Kilkenny have the hunger to burst the Cork bubble
 BY graham
clifford
When Cork defeated Kilkenny in 2004 they stopped the Cats attaining a
rare three-in-a-row.
The fact isn’t lost of followers of the Leinster Champions and will
be at the forefront of many of their fans’ minds when the two teams
take to the pitch on Sunday.
Cork battle-hardened, dogged and focussed believe they deserve to remain
as kingpins of hurling in Ireland but in this their fourth All-Ireland
final in a row they face their most difficult task.
While the Leesiders have been good enough to reach the final the side
has huffed and puffed their way to the decider scraping past the likes
of Limerick and Waterford by the bare minimum.
To many this is the sign of Champions to others it shows the men in red
are far from invincible.
Strong in defence where the likes of Sean Og ohAilpin, Diarmuid O’Sullivan
and Ronan Curran have been excellent the Rebels have conceded less than
their Kilkenny counterparts in this year’s campaign.
However concerns still linger at the other end of the field for John Allen
and his fellow Cork mentors.
Of the 3-69 they have scored in this year’s Championship Joe Deane
has chipped in with 26 points but there’s a worrying lack of contributions
from his fellow forwards.
For the challengers Henry Shefflin is the main threat with 2-39 already
in the bag so far this year.
Kilkenny have shown glimpses of their devastating skill sporadically in
2006 most notably against Galway in the first-half of the qualifier victory
and again in the semi-final when they easily overpowered Clare by 2-21
to 1-16.
However Brian Cody will be all too aware that the Cats have conceded a
total of seven goals so far as opposed to just two for the All-Ireland
Champions.
Also Kilkenny have had to prepare for the final without the inspirational
corner back JJ Delaney.
The 2003 hurler-of-the-year suffered a cruciate ligament injury in training
and will be replaced by the vastly experienced Michael Kavangh.
A defiant Delaney said: “The lads can win this All-Ireland. I am
still part of the panel, and I want a winners’ medal. I am dealing
with my situation and in time I will get over it.
“The lads shouldn’t be feeling sorry for me or themselves.
There is an All-Ireland to be won. That’s all that should be on
their minds now.
“Cork are a very good team but this Kilkenny team has made huge
progress. The displays have been getting better in every game. Look at
how we played against Wexford and Clare.”
While no-one will doubt that Kilkenny have the skill and ingenuity to
overcome the Cork challenge perhaps hunger and the will to win will be
the deciding factor on Sunday.
One way or another it’s sure to be one of the most fascinating finals
in years.
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