Cork Hurlers - Part 2

[Killyoursons]

That was disappointing but predictable (for once, I predicted it). The team picked looked like it would have similar weaknesses to last year, and so it proved - outfought in the middle of the park, difficulty making ball into the forwards stick, going long periods without scoring (just one point in the first twenty minutes of the second half). In addition, there was a serious lack of bite and aggression. One thing Ryan's U20 sides were not was easy to play against - the forwards were very good at not just closing down opposing defenders, but spoiling ball, slowing them down, turning them back or dispossessing them. I am struggling to recall a Clare back today being slowed or turned back, let alone turned over.

Plenty of comments here on certain more experienced players. Fair enough (although Kingston got on a lot of ball and led the fightback towards the end), but the newer players didn't exactly do their cause much good either. The game passed Hayes and Casey by, and Twomey worked hard but contributed little. (He did a bit better when moved into FF, winning a free and breaking a ball for Kingston to score.) Cormac O'Brien looked ok on the ball, although he hit one bad wide in the first half, but I can't see him making a championship hb line. I'd have to look back to see how E. Roche did, I don't recall him being in the game much but maybe the ball didn't go into his man.

Positives: Joyce was great, O'Connell played some excellent ball, Barrett got a couple of points when he came on which will do his confidence no harm. The goals were well made and smartly taken. O'Flynn didn't make much of an impression but it's important that he got the game time.

All that said, let's keep things in context. Someone commented earlier about the honeymoon period for Ryan being over - that period ended at the final whistle in the Gaelic Grounds last May. Today changes nothing in that regard. If we see the same thing as the league progresses, then I'd be getting worried - but in terms of team selection and performances, I think the management still have some leeway at this stage.

 

[Rebelsforsam1]

Can’t see this happening though.

Ryan Taylor also missing for banner. Same old cork… plenty hurling but not enough physical hard players. Joyce is the only revelation from recent years

 

[slowhandm]

We got a goal from a pretty clever sideline cut today, or was I hallucinating?

True,but a stopped clock is right twice a day, and is hoggie now the designated slidline cut taker as he took that cut, we also gave away 2 points from aimless sideline cuts, and our last one in injury time went up the line straight to a clare player, it's been an issue for years, i just think that it is something that needs to be worked on

 

[JPM]

As a Cork exile it’s been a long day - leaving home at 8.30 to get a series of trains to exotic Ennis.
Now on my way home I’ll offer some comments.
Making space and denying space are fundamental to the game. Clare created space easily and we struggled to do so because of short passing and poor positioning. They denied us space most of the time and we stood off. Again knowing where to be allied to a poor work rate were the causes.
On the individual performances;
Apart from the usual quota of scary puck outs PC did OK.
SOD played well. ER did not dominate but his man was replaced and not much damage came through 14. NOL is not an instinctive defender.
CJ was magnificent. TOC fought hard and used the ball well but we cannot use him in the HB line. COB was in front of me in the first half. He was roasted by Fitzgerald and I didn’t expect to see him in the second half.
Our midfield was non-existent. The EC experiment didn’t work and BR has regressed. As I previously posted Shane Barrett is a superior midfielder.
Our forwards looked threatening in the first half and we looked forward to a take over in the second half. Hoggy has surely ended the debate about his selection. He was by far our best forward. I would like to see Deccie D back for the long range frees. ST was the next best forward and deserves to be persisted with. BH seemed to have improved his touch and I wouldn’t have replaced him. I’m a fan of ROF but after a promising start he had a stinker and should have been replaced much earlier. Finally the two black sheep: CL had a good first half and used the ball well. Not much came his way in the second half. SK had his usual problems winning the ball but worked hard and effectively in the second half.
Shane B played well when he came on.
A few other points:
Bringing on subs with a few minutes to go is insulting. Management replacement seemed too slow.
Taking short puck outs with a strong wind, especially early in the second half, is hard to understand.
If I was picking a championship team only 4 of today’s team would be on it. That and the Fitzgibbon complication eases my pain.

 

[red&blue]

Player ratings anyone?

