Galvin: Cork not unbeatable

GAELIC FOOTBALL ALL-IRELAND SEMI-FINAL: Ian O'Riordantalks to Limerick's John Galvin who feels Cork are vulnerable if put under constant pressure

IN THE almost indestructible armour of Cork football, Limerick are among the few to find a weakness. Their record in recent years may be a case of nearly beating them, as opposed to actually beating them, but as veteran Limerick midfielder John Galvin points out, if you run at them, and keep running at them, then Cork are far from unbeatable.

Indeed that might be Dublin’s only chance of beating Cork in Sunday’s All-Ireland football semi-final; run at them from early on, and don’t stop running at them until the end. Galvin has endured enough near-misses against Cork to know what he’s talking about, including just a few weeks back, when Limerick again came close to upsetting Cork in the fourth round of the qualifiers – only to finally bow out after extra-time.

“One thing we did say going into that game was that if we could run at them enough, then their full-back line and half-back line – because they are starting to age a little – mightn’t be able to stick it for the whole game,” says Galvin.

“As long as we kept going at them. And I think if you do that, just keep running at them, they will eventually run out of gas.

“Because you can’t keep up that level of intense defence that Cork have for the whole game. So if I was playing for Dublin, no matter what happens on Sunday, I’d just keep running at them, because you will find gaps. That’s all you can do, really.”

Last year, in the Munster final, Limerick also had them on the verge of elimination before Cork progressed by 2-6 to 0-11.

Daniel Goulding’s brilliant goal brought his team level at 2-3 to 0-9, and while Galvin’s subsequent catch looked like restoring the lead for Limerick, they couldn’t quite close out the deal.

And worse still, in 2008, Goulding’s last-minute goal rescued a truly desperate situation for Cork.

Buoyed by that equalising score, they grabbed a dramatic winning goal just a minute later when Graham Canty pounced – leaving Limerick with yet another sickeningly close defeat to digest.

Surprisingly perhaps, the last team to beat Cork in the football championship, other than Kerry, was actually Fermanagh, back in the 2004 qualifiers.

Since then, Cork have lost only to Kerry, including earlier this year. Their strength, obviously, is their strength.

“Cork have great ability to dominate midfield,” confirms Galvin, “no doubt about that. But also, and as they showed against us this year, they have the advantage too in that they can change midfielders, bring on different players, and they’re just as good.

“Not many teams can say that. Like against us they used four midfielders, two for the first half, and then changed at half-time to play two different ones in the second half. (Derek Kavanagh and Aidan Walsh being replaced by Nicholas Murphy and Alan O’Connor.)

“Bringing in fresh legs like that at midfield is a huge advantage, and Cork are one of those few teams that can do it, that can bring on players that are just as good.

“They also have huge ability to get the breaking ball. What they did against us was start to crowd us out. They slowed us down when we had the ball, coming out of our full-back line, slowed us down too when we tried to get men on the ball, or get fellas back.

“It’s a good tactic they have, and even when we did break their line, they had numbers behind the ball. So they’re a hard team to break down, a hard team to get scores against. They didn’t allow us to play an open game, and it’s always tough against teams that don’t allow that.”

Yet Limerick put Cork under considerable pressure late in their qualifying game, and have done over the previous two seasons.

“I would give Dublin a chance,” says Galvin. “But they’re going to have to pull out another massive game, just like they did against Tyrone. If they play any way below par Cork will beat them. But I do think Cork are a beatable team, the way I thought Kerry were a beatable team. I think anyone can catch them on any given day.

“And with Graham Canty possibly out too, that’s a big loss. He’s such an inspirational leader in this Cork team. Every team has those players, who step up at certain points, when they’re needed, and Graham Canty is definitely one of them. If he’s missing and things aren’t going Cork’s way then it’s going to be hard for other players to fill that role, to drive on the team when they need it.

“I would have to fancy Cork to just take it. But at the same time, if Cork are beaten I wouldn’t be shocked. I’d give Dublin a good chance. As long as they don’t freeze. They’re a younger team though, maybe not as involved with the history as other players were. They just have to go out and play football like they did against Tyrone and they’ve a good chance.”