't outclass us, they didn't really do anything amazing. It was, on our part, just plain stupidity from our selectors and manager, who I don't think is up to it to be honest. Unfitness as well is a problem, which isn't too surprising seeing as this is the worst prepared Cork team sine 02, and our forwards not clicking.

I don't know who to play against Galway, I don't know who our best 15 are, I don't even think the management knows. The Cork team isn't over the hill, despite what some people would like to believe, it's stale and it needs an injection of youth, that we have, to give it some inspiration and fire to give it a lift, and a bit of fight. But the question is will they gamble and play the young lads against Galway, and I'm not talking about all kids up front, but Horgan, Naughton, maybe Paudie O Sullivan. Just a mixture of youth and experience and pray to God it works.

If there's one thing that this Cork team hates or loves, it depends what way you look at it, is to be written off, but they'll go into the Galway game, with all guns blazing, as underdogs, just the way they like it and hopefully we'll beat Galway.

I think when a player who is instructed by the manager to make a switch tells the manager to go fcuk himself, when other players turn their backs and ignore instructions from  the line, when a blood sub has to be told repeatedly to get off the bench and onto the field its fair to say that this Cork team is most certainly done. The pity is that there is a handy All Ire to be won and a Cork side firing on all cylinders would have been in with a good shout.

[Croí na hÉireann]

Was this game available to stream live on rte's media player? The full match can be replayed on there now but it wasn't flagged in advance last week when I checked...

[EddieMerx]

"The pity is that there is a handy All Ire to be won and a Cork side firing on all cylinders would have been in with a good shout"

Not sure how handy an All-Ireland against the current Kilkenny team is?

[Reillers]

What annoys me is people are saying this Cork team is done. Which is bull, they're looking for the easy way out because what I saw last night was just 15 guys who didn't look at all comfortable playing the game they were playing. 15 guys who had plenty left in them, just not sure where they were going or what game plan they were using. This Cork team is a lot better then what we saw out there against Dublin. A Cork team that could and can beat an untested Galway, if we get the team right, if they click, it's more then doable.

We can't seem to get the team to click, there were some good individual performances from a few but in general, we just couldn't get going against Dublin. To be honest I saw it coming, I thought we wouldn't trash Dublin and we didn't, and not because we were at the end, but because I felt like they'd be a stumbling box, they were always going to make it hard and I knew we had to get rid of one of those games from our system. We had so many more gears that if we needed to we could have pulled out and should have really, just for the fans comfort if not they're own. The problems were more to do with the teams attitude then the game itself. They didn't seem bothered at times. It's easy to blame it on the players, "at the end of the road" but that's bull.

We lost to Tipp because of pure stupidity and unfitness from Corks part. Not because ours weren't up to it, we had 7 points on Tipp, we looked comfortable and we were playing better then them, but at the end of the first half the legs went and we conceded a goal. The same thing happened at the end of the second half, our legs went and we ended up loosing. Take nothing away from Tipp, they deserved to win, but they didn't outclass us, they didn't really do anything amazing. It was, on our part, just plain stupidity from our selectors and manager, who I don't think is up to it to be honest. Unfitness as well is a problem, which isn't too surprising seeing as this is the worst prepared Cork team sine 02, and our forwards not clicking.

I don't know who to play against Galway, I don't know who our best 15 are, I don't even think the management knows. The Cork team isn't over the hill, despite what some people would like to believe, it's stale and it needs an injection of youth, that we have, to give it some inspiration and fire to give it a lift, and a bit of fight. But the question is will they gamble and play the young lads against Galway, and I'm not talking about all kids up front, but Horgan, Naughton, maybe Paudie O Sullivan. Just a mixture of youth and experience and pray to God it works.

If there's one thing that this Cork team hates or loves, it depends what way you look at it, is to be written off, but they'll go into the Galway game, with all guns blazing, as underdogs, just the way they like it and hopefully we'll beat Galway.

I think when a player who is instructed by the manager to make a switch tells the manager to go fcuk himself, when other players turn their backs and ignore instructions from  the line, when a blood sub has to be told repeatedly to get off the bench and onto the field its fair to say that this Cork team is most certainly done. The pity is that there is a handy All Ire to be won and a Cork side firing on all cylinders would have been in with a good shout.