I’m a bit harder with ratings on the more experienced players as I’d expect more from them

Patrick Collins 7 - done ok but wasn’t overworked either, saved us on a few occasions, puckouts were a disaster in the second half in particular but I suspect he didn’t go on a solo run with that one

Niall O’Leary 6 - I thought he struggled throughout, his touch was poor and is capable of complete brain farts on the ball

Eoin Roche 7 - thought he had a solid first outing at 3, nothing spectacular just done his defending without fuss

Sean O Donoghue 9 - Sean was superb, attacked every ball he felt he could win and won most of them, distribution was very good

Tommy O Connell 9 - had a great game, hurled a load of ball and what a goal he got, I said it last year this fellas got balls

Ciaran Joyce 8 - Ciaran was Ciaran, utterly dominant, but I can’t help feeling he is underused at 6, would love to see him released to 8 but can’t see it happening

Cormac O Brien 7 - Mad for road which I love but ultimately lacks the hurling nous to make a wing back

Brian Roche 7 - Worked hard in the first half in particular but faded in the second half before being replaced, I felt he was asked to bring too much leadership for his age by placing him with a novice at midfield

Eoin Carey 7 - worked very hard and showed why the selectors showed faith in starting him. Like Brian Roche he would have contributed more with a more experienced midfield partner

Sean Twomey 7 - showed the value of having a few ball winners but drifted in and out of the game, needs to do a lot more

Conor Lehane 6 - showed flashes of his range of passing in the first but almost a complete bystander in the second half

Shane Kingston 6 - does what it says on the tin, a few moments of sheer brilliance and plenty of moments of sheer frustration. At best a corner foward but most likely an impact sub

Brian Hayes 7 - flirts in and out of the game but has moments where you see the potential that’s there, needs to find more consistency

Patrick Horgan 7 - what a stickman this guy is, we are blessed to have him, but the legs are slowly going. Will probably still be a starter but we should look at him in the impact sub role in the league

Robbie O Flynn 6 - started like a house on fire and looked like he would rip Clare apart but he never sustained it. We must remember he’s a year out of hurling at this level so we need to be patient. He will come good

 

[AllCork32]

I’m a bit harder with ratings on the more experienced players as I’d expect more from them

Patrick Collins 7 - done ok but wasn’t overworked either, saved us on a few occasions, puckouts were a disaster in the second half in particular but I suspect he didn’t go on a solo run with that one

Niall O’Leary 6 - I thought he struggled throughout, his touch was poor and is capable of complete brain farts on the ball

Eoin Roche 7 - thought he had a solid first outing at 3, nothing spectacular just done his defending without fuss

Sean O Donoghue 9 - Sean was superb, attacked every ball he felt he could win and won most of them, distribution was very good

Tommy O Connell 9 - had a great game, hurled a load of ball and what a goal he got, I said it last year this fellas got balls

Ciaran Joyce 8 - Ciaran was Ciaran, utterly dominant, but I can’t help feeling he is underused at 6, would love to see him released to 8 but can’t see it happening

Cormac O Brien 7 - Mad for road which I love but ultimately lacks the hurling nous to make a wing back

Brian Roche 7 - Worked hard in the first half in particular but faded in the second half before being replaced, I felt he was asked to bring too much leadership for his age by placing him with a novice at midfield

Eoin Carey 7 - worked very hard and showed why the selectors showed faith in starting him. Like Brian Roche he would have contributed more with a more experienced midfield partner

Sean Twomey 7 - showed the value of having a few ball winners but drifted in and out of the game, needs to do a lot more

Conor Lehane 6 - showed flashes of his range of passing in the first but almost a complete bystander in the second half

Shane Kingston 6 - does what it says on the tin, a few moments of sheer brilliance and plenty of moments of sheer frustration. At best a corner foward but most likely an impact sub

Brian Hayes 7 - flirts in and out of the game but has moments where you see the potential that’s there, needs to find more consistency

Patrick Horgan 7 - what a stickman this guy is, we are blessed to have him, but the legs are slowly going. Will probably still be a starter but we should look at him in the impact sub role in the league

Robbie O Flynn 6 - started like a house on fire and looked like he would rip Clare apart but he never sustained it. We must remember he’s a year out of hurling at this level so we need to be patient. He will come good

An average of 7, on a day where we were outplayed all over the pitch, are you taking the piss?

 

[morello]

Patrick Collins 7 - done ok but wasn’t overworked either, saved us on a few occasions, puckouts were a disaster in the second half in particular but I suspect he didn’t go on a solo run with that one

Niall O’Leary 6 - I thought he struggled throughout, his touch was poor and is capable of complete brain farts on the ball

Eoin Roche 7 - thought he had a solid first outing at 3, nothing spectacular just done his defending without fuss

Sean O Donoghue 9 - Sean was superb, attacked every ball he felt he could win and won most of them, distribution was very good

Tommy O Connell 9 - had a great game, hurled a load of ball and what a goal he got, I said it last year this fellas got balls

Ciaran Joyce 8 - Ciaran was Ciaran, utterly dominant, but I can’t help feeling he is underused at 6, would love to see him released to 8 but can’t see it happening

Cormac O Brien 7 - Mad for road which I love but ultimately lacks the hurling nous to make a wing back

