Burning Issue: Clare v Cork – Who’s your money on?

With the All-Ireland Hurling Final just around the corner, in this week’s burning issue two JOEs engage in a straight shoot-out. Who’s it gonna be, the Rebels or the Banner?

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Conor Heneghan says... When I think of the Clare hurlers this year, I can’t help but be reminded of the Donegal footballers last season. There’s the almost excessive amount of focus on a talismanic manager. Even more excessive focus on the system of play (has the word system ever been used as often in GAA circles as it has been in in relation to Clare this year?). And, most importantly of all in relation to this weekend, the gathering of gradual momentum through the All-Ireland series and the feeling that landing the ultimate prize is almost their destiny. The difference with Clare and Donegal is that Clare are going into this game as very slight (6/5) underdogs but it didn’t bother them against Limerick and it won’t bother them now. From a long way off, Davy’s men have been on a mission and it’s going to take a hell of a team to beat them. Unfortunately for them, Cork happen to be a hell of a team but they’ll still fancy themselves to do the business and with good reason too. All the talk about Clare’s system is unfortunate in a way because it sometimes takes away from the individual talent at their disposal but it’s hard to argue with the fact that it’s been pretty effective to date. So comfortable are Clare with the way they play at the moment that other teams have to come up with a plan – often an alternative to one they would be most comfortable with – in order to counteract it. Against Galway, Clare restricted the space in front of Joe Canning and their attempts to attack Clare from wide and with runners from deep never materialised. Limerick couldn’t cope with the roaming Tony Kelly and Podge Collins and while their wastefulness helped the Clare cause, they played right into the hands of Pat Donnellan and other covering defenders at the back. On The Sunday Game at the weekend, Anthony Daly spoke of how he felt Cork struggled when Danny Sutcliffe withdrew to a more defensive role after the man-to-man shootout in the first half and had Ryan O’Dwyer not been sent off, who knows how that classic All-Ireland semi-final would have finished up? From the off on Sunday, Jimmy Barry Murphy will be faced with that dilemma and it will be interesting to see how he responds. Cork fans will rightly point to the fact that they beat Clare by eight points in the Championship a couple of months back and argue that they really have nothing to worry about but Davy’s men have come on in leaps and bounds since then. There has been incremental improvement since that game in clashes against Laois, Wexford and Galway, while against Limerick they looked fully in tune with the task at hand while comfortably getting the better of their close rivals. For one thing, their waywardness in front of goal has been dramatically corrected, helped in no small way by the metronomic accuracy of Colin Ryan over placed balls. This Clare team might be young and not have a whole lot of experience of All-Ireland Finals at senior level, but there are any amount of serial winners in the Banner ranks. Two All-Ireland under-21 titles in four years is likely to become three in five the weekend after next barring Antrim causing the mother of all upsets (for the second game in a row) and although a senior decider is a different kettle of fish, it will hold no fear for Clare’s young cubs. Clare have only won two senior All-Ireland titles in their history but the names of the players who won those titles – Daly, McMahon, Baker, Lynch, O’Connor and of course, Davy Fitz – are firmly etched in hurling folklore. The likes of McInerney, Donnellan, Bugler, Ryan, Kelly, Collins and Honan have the opportunity to follow in their footsteps on Sunday and I believe they will.

