Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A Round 2
Cork 4-24
Galway 3-22
Just five points between the teams at the end of a February league game, and a contest in which Galway played the entirety of the second half with 14 men, would hardly suggest the type of form that should be treated as cast iron in advance of more meaningful matches in the summer – and yet there was a real sense permeating the sea air in Salthill this afternoon that Cork had just offered substantial evidence that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with this summer.
It wasn’t just that they won so convincingly; we should bear in mind here that there were eleven points between the teams before Martin McManus’ goal in the last minute of normal time. It was also that it was a Cork team built around dominant performers in positions that were in 2022 perceived to be their vulnerable spots. Ciarán Joyce’s emergence as a force at centre back had been flagged up, while Declan Downey’s physical presence as a ball-winner was well known, so his redeployment on the right wing of the attack looked like a safe bet.
However Conor Lehane’s nomination as captain has seen him step up into the leadership role in fine style, and the real emerging jewel in the Rebel County’s crown appears to be Eoin Downey at full back. Many would have thought that Eoin, who completed his Leaving Cert in 2022, was only keeping the number three jersey warm for his brother Rob, but many more performances like this afternoon’s effort, and Cork manager Pat Ryan will have some tough calls to make.
It’s easy to forget too, after the final whistle sounds, that Cork had to dig themselves out of something of a hole early on too.
Galway’s inside forward line of Martin McManus, Kevin Cooney and Evan Niland were on fire early on, and while Dalton set up Lehane for an goal in the tenth minute to undo some early damage, Cooney responded in kind for the Tribesmen, and a string of good points saw them move 1-9 to 1-4 ahead by the end of the first quarter.
A significant number of their scores came from Niland’s frees, but that spoke volumes about how much space they were able to generate within 40 metres of the Cork goal, and the number of times their inside forwards found themselves one-on-one with their markers, chasing excellent deliveries.
At the other end, it was all about Dalton, as he set up scoring chances – including a goal chance that Shane Barrett hammered into the crossbar – won frees, and converted plenty of points himself. His controlled bat of the sliotar into Barrett set up Cork’s sixth point in a row to push them into the lead after 26 minutes, and they were still playing marginally the better hurling at half-time, with the sides deadlocked at 1-13 each.
In the five minutes after the restart, the contest changed utterly. An uncharacteristic fumble from Cathal Mannion allowed Barrett to steal possession and set up Seán Twomey for a close-range goal, and an infringement by Oisín Salmon during the move saw the Clarinbridge defender receive a second yellow card.
On the next play, Lehane found the net again, and three more points in the next five minutes saw a finely-balanced tie suddenly have nine points between the teams.
That was how it continued for most of the second half, with Galway briefly chipping away a couple of points here and there, but Cork always able to deliver a response. Conor Whelan, who had been quiet in the first half, weighed in with some impressive scores, while McManus continued to battle against the tide, but it seemed like the contest was meandering to a conclusion, until McManus and then Brian Concannon goaled in quick succession, either side of a Cathal Mannion point.
Suddenly two minutes of added time remained, and when Galway were awarded a penalty for a foul on Concannon, Cooney had the chance to cut the gap to two points.
His low effort was saved by Patrick Collins, and the day’s action concluded – but the question of how much today’s events have foreshadowed the summer is very much open.
Scorers for Cork: Conor Lehane 2-3, Declan Dalton 0-8 (0-2f) Seán Twomey 2-0, Shane Kingston 0-6 (0-4f), Shane Barrett 0-4, Cormac Beausang 0-1, Brian Hayes 0-1, Conor Cahalane 0-1.
Scorers for Galway: Evan Niland 0-11 (0-8f), Martin McManus 1-3, Kevin Cooney 1-1, Brian Concannon 1-0, Conor Whelan 0-2, Pádraic Mannion 0-1, Jason Flynn 0-1, Cianán Fahy 0-1, Cathal Mannion 0-1, Liam Collins 0-1f.
Cork: Patrick Collins; Conor O’Callaghan, Eoin Downey, Eoin Roceh; Tommy O’Connell, Ciarán Joyce, Cormac O’Brien; Brian Roche, Sam Quirke; Declan Dalton, Conor Lehane, Seán Twomey; Cormac Beausang, Shane Barrett, Shane Kingston.