Brian Roche 7 - Worked hard in the first half in particular but faded in the second half before being replaced, I felt he was asked to bring too much leadership for his age by placing him with a novice at midfield

Eoin Carey 7 - worked very hard and showed why the selectors showed faith in starting him. Like Brian Roche he would have contributed more with a more experienced midfield partner

Sean Twomey 7 - showed the value of having a few ball winners but drifted in and out of the game, needs to do a lot more

Conor Lehane 6 - showed flashes of his range of passing in the first but almost a complete bystander in the second half

Shane Kingston 6 - does what it says on the tin, a few moments of sheer brilliance and plenty of moments of sheer frustration. At best a corner foward but most likely an impact sub

Brian Hayes 7 - flirts in and out of the game but has moments where you see the potential that’s there, needs to find more consistency

Patrick Horgan 7 - what a stickman this guy is, we are blessed to have him, but the legs are slowly going. Will probably still be a starter but we should look at him in the impact sub role in the league

Robbie O Flynn 6 - started like a house on fire and looked like he would rip Clare apart but he never sustained it. We must remember he’s a year out of hurling at this level so we need to be patient. He will come good

Very generous R&B… doesn’t tally with summary earlier. Agree with your commentary but take a mark off everyone. Joyce was by far and away our best player also - there’s very few in the country who can get out of a bunch of tacklers as effectively as he can.

Robbie seemed to fall off it completely after the ref shafted him for that free out to hogan in the first half, he’d a dreadful second half and showed a few old bad habits re missing clean catches

 

[Crankycorner]

A tad bit of an overreaction from a few on here. If we started the year thinking we’ll win the All Ireland then almost every game we play this year will be a disappointment. The same old failings cropped up again today. Half forward line and midfield absolutely cleaned out of it. Workrate simply not as good as opposition.

We need to remind ourselves of a few things. We were haunted to get out of Munster in 22 and deservedly didn’t get out last year. Clare have had our marker since 2019 (2021 aside).

Where we go from here. We need a bit of succession planning now. Hoggie, Lehane and Harnedy won’t be around in 2 years. Damien Cahalane won’t either. All 4 will arguably be in our Championship team this year. Whatever young players are earmarked to replace them need to be started in league matches now and persisted with. We need to give them space to struggle and develop.

 

[red&blue]

An average of 7, on a day where we were outplayed all over the pitch, are you taking the piss?

I am, just for your benefit

 

[BossHogg]

I’m a bit harder with ratings on the more experienced players as I’d expect more from them

Patrick Collins 7 - done ok but wasn’t overworked either, saved us on a few occasions, puckouts were a disaster in the second half in particular but I suspect he didn’t go on a solo run with that one

Niall O’Leary 6 - I thought he struggled throughout, his touch was poor and is capable of complete brain farts on the ball

Eoin Roche 7 - thought he had a solid first outing at 3, nothing spectacular just done his defending without fuss

Sean O Donoghue 9 - Sean was superb, attacked every ball he felt he could win and won most of them, distribution was very good

Tommy O Connell 9 - had a great game, hurled a load of ball and what a goal he got, I said it last year this fellas got balls

Ciaran Joyce 8 - Ciaran was Ciaran, utterly dominant, but I can’t help feeling he is underused at 6, would love to see him released to 8 but can’t see it happening

Cormac O Brien 7 - Mad for road which I love but ultimately lacks the hurling nous to make a wing back

Brian Roche 7 - Worked hard in the first half in particular but faded in the second half before being replaced, I felt he was asked to bring too much leadership for his age by placing him with a novice at midfield

Eoin Carey 7 - worked very hard and showed why the selectors showed faith in starting him. Like Brian Roche he would have contributed more with a more experienced midfield partner

Sean Twomey 7 - showed the value of having a few ball winners but drifted in and out of the game, needs to do a lot more

Conor Lehane 6 - showed flashes of his range of passing in the first but almost a complete bystander in the second half

Shane Kingston 6 - does what it says on the tin, a few moments of sheer brilliance and plenty of moments of sheer frustration. At best a corner foward but most likely an impact sub

Brian Hayes 7 - flirts in and out of the game but has moments where you see the potential that’s there, needs to find more consistency

Patrick Horgan 7 - what a stickman this guy is, we are blessed to have him, but the legs are slowly going. Will probably still be a starter but we should look at him in the impact sub role in the league

Robbie O Flynn 6 - started like a house on fire and looked like he would rip Clare apart but he never sustained it. We must remember he’s a year out of hurling at this level so we need to be patient. He will come good

This is surely a wind up post?! What does a fella have to do, or not do, to get a 5 or 6 in your book?