Liam Rushe went to nail him so when Tim O’Mahoney broke the tackle and left the Dublin centre back on his heels, it was like the red sea opening in front of him.
Maybe Dublin’s corner backs had so much confidence in their bucking bronco of a number that 6 they never even thought about him being over-ran but suddenly, as the Cork-man strode into the green grass, Paddy Smyth and Andrew Dunphy were in a whole world of trouble with a splitting headache.
Should they stay or should they go? They did neither.
Green in his exuberance, Dunphy glued himself to Shane Kingston’s dart and while Smyth moved in with good intentions, it was his subsequent stutter and backward step, at a crucial moment and perhaps spooked by Hoggie, that gave O’Mahoney all the space he needed to sling one into the corner of Alan Nolan’s net.
It might not be the story of their lives but the ‘should I stay or should I go’ head-scratcher can make or break a corner back and speaking on Monday’s GAA Hour, a four-time All-Star and specialist of the position Paul Murphy described how Kilkenny used deal with such danger.
It’s a team effort, according to Murphy, who says that listening to and acting on goalkeeper Eoin Murphy’s calls was the gospel he swore by.
“For me, the keeper has to be communicating with his corner backs and telling him ‘go.’ Any-time we would have faced a situation like that, you’d see the overlap coming and Eoin Murphy would start shouting ‘stay, stay, stay…’ and then he’d shout ‘GO!’ and once you go running at him then, you’re hoping just to put him off. Get up to him, get in a hook, block, anything, clean him out of it if you have to. Then if your man takes the quick shot, Eoin Murphy is standing there and if he doesn’t, Eoin Murphy is running for the fella who’s on the overlap to hit him,” said the Danesfort club-man.
“These are things Dublin should know. These things are going to happen in matches. But for nobody to come near him, to be worrying about your own man, you’re just not worried about the team. There should have been alarm bells ringing from the moment he broke through, there’s a goal on, you have to go out and lay a hand on them lads now…”
Amazing power from Robbie O'Flynn, amazing skill from Tim O'Mahoney!
The Rebels are rising again 🔴⚪️pic.twitter.com/m9y22bLJI0
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) July 31, 2021
Cork certainly won’t have it as easy against Kilkenny, who according to Murphy, won’t be quaking in their boots at what they’ve seen this far.
“I watched The Sunday Game where they were very complimentary of Cork and I was kind of thinking ‘was I watching a different game here?’ Watching that game I felt, as a Kilkenny supporter, they didn’t do anything that would have you going ‘oh, we’re in trouble next week.’ Cork are always capable of turning up, bringing this electric game and maybe they will do that next week, but I don’t really see where it’s coming from.
“Yes Tim O’Mahoney was great at wing back, but there will be more questions asked of him next week. Will he run up be as happy to run up the field knowing that he’s leaving TJ or Eoin Cody behind him? These are the questions Dublin didn’t ask of Cork, that allowed Cork to play their game. And me as a Kilkenny supporter, I’d be happy enough that Cork have the confidence up thinking oh ‘now we’re flying it.’ You’re kind of thinking ‘are you flying it? The jury is still out on that at the moment.'”
Similarly, Colm Parkinson hasn’t been bowled over by the Rebels.
“I wouldn’t have come out of that game thinking ‘Cork are back now,’ or anything like that. It will be a huge test for them against Kilkenny. Ger Millerick is a big plus, having done well on Sutcliffe, as is Tim O’Mahoney, who kept Chris Crummey out of the game. Fitzgibbon hasn’t sparked, I’m not sure their forwards have really sparked.
Wooly, Paul Murphy and Michael Carton review the weekend’s hurling.
– Wonderful Waterford
– easy for Cork
– Liam Sheedy overactingThe hurling show is out now 👇https://t.co/9oEgaKRRV9 pic.twitter.com/4lD3B55ogE
— The GAA Hour (@TheGAAHour) August 2, 2021
All will be revealed this Sunday at 3.30 in GAA HQ.
