Cork u20 Hurling 2024

[Hill Street Blue]

The most worrying thing of all from tonight is that this was a very average Lk team - in fact they were a poor team. Tipp will be a massive step up.

 

[Blackajam]

Sure Coleman and Fitzgibon and Meade were only out minor U19 when they started playing . I’m fed up hearing it’s too physical now . I would start him in the 3rd game if we lose Sunday

 

[red&blue]

How good is Healy lads? We used Joyce from u20s in ‘22, E Downey in ‘23, no one in ‘24… should it not have been Healy?

Yes we should have , he’s not the finished product but he’s game and physical, I can see himself and Cunningham making a huge difference to our team next year

 

[Killyoursons]

Coming out of the game it almost felt like a defeat. That’s how flat we were - tactically we just ran into Lk players all night and coughed up possession 80% of the time. There’s no doubt we have some fine players but there were too many coasting along. Team looks far from settled and is a long way off AI winning material. Cleaned out in the air and in rucks - sound familiar.!!!!

I'd agree with most of this, but if anything the team looks too settled and could do with being freshened up. A ball-winning half-forward would help (maybe Walsh, although apart from the goal he was quiet enough) and a new face (probably Wilk) in the hb line. That might free O'Regan to play higher up the pitch as well. He tried to run between two Limerick forwards and got turned over badly for the first goal - not the only one guilty of that, to be sure, but after three games I don't think he has made the CB position his own.

More generally, the emphasis on running the ball out from defence is making the team too predictable. Limerick did what Clare did, but less well (and shot some poor wides, watching up to ht). If Cork keep playing that way they will keep giving teams chances to unsettle them and pick off easy scores.

 

[Hurlywurly]

They didn't look unsettled at any stage.
When Limerick scored the goal they reeled of what? 9 points?
Never looked like losing

 

[Hill Street Blue]

Surgery needed at centre back, midfield centre forward and full forward. Too reliant on Healy and Leahy : Buckley completely man marked out of it tonight by the Lk number 4 who was outstanding.

 

[junior footballer]

Based on the commentary I have to wonder how this team has won 3 from 3, after limericks first goal they absolutely walked home ffs

 

[greengrass]

I think the point being made is that we leave teams in the game thru our own stupidity like continuously trying to walk the ball out of defence especially when we had the beating of the Limerick backs every time the ball was delivered early. It was very evident all thru game but nothing was done about it. Could have easily come back to bite us tonight in a match we should have strolled thru.

 

[DougMM]

Based on the commentary I have to wonder how this team has won 3 from 3, after limericks first goal they absolutely walked home ffs

Don’t think anybody disagrees that they were always likely to win, and it is great that we’re beating the likes of Limerick at underage level now. There was a stage about 10 years ago where we couldn’t buy a win against them at this level, so maybe we are a bit spoiled.

I guess the main frustration comes from the fact that this team at minor level was meant to be one of our greatest teams. You could make an argument that there’s never been an intercounty minor team as dominant as them. I think they won every game they played by 10 + points, which I’m not sure has been done before.

That 2021 minor team beat Clare by 40 points. This U20 team is mainly made up of the 2021 and 2022 minor teams, who beat Limerick by 10 points in 2021 and by 13 points in 2022. So my question is why has there been such a massive turnaround? Why does this U20 team look weaker than the last few U20 teams?

Maybe this is overly simplistic, but to my mind the biggest thing that’s changed has been the difference in physicality and work-rate. I remember pundits like John Mullane and opposition minor coaches talking about how surprised they were with the size of that Cork minor team in 2021.

Yesterday and two weeks ago, Cork looked significantly smaller than their opposition. Can’t remember any bit of outstanding fielding in the last two weeks, and they seem to lose most of the rucks, as others have said.

I know they’ve lost O’Connor from that minor team and there’s not much the coaches could do about that. But they have also dropped the two biggest men from the forwards of that team in Nyhan and A.Walsh, and have not replaced them with guys who have similar strengths.

It’s created a situation where it looks like we have no plan B. In both of the last two games we’ve gone through these 10/15 minute patches where the short game breaks down and we’ve fallen 4/5 points behind Clare/Limerick. Better teams than Clare and Limerick will punish them heavily.

 

[handsomeNed]

You pick a Newtown manager, they play the Newtown game.