Subs: Luke Meade for Quirke (39), Brian Hayes for Beausang (47), Conor Cahalane for Barrett (55), Pádraig Power for Kingston (59), Colin Walsh for Roche (69).
Galway: Darach Fahy; Oisín Salmon, Gearóid McInerney; Jack Grealish; Pádraic Mannion, Joseph Cooney, Darren Morrissey; Gavin Lee, Seán Linnane; Tom Monaghan, Conor Whelan, Jason Flynn; Evan Niland, Kevin Cooney, Martin McManus.
Subs: Cianán Fahy for Monaghan (half-time), Cathal Mannion for Lee (43), Ronan Murphy for Morrissey (53), Brian Concannon for Flynn (58), Liam Collins for Niland (66).
Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick)
Cork defeat Galway in the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A
Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A Round 2
Cork 4-24
Galway 3-22
Just five points between the teams at the end of a February league game, and a contest in which Galway played the entirety of the second half with 14 men, would hardly suggest the type of form that should be treated as cast iron in advance of more meaningful matches in the summer – and yet there was a real sense permeating the sea air in Salthill this afternoon that Cork had just offered substantial evidence that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with this summer.
It wasn’t just that they won so convincingly; we should bear in mind here that there were eleven points between the teams before Martin McManus’ goal in the last minute of normal time. It was also that it was a Cork team built around dominant performers in positions that were in 2022 perceived to be their vulnerable spots. Ciarán Joyce’s emergence as a force at centre back had been flagged up, while Declan Downey’s physical presence as a ball-winner was well known, so his redeployment on the right wing of the attack looked like a safe bet.
However Conor Lehane’s nomination as captain has seen him step up into the leadership role in fine style, and the real emerging jewel in the Rebel County’s crown appears to be Eoin Downey at full back. Many would have thought that Eoin, who completed his Leaving Cert in 2022, was only keeping the number three jersey warm for his brother Rob, but many more performances like this afternoon’s effort, and Cork manager Pat Ryan will have some tough calls to make.
It’s easy to forget too, after the final whistle sounds, that Cork had to dig themselves out of something of a hole early on too.
Galway’s inside forward line of Martin McManus, Kevin Cooney and Evan Niland were on fire early on, and while Dalton set up Lehane for an goal in the tenth minute to undo some early damage, Cooney responded in kind for the Tribesmen, and a string of good points saw them move 1-9 to 1-4 ahead by the end of the first quarter.
A significant number of their scores came from Niland’s frees, but that spoke volumes about how much space they were able to generate within 40 metres of the Cork goal, and the number of times their inside forwards found themselves one-on-one with their markers, chasing excellent deliveries.
At the other end, it was all about Dalton, as he set up scoring chances – including a goal chance that Shane Barrett hammered into the crossbar – won frees, and converted plenty of points himself. His controlled bat of the sliotar into Barrett set up Cork’s sixth point in a row to push them into the lead after 26 minutes, and they were still playing marginally the better hurling at half-time, with the sides deadlocked at 1-13 each.
In the five minutes after the restart, the contest changed utterly. An uncharacteristic fumble from Cathal Mannion allowed Barrett to steal possession and set up Seán Twomey for a close-range goal, and an infringement by Oisín Salmon during the move saw the Clarinbridge defender receive a second yellow card.
On the next play, Lehane found the net again, and three more points in the next five minutes saw a finely-balanced tie suddenly have nine points between the teams.
That was how it continued for most of the second half, with Galway briefly chipping away a couple of points here and there, but Cork always able to deliver a response. Conor Whelan, who had been quiet in the first half, weighed in with some impressive scores, while McManus continued to battle against the tide, but it seemed like the contest was meandering to a conclusion, until McManus and then Brian Concannon goaled in quick succession, either side of a Cathal Mannion point.
Suddenly two minutes of added time remained, and when Galway were awarded a penalty for a foul on Concannon, Cooney had the chance to cut the gap to two points.
His low effort was saved by Patrick Collins, and the day’s action concluded – but the question of how much today’s events have foreshadowed the summer is very much open.