When Gerald McCarthy was made manager there was uproar in the team, mainly because the backroom team that they'd been with for so long didn't even get a look in or even the curtsy of an interview. He was appointed from outside the old team because they wanted to change it up. A lot of good that's done us. I thought, most people thought that he'd fail to get the respect of the team and on some levels I still don't think he has. I don't think he's a great manager either, nice guy but not a great manager. Every big game we've lost since he's been appointed has had question marks over his use of the bench and players on the pitch. The management always seems to panic. Last season against Waterford, in the replay he took off Jerry O Connor when it was still close, he is a player who can change a game in seconds, and we we were left with a completely inexperienced forward line at the end of it as well after the selectors made a a load of changes up front.
In the Tipp match, same thing happened, we'd a bunch of 12 year olds up front at the end of the game and he throws Deane on with about 5 mins left. What impact was that going to have like. He's not that much of a miracle worker.
That compared to the 6th sense of John Allen, is very poor.

This team has been around for a long time, last season they were going for their 5th All Ireland final in a row, which considering it's an amateur game and the amount of effort they've put in every single year, is amazing. They must be so tired by now. The last thing they want to be doing is playing Dublin with a game plan they weren't comfortable with.

I don't think that the manager has the respect from the team that he should have, especially when you look at the respect they had for their previous managers, I think this is the end of McCarthy if we loose to Galway, and even if we don't. This Cork team has a lot of young blood and a lot of players who, aren't necessarily old just have a lot of millage on the clock. I think that they think they know better then Gerald McCarthy how they play well together, and what works better, and they probably do but what you get then is 15 players playing different types of hurling, some are trying to stick to McCarthy's game plan and others to their own. I think there's another All Ireland or two left in this Cork team, but for that we need the right management team behind them, something we clearly don't have now.

Our lads have been training a lot and maybe they were tired for the Dublin match, but still that's no excuse. There is more in this Cork team then anyones letting on. If we get the right set up behind us, there could be another AI left in them before the younger lads take over completely.

[INDIANA]

a handy all-ireland? You just back from Oxygen or something?, I'ts a bigger foregone conclusion than a one man race. Cork are in transition, God himself wouldn't extract another all-ireland from this Cork team, they are too long on the road. Only Sean Og and kenny,gardiner and the o connors will survive long term from the older lads. The younger lads are not ready yet in Cork but will be in a couple of years. There is never any patience in Cork, despite the roll of honour they simply don't have the supply of players like the cats. Nobody does.
I'm fully convinced only Tipp and galway will give the cats a game. But i wouldn't bet on either of them being within 8 points of the cats at the finish. It would be interesting to see how the kilkenny b team would do in the all-ireland series. I think the true worth of the munster hurling championship was shown up at the weekend. Clare and limerick are average teams, waterford and cork are good and tipp are very good. But none of them are in the same ballpark as kilkenny.

[Reillers]

a handy all-ireland? You just back from Oxygen or something?, I'ts a bigger foregone conclusion than a one man race. Cork are in transition, God himself wouldn't extract another all-ireland from this Cork team, they are too long on the road. Only Sean Og and kenny,gardiner and the o connors will survive long term from the older lads. The younger lads are not ready yet in Cork but will be in a couple of years. There is never any patience in Cork, despite the roll of honour they simply don't have the supply of players like the cats. Nobody does.
I'm fully convinced only Tipp and galway will give the cats a game. But i wouldn't bet on either of them being within 8 points of the cats at the finish. It would be interesting to see how the kilkenny b team would do in the all-ireland series. I think the true worth of the munster hurling championship was shown up at the weekend. Clare and limerick are average teams, waterford and cork are good and tipp are very good. But none of them are in the same ballpark as kilkenny.

As it happens, ya. Anyway. I think this year, more then ever could be Cork or Waterfords chance to win it. They've a lot more motivation then the others and then others would think. It's Waterford's last chance with this team and a few of our last chances, but more importantly I think stopping KK might be on their minds, it might give them an extra push that we need. I think the lads hate to be put down, they love being the underdogs, they love proving people wrong, being written off will only push them more. They've had a lot of extra training sessions, they've been aiming towards the big games, the Dublin game was almost a bit of an inconvenience, they'll be well up for the Galway match.

