Kerry likely to discover in final that Cork give misers a bad name
IF one of the key essentials for a thriving business is to keep costs down, then Cork footballers are a headline model for everybody, including Kerry, this year.
Depositing big scores often creates the impression of a flamboyant lifestyle but very often it masks the reality that teams are living on credit after drifting into debt caused by reckless spending. Not Cork whose high-alert security systems are so finely tuned that would-be intruders are detected even before they cross the 45-metre line.
The positive knock-on effect has left their opposition with very few goal chances this year. In fact, Cork have conceded only five goals in 13 League and Championship games. That translates into one goal given away every 3hrs 2 minutes. Not even Kerry can match that, having conceded eight goals in 11 League and Championship games.
The defensive solidity will have pleased Billy Morgan, not least because injury forced Cork to play three goalkeepers this year -- Paddy O'Shea, Kevin Murphy and Alan Quirke. Quirke is the No.1 choice but missed the League with a hip injury before hurting his shoulder in the Munster clash with Limerick.
Wizardry
Despite the goalkeeping switches, Cork have held solid, conceding just one goal in six championship games so far. Perhaps significantly, it came against Kerry in the Munster final, courtesy of 'Gooch' Cooper's wizardry in the 43rd minute. It was the last time, Cork have had to take a kick-out from the 20-metre line, having kept their net intact in the interim for 3hrs 57 minutes.
And it looks even more impressive against the backdrop of having conceded an average of just over 10 points against Louth, Sligo and Meath in their last three games. Given the solidity shown by Cork in their defensive half of the pitch, Quirke's desperate drive to recover was understandable. Having been plagued by a hip injury last spring he had returned to full fitness for the start of the championship against Limerick on May 20, only to injure his shoulder, a setback that kept him out until the All-Ireland quarter-final tie with Sligo.
"I thought my season was over when I dislocated my shoulder. It was a fierce disappointment but thankfully it healed well and I was lucky enough to get back in for the Sligo game," said the 6ft 4ins Valley Rovers man.
Quirke attributes Cork's defensive tightness to hard work and an understanding between the component parts who dovetail together in a highly sophisticated formation.
"I have had very little to do in the last two games and it was much the same for Paddy [O'Shea] before that. The cover has been exceptional," he said.
As a former goalkeeper of outstanding ability, Morgan might be expected to pay more attention than other managers to that particular facet but Quirke says that's not the case.
"Billy coaches the squad as a whole but wouldn't spend any more time with the goalkeepers than with anyone else. From time to time, he'd offer me a bit of advice which is a great help because nobody knows more about the art of goalkeeping than he does but he expects all his players to take responsibility for themselves."
Toughest
Quirke knows that the Cork defence can expect their toughest test so far against a rapidly-improving Kerry attack that, quite often, reserve their best performances for Croke Park. Indeed, how Cork cope with the Croke Park factor will be hugely important in deciding who wins the first ever all-Munster All-Ireland final clash.
Cork have a good record against Kerry in recent Munster campaigns but have lost three All-Ireland semi-finals heavily in Croke Park since 2002. The closest they came was last year when Kerry won by six points but Quirke is confident that the gap has closed since then.
"Kerry were much the better side in 2005 but we made progress last year. We'd like to think that we'll make even more progress this year.
"We're certainly well used to playing in Croke Park by now," he said.
Quirke, a very calming influence behind a confident Cork defence, knows that the longer they maintain a shut-out, the closer they are coming to conceding a goal.
And that could be ominous with 'Gooch' and Co staring down the barrel of the gun.