Scorers for Cork: Conor Lehane 2-3, Declan Dalton 0-8 (0-2f) Seán Twomey 2-0, Shane Kingston 0-6 (0-4f), Shane Barrett 0-4, Cormac Beausang 0-1, Brian Hayes 0-1, Conor Cahalane 0-1.
Scorers for Galway: Evan Niland 0-11 (0-8f), Martin McManus 1-3, Kevin Cooney 1-1, Brian Concannon 1-0, Conor Whelan 0-2, Pádraic Mannion 0-1, Jason Flynn 0-1, Cianán Fahy 0-1, Cathal Mannion 0-1, Liam Collins 0-1f.
Cork: Patrick Collins; Conor O’Callaghan, Eoin Downey, Eoin Roceh; Tommy O’Connell, Ciarán Joyce, Cormac O’Brien; Brian Roche, Sam Quirke; Declan Dalton, Conor Lehane, Seán Twomey; Cormac Beausang, Shane Barrett, Shane Kingston.
Subs: Luke Meade for Quirke (39), Brian Hayes for Beausang (47), Conor Cahalane for Barrett (55), Pádraig Power for Kingston (59), Colin Walsh for Roche (69).
Galway: Darach Fahy; Oisín Salmon, Gearóid McInerney; Jack Grealish; Pádraic Mannion, Joseph Cooney, Darren Morrissey; Gavin Lee, Seán Linnane; Tom Monaghan, Conor Whelan, Jason Flynn; Evan Niland, Kevin Cooney, Martin McManus.
Subs: Cianán Fahy for Monaghan (half-time), Cathal Mannion for Lee (43), Ronan Murphy for Morrissey (53), Brian Concannon for Flynn (58), Liam Collins for Niland (66).
Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick)
Allianz Hurling League Division 1A Round 2 Cork v Galway – Match Day Information
Cork play Galway in Round 2 of the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A this Sunday 12th February at 2:00pm in Pearse Stadium, Salthill.
Tickets
Tickets for the game can be purchased here or in selected SuperValu and Centra stores which can be seen here
TV Information
Deferred coverage of Galway v Cork in the Division 1, Round 2 clash will be shown on TG4 TV at 5:25pm on Sunday 12th February.
Team News
The Cork Senior Hurling team to play Galway is below
Match Day Information
The Cork U20 Football Team to face Laois in the John Kerins Cup has been announced
The Cork U20 Football Team to face Laois in the John Kerins Cup has been announced
The Cork Senior Hurling Team to play Galway has been announced
The Cork Senior Hurling Team to play Galway in the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A Round 2 has been announced
Cork GAA announce PhD study in collaboration with TUD and the Gaelic Sports Research Centre
Cork GAA are delighted to announce the beginning of an embedded PhD research study in collaboration with Technological University Dublin and the Gaelic Sports Research Centre.
Conor Clancy, a UL Sport and Exercise Science graduate will undertake the research in the areas of GPS and athletic profiling across both inter-county and club. Conor will continue in his role as lead sport scientist with the Cork Senior Hurling team as well as coordinating sport science support across all other teams in the performance pathway.
This role forms part of the high performance vision for Cork GAA, elevating team preparation across GPS, load monitoring, physical profiling, injury auditing, player wellness and coach education.
“I’m really looking forward to beginning this project with the collaborative effort of
TUDublin under the guidance of Dr.Kieran Collins. The outcomes of this research will help to shape the internal structures of Cork GAA for years to come. It will inform athlete development in sub-elite and elite pathways, putting Cork to the forefront of research within Gaelic Games in this area.“– Conor Clancy
“TUDublin and the Gaelic Sports Research Centre are delighted to partner with Cork GAA to bring this exciting and innovative PhD project to life. Cork is one of the marquee GAA counties with well over 100 all Irelands across all codes. The project aims to shed new light on the game of hurling and the preparation required to succeed. The work will not only impact the cork senior hurling team but will help inform the development of all hurling players in cork county.” – Dr.Kieran Collins
Left to Right; Kevin O’Donovan (CEO), Conor Clancy, Aidan O’Connell (High Performance Manager), Dr. Kieran Collins (TUDublin)