I do think it'll be very hard to get to the AI, I think it'll be very hard to even get past Galway, but it's not entirely impossible. Donal Og I'd say will survive from that list and I can't imagine a Cork team without Sully or Deane but maybe it's their time.

I think that Cats depth is overrated. It's just talk. They just talk like that to make themselves feel superior and for the players to feel like their place is under threat. They're in the semi final without even having to hit a ball yet, again. This year more them ever, they could be caught. Tipp could stop KK, I think they've been slightly, just slightly overrated but I think they could. As for Galway, no one knows how good they are, except from the League and the League isn't exactly top priority for anyone, you can't really take much from it. Hopefully they wont get the chance to find out if they can beat the Cats. 

KK are good, no question there, they're very good, but I think they're just a bit overrated and could be caught by a number of teams this season, because instead of just relying on Cork or Waterford, Tipp are now there, and even Clare..well, and Galway..(hopefully not.) I just think because it's been such a competitive Munster and qualifiers and the Munster teams are so driven this year that for once, KK not having to hit a ball till semi final day, might just go against them.

[AZOffaly]

Sorry there Reiller (welcome aboard by the way), but I have to pull you up on that. Kilkenny may well be caught (in fact I have a few bob on Galway to do just that, and Tipp, Cork and Waterford will fancy their chances as well), but I have to question this quote..

I just think because it's been such a competitive Munster and qualifiers and the Munster teams are so driven this year that for once, KK not having to hit a ball till semi final day, might just go against them.

Clare v Waterford was a joke. Waterford didn't raise a gallop.
Clare v Limerick wasn't much better, and Limerick were dire.
Tipp v Clare was over from a long way out, and Clare's mini fightback only briefly (the period until Cummins pucked out Jonathan Clancy's point to John O'Brien) looked like coming near Tipp.
Tipp v Cork was a reasonable game, but nothing major.

I think this years munster Championship has been insipid, uninspiring and as dull as I can ever recall.

[EddieMerx]

"I just think because it's been such a competitive Munster and qualifiers and the Munster teams are so driven this year that for once, KK not having to hit a ball till semi final day, might just go against them."

Seriously the only decent 70 minutes of hurling we have had this year was the first 35 mins of Offaly V Kilkenny combined with the first 35 of Wexford V Kilkenny. Munster hurling has been pretty poor this year.

"They've had a lot of extra training sessions, they've been aiming towards the big games, the Dublin game was almost a bit of an inconvenience, they'll be well up for the Galway match."

In all honestly the qualifiers are now knock-out so I would question if the Cork Heads are right if that was the thinking against a Dublin team who would push most teams now!

[Reillers]

I don't mean game wise, I mean like Clare and Tipp really wanted it, Waterford were mortified and Cork were stupid, it's let a lot of scarring. The games were crap. The Tipp and Clare match was a bore, the Cork Tipp match was mistake after mistake, the Waterford Clare match was over before it started, and the Limerick one was bad.
I meant because it left a lot of teams unhappy. It's let a lot of scars, leaving a lot of teams wanting to prove themselves.
I wasn't clear earlier. There's a lot of mental scaring that teams will want to put to bed, and feel like they've to prove themselves. It was a strange Munster championship all right. KK though, are in the semi final, with nothing to push them on, with nothing to prove. So they could be caught sleeping by a more passionate driven team.

Dublin was a team they had to get over, they were going to get it put up to them but they were never going to loose, even though there were a few moments where it could have gone seriously wrong, but they were never going to loose to Dublin. The next game, Galway as it happens to be, is what they've been training for.

[INDIANA]

i hope you're right because we haven't had a decent 70 mins hurling this year, we need a good game. you forget though if loughnane loses at the weekend he is gone and a lot of galway players with him. I think you're going to get an almighty galway performance next weekend and i think they'll have too much for you. bar 20 mins against tipp , cork were poor and it looks like they haven't improved. galway still have problems at fullback but they have some forward line.
The 21 game will scupper any offaly chance. i just can't see waterford pulling off an  all-ireland and in the final i  expect it to be  a tipp/galway v kilkenny.

[Reillers]

i hope you're right because we haven't had a decent 70 mins hurling this year, we need a good game. you forget though if loughnane loses at the weekend he is gone and a lot of galway players with him. I think you're going to get an almighty galway performance next weekend and i think they'll have too much for you. bar 20 mins against tipp , cork were poor and it looks like they haven't improved. galway still have problems at fullback but they have some forward line.
The 21 game will scupper any offaly chance. i just can't see waterford pulling off an  all-ireland and in the final i  expect it to be  a tipp/galway v kilkenny.

