THE Munster Championship opener has provided the perfect scene-setter for that famous provincial competition over the last two seasons.
In 2014, Waterford and Cork couldn’t be separated as they shared 44 scores at Semple Stadium. Last year a John Fitzgibbon point two minutes from time proved decisive as Limerick edged out Clare. Those games have been the exceptions rather than the rule though. The 10 previous opening fixtures in Munster included wins by 19 points, 10 points, nine points, eight points (twice) and seven points.
Sunday’s match between Tipperary and Cork should be dumped into the ‘comfortable win’ column with the Premier county fully expected to secure a semi-final against Limerick. That’s understandable given how their respective League performances went. Cork may have pulled off a huge morale-boosting win against Galway to preserve their Division 1A status, but on the whole they were well below par as they lost five from five before that play-off.
There were bright sparks, such as their battling performance against Kilkenny, but the ease with which teams sauntered through the heart of their defence set alarm bells ringing. Not enough for Kieran Kingston to totally eradicate the issue though. In round three Dublin broke through with embarrassing ease. Four goals was a paltry return for the number of goals chances that were handed to them. Two rounds later, the Rebels travelled to face Tipp and they were back to their worst as they conceded a huge 2-27.
Michael Ryan’s Tipp side did lose out to Clare by a point in the quarter-final, so they have had a long time to prepare for this match. They played a challenge game against Dublin recently to try and stay match sharp and they will be well prepared.
Cork were given fair warning in the last round of the league, and their response will be a measure of both their quality and commitment. Tipperary’s John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer landed nine frees and missed a raft of others. Have Cork sharpened up in the tackle?
John McGrath’s added to a brilliant campaign with five points from play. Have Cork identified the right man to curb his influence? The two goals they scored in that game ensured that Cork were the division’s top scorers with eight, yet the two conceded meant that they had the leakiest defence as they conceded nine. Have they managed to shore up the backline, particularly in the central areas? These questions that need the answered in the affirmative if they are to have a chance.
They do seem to have the tools in attack to cause an upset. Unsurprisingly Patrick Horgan leads the way in the scoring stakes with 3-43 in six league games, 2-13 coming from play, while Seamus Harnedy has chipped in with five goals in those games. Conor Lehane also excelled wit 0-23, all but one point coming from play.
It’s at the other end where their problems lie. Kingston has had time to prepare a more sturdier defensive system, but you can’t expect it to be fully operational in just a couple of weeks. Their inability to limit opponents to low tallies will be their undoing this summer, starting tomorrow in Thurles.
