Fintan O'Toole Reports from Páirc Uí Chaoimh

1. Kilkenny’s joy on the road

Kilkenny were left highly irritated last Sunday as they coughed up a winning position at the hands of Wexford, pegged back by a late goal. They had an advantage of greater substance last night in Páirc UÍ Chaoimh, ahead by nine in the first half and utterly superior in every facet of the game. Yet during an at times frenzied second-half, they were level on four occasions with Cork and trailed at one stage.

It would have been a desperate game for Kilkenny to lose in that context. To grind out a win was pleasing, just as it appeared to be slipping out of their reach. Given they are operating in a league with raised stakes, it was a victory that was needed. They host Offaly in a fortnight, before March away trips to Clare and Waterford.

Eoin Cody was in spellbinding form early on here, their half-back line trio of David Blanchfield, Darragh Corcoran and Shane Murphy formidable in that period. The threat of Adrian Mullen was constant throughout, the deservedly landed the man-of-the-match honour after sweeping over five points in a display of supreme striking.

Adrian Mullen tackles Eoin Roche. Ken Sutton / INPHO Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO

2. Cork struggles in defeat

Let there be no rush to hurling judgements before the midway mark of February has been reached. There is plenty road to travel in 2024 for Cork and yet it has been a sticky, struggling start for them. Defeat on the road in Ennis was followed by this reversal in their backyard. Pat Ryan was plainly disappointed that the sizeable home crowd in the 16,274 attendance did not head off into the Cork night with the satisfaction of having witnessed a victory.

Cork needed to think on their feet to avoid this becoming a disastrous defeat. That looked a prospect when the limitations of their first-half display were so glaring. They recovered well, largely pointed on the scoreboard by the combined 0-13 return from Patrick Horgan and Conor Lehane, while boosted by Mark Coleman and Ger Millerick off the bench imposing themselves impressively on the game, along with increased value in the hurling of Tommy O’Connell and Sean Twomey.

But that good work did not propel them to eventual success. They made a mess of goalscoring chances after half-time, both in the creation and execution, and lacked the poise in different moments in the finale to surge clear. After two defeats, they host Waterford next, before going on the road to Offaly and Wexford.

Conor O'Callaghan found the net for Cork in the first half. Ken Sutton / INPHO Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO

3. Star names returning

In the 49th minute, the announcement over the PA sparked a striking cheer from the home support. Injury wrecked Mark Coleman’s inter-county plans in 2023, this was his comeback game. He hit the ground running, exerting a major influence on the remainder of the match.

If his shooting was rusty, two shots into a stiff breeze dropping into the hand of Eoin Murphy, he compensated with his volume of possessions, his slick touch in tight spaces and his creative work, exemplified by the pass for club-mate Shane Barrett’s 56th minute score.

“Delighted for Mark to get back, he was very anxious to get back,” said Pat Ryan.

“He’s worked fierce hard since he’s been out with a very complex injury, but the physios and the doctors and his surgeon in England looked after him great.

“Look, Mark is a huge player for us going forward and we’d love to be have been able to start him but he got 25 minutes and you could see the ability that he has and he took one or two shots that normally he would put over but delighted to get Mark back.”

Ryan was also pleased to get gametime into the legs of Tim O’Mahony and Ethan Twomey. With Fitzgibbon Cup commitments now parked, he’ll soon be picking from a full deck, with the likes of Seamus Harnedy and the Cahalane brothers also back in the fray.

Down the corridor in the Kilkenny dressing-room they would have been pleased to see defensive stalwarts back in action. After the club final setback with O’Loughlin Gaels, Mikey Butler and Huw Lawlor were familiarly reassuring presences in the Kilkenny defence. There was also an update on their club-mate Paddy Deegan, and the team’s attacking lynchpin TJ Reid.

“Paddy’s had a knock or two so we’re trying to ease him back into it,” said Derek Lyng.

“TJ is moving well at the minute. It’s a week-by-week basis. We’ll see. We’ve a weekend off now, which is good, we’ll get a couple of weeks of training in. For the last three games, I’d imagine we’ll see both of them at different points.”