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  Declan Whooley says... as a proud Corkonian, I would never be allowed inside the county boundaries were I to back against the Rebels claiming a 31^st All-Ireland crown on Sunday, so for practical reasons I would have to tip them for victory. But even aside from that, on the evidence we have seen this summer, it is hard to see past JBM’s men leaving Croke Park without Liam McCarthy. In truth, only the most optimistic Cork supporters would have predicted that their side would still be in the championship by the second weekend of September. Given the age profile of the squad and lack of underage success – the Rebels have claimed only one All-Ireland success at minor or U-21 since JBM left the post back in 2000 – and most importantly the departure of a number key players, this season had ‘transition’ written all over it. When players of the calibre of Donal Og Cusack, Sean Og O hAilpin, John Gardiner, Damien Cahalane, Darren Sweetnam and Eoin Cadogan leave for one reason or another, and Paudie O’Sullivan misses the campaign through injury, it would test even the strongest panels in the country, nevermind a youthful squad at Cork’s disposal. Their relegation at the hands of the Banner seemed to confirm that. However, the players have set upon putting their own mark on this team and the victory over Kilkenny was a statement of intent that this particular group were able to fill the shoes of some illustrious names and go toe-to-toe with any team. Their victory over Clare was attributed by many to Clare’s inaccuracy, while defeat to Limerick was marred by a red card to Pat Horgan. Success over Kilkenny, albeit helped by a red card to Henry Shefflin and a Kilkenny side running on empty, was gained by an exciting brand of hurling, with strong runners, accurate passing and in Horgan, arguably the star performer of the championship. Their nail biting win over the Dubs in the semi-final was a sign of further progression and some of the players with little experience of Croke Park in a red jersey came through with flying colours. Which is just as well considering only Tom Kenny and Shane O’Neill have been here before in the build-up to a final. What makes Cork such a difficult proposition for Clare is that their success thus far has been built on a team ethos, and they aren't reliant on individuals. Horgan aside, there are not many marquee names in this team, which is not a slight on the players involved, but a reflection of the influx of new faces over the past couple of years. The defence has been resolute all year and while the half-back line was in trouble for periods against Dublin the last time out, they were up against the form half-forward line this year. Brian Murphy may or may not come in, but his presence alone will be a lift and could be a huge boost should he be required with 10 – 15 minutes remaining. Daniel Kearney and Lorcan McLoughlin will cover every blade of grass on Sunday and are the perfect examples of the modern-day midfielder. They will have less space to operate in with a congested middle third, but have come through every test so far that has been asked of them. Up front is where we could well see the difference between the sides. Clare are expected to play with just five attackers, while Cork will presumably stick to the full complement, with each one a capable score getter. A feature of the forward play is that each day has seen two or three different attackers step up to turn in serious performances, such as Conor Lehane and Seamus Harnedy last time out, with Horgan his usual effective self in the inside line. If they all click on the day it is difficult to see the Banner men containing such threats, even with Pat Donnellan operating as a sweeper. What makes Cork such a difficult proposition for Clare is that their success thus far has been built on a team ethos, and not reliant on individuals. Horgan aside, there are not many marquee names in this team, which is not a slight on the players involved, but a reflection of the influx of new faces over the past couple of years. The defence has been resolute all year and while the half-back line was in trouble for periods against Dublin the last time out, they were up against the form half-forward line this year. Brian Murphy may, or may not come in, but his presence alone will be a lift and could be a huge boost should he be required with 10 – 15 minutes remaining. Daniel Kearney and Lorcan McLoughlin will cover every blade of grass on Sunday and are the perfect examples of the modern-day midfielder. They will have less space to operate in with a congested middle third, but have come through every test so far that has been asked of them. Up front is where we could well see the difference between the sides. Clare are expected to play with just five attackers, while Cork will presumably stick to the full complement, with each one a capable score getter. A feature of the forward play is that each day has seen two or three different attackers step to turn in serious performances, such as Conor Lehane and Seamus Harnedy last time out, with Horgan his usual effective self in the inside line. If they all click on the day it is difficult to see the Banner men containing such threats, even with Pat Donnellan operating as a sweeper. Much has been made about Clare’s tactical game plan and how they smother teams, which has been very effective so far this year. Cork, however, are a different kettle of fish to Wexford, Galway and Limerick and have already got the better of them in Munster. In the end, I expect the team with the better hurlers to beat team sticking to a resolute game plan, and Jimmy Barry Murphy to be given the freedom of Cork City in the not too distant future.