Cork minors look to pick up where they left off as semi-final looms

After playing five games in the space of seven weeks as they won the Electric Ireland Munster MHC, scheduling has presented a new challenge as the Cork minor hurlers prepare for the All-Ireland series.

With preliminary quarter-finals and quarter-finals to be played, the Rebels have had a four-week break ahead of Sunday’s clash with Clare at FBD Semple Stadium (1pm). For manager Fergal McCormack, it has been a case of re-focusing and then building up again towards what will be a huge game.

“We’re not going to come along and say that we’re the most experienced on this, either,” he says.

“It’s a little bit of trial and error and we feel that we’ve managed it well. The first week was kind of a low-key reset, see where we were and where we were going and give the lads a little bit of breathing space.

“It has been ramped up since then and the response has been fantastic, as it has been for all matches and for as long as we're with the lads.

“There’s competition for starting places, competition to be in the squad and we couldn't ask for a better kind of lead-in, really.

“Whatever way the result goes, you know, people will kind of come back and say it was too long or whatever.”

Having opened their Munster campaign with a win away to Limerick, Cork were on the road for their second outing too, travelling to Tulla to take on Clare. While the home side started well, scoring two goals inside the first ten minutes, Cork came back strongly before winning 3-24 to 3-17.

Clare come into this weekend’s match on the back of wins over Dublin (13 points) and then Galway (eight points) and so McCormack is well aware of how big a task awaits.

“Yeah, exactly,” he says.

“The match in Tulla was a while ago and they’ve changed their team around since then too, positional-wise and personnel-wise.

“That game showed a lot of things, really. We had a slow start and they had really, really good forwards but we responded exceptionally well and that helped us in the games that came post that game.

“I hope that it will help in our attitude and our mental side of the game as well for Sunday.”

Cork are Munster senior and minor champions in the same year for the first time since 2017 and the last time before that was 2006.

With the buzz increased in the wake of last Saturday’s penalty-shootout victory over Limerick, McCormack and the minors are looking to maintain the feelgood factor by progressing to a decider against Kilkenny or Waterford, who meet on Saturday night.

To do that, he knows that a big performance will be needed in Thurles.

“It’s brilliant,” he says.

“It's great to be from Cork, it’s great when Cork are going well and there’s a red wave, certainly.

“But, and you hate to put a dampener on things, we just have to look after our own business.

“It’s about performing and the and the whole wave thing will continue if you perform.

“That's the hard part but hopefully I think we've managed this well and we have good personnel in of playing and management.

“We'll be giving it a good shot and a good raffle and I'd say it's going to be a very difficult game. A bit of luck will be involved here, no doubt, and may be the best team win.”