I think you seriously underestimate Cork. They have a massive game in them. I don't know if they'll win the AI, but I think they can beat Galway. They played well against Tipp for chunks of the game but tired at the end of each half which was key to Tipp's win. People are reading way too much into the Dublin game, it was just one of those days. The Galway match is the game this team has been building for. Galway will go in as favorites, probably expect to win, but they've had no serious test, will be hot favorites  but hopefully Cork will put it up to them and win.

[timmykelleher]

I fear you are putting way too much importance on motivation.
Sure Cork have a lot to prove against Galway.
But they had a lot of reasons to beat Tipp as well.

That match was all set up for them.
Home advantage, huge crowd backing them, Tipp ready to be taken after putting a lot into the league campaign.... they even got a good start.
you say they just tired. I reckon Tipp just had too much for them and Cork were not helped by management who made wholesale changes when they needed to keep their nerve.

How many times previously has this Cork team chipped away at a deficit with time running out.
Instead this time it was panic ball high on top of the full forward.

This time it was Tipp who held their nerve and played the better hurling.

[Reillers]

I fear you are putting way too much importance on motivation.
Sure Cork have a lot to prove against Galway.
But they had a lot of reasons to beat Tipp as well.

That match was all set up for them.
Home advantage, huge crowd backing them, Tipp ready to be taken after putting a lot into the league campaign.... they even got a good start.
you say they just tired. I reckon Tipp just had too much for them and Cork were not helped by management who made wholesale changes when they needed to keep their nerve.

How many times previously has this Cork team chipped away at a deficit with time running out.
Instead this time it was panic ball high on top of the full forward.

This time it was Tipp who held their nerve and played the better hurling.

I thin kit was threw tired, unfit players and complacency. We were ahead  points at one stage, and we let them back in when we shouldn't have. This is the worst prepared Cork team since 02. In the Tipp game we played well for some parts of that game, but when did they catch us, at the end of the first half when the legs we gone, they got the goal, and then at the end of the second where they pulled away and the management panicked yet again and made stupid subs that killed us. . Tipp I felt wanted it more, deserved it, but didn't outclass us by any means.

Motivation will be a big part to the Galway game, well it should be. The reason that we lost the Tipp game was threw unfitness and complacency, and that combined with the fact that we were playing a better Tipp team then we had in a long time. If there's anything left from this team that hasn't changed over the years is they seemed to struggle against teams they were favorites in and play really, really well and usually beat the team in games they were written off and disappoint the media by doing so. I think as it gets nearer the Kilkenny factor will play on their minds a little bit even if they don't say it.
This Cork team really wants it, but I think they're not helped by naive panicky selectors and manager. The teams gone stale, which you'd expect seeing as some have been around since 99. But they're not passed it. All they need is an injection of youth which we have, maybe up front, to inspire the rest of them. They say they've been working really hard in training, doing extra training, well I want to see it and we haven't yet. The question is will the manager gamble. The new kids or the old guard. Every single article I've read on the internet or in the newspaper has completely written off this team, saying they're done..etc. That will motivate the lads, you saw what Jerry O Connor said in response to that, so I think they'll be fired up for it. This team has still to burst out and preform this season and I think, I hope it'll be against Galway.

[GaillimhIarthair]

The last time we beat (hammered to be honest) Cork was in Thurles in 02 and in a strange sort of way it probably led to Cork being the force that the were for the following few years.  Saturday evening, same venue, same opposition could very easily come full circle for this particular Cork outfit.  I dont know where Cork players heads are at right now, but make no mistake, Galway will be motivated big time for this one.  As with our footballers, we have some flaws, but I cannot see Cork exploiting these on performances to date in this years championship.  Galway with a few to spare...................

[AZOffaly]

That's brave GI, fair play to you. I am always hesitant to back Galway with confidence, simply because until about 50 minutes in to their first serious game, you're never sure what Galway are like in any given year.

From the league, I'd have said Galway had problems in midfield and full back. If they've been addressed, they should be too much for Cork in other areas, especially scoring, but I wouldn't be sure, certainly not as sure as yourself

I think Galway, by 3.