Kilkenny have goal touch

After one of the great summers of hurling it comes down to this. Two young but tremendously skilful sides who have got here through sheer endeavour to set up one of the more intriguing All-Ireland finals of recent years.

What you have to remember though is that All-Ireland finals are usually too tense for teams to come out and play the pure entertaining hurling that most people want to see. Still, it's a wide open game where focus and mentality are going to play a major part in the outcome. It's a huge occasion for the younger players and you just don't know how much a part nerves will play.

Kilkenny are certainly coming in with the better record. They destroyed Laois, were totally convincing against Offaly and then beat Clare with relative ease in the semi-final. They have scored 13 goals in three games and no matter what way you look at it, that's very impressive form.

Their march through Leinster has been highlighted by that ability to score goals, which for the most part comes down to the hard-working John Power at centre forward. He is the workhouse, and that's not a derogatory term because every team must have one to put in the work in breaking up the play. D J Carey has also regained his form and then you have Charlie Carter, Brian McEvoy, Ken O'Shea and Henry Shefflin who have all fitted so well into this very mobile forward line.

From a Cork point of view, one of the most important tasks will be to the watch the Kilkenny half-back line because they were dominant against Clare. For a start, that means avoiding any puck-outs into Pat O'Neill. He's such a big man and a great reader of the game that he will nearly always win the ball. He's also got his confidence back and showed that with a lot of play into the forwards in the last game against Clare.

But my man of the match that day was Peter Barry, who played exceptionally well under severe pressure by winning ball after ball. The other half back, Michael Kavanagh, is a younger player but has also performed well. He also has two great midfielders in front of him in Andy Comerford and Denis Byrne. Cork will have to break the strength of this half-back line and to do that they must try to turn O'Neill by playing the ball to the wing or hitting it in low and have the Kilkenny half backs going backward.

Cork have named Neil Ronan at full forward but I believe they will bring him out to the half-forward line and leave just Joe Deane and Ben O'Connor inside. Ronan will probably stand beside either Fergal McCormack or come closer to Seanie McGrath, who will probably move back to form a three-man centrefield.

Timmy McCarthy is inclined to run with the ball but that won't suit them here because they will need to send the ball in faster. Either way, McCormack has a huge job to do on O'Neill if he is to upset him. It is a negative role for him but he is such a big strong bustling centre forward that he will try to upset O'Neill.

Cork's lack of goals from the forwards is a small concern but they've certainly made up for that with their points total. They have been fortunate with a lot of frees also and I don't think the Kilkenny backs will be giving too many away tomorrow. Overall Cork are younger and less experienced.

There was a lot of pressure on Jimmy-Barry Murphy at the start of the year as he hadn't won anything at that stage (apart from a National League title last year). The record against Kilkenny is poor, and he knows that, but he's been with a lot of these players for a long time now and he has instilled his belief of skilful hurling into them. Plus the backs are harder and more aggressive than before. Brian Corcoran's experience will be a big asset and they also have a wealth of back-room talent, men who have been through it all before. On the other side, Brian Cody has given the Kilkenny players a new focus and turned them into a closer team than ever before. I don't know what was wrong with them last year but they weren't like the Kilkenny teams of old. He has brought back harmony and a new self-confidence. He doesn't say very much, but he lets his hurlers do the talking and he's got them enjoying their game again.

For Kilkenny to win, then naturally enough they will have to capitalise on their main asset - scoring goals. D J Carey can be so quiet for so long and then pop up with a goal or two and it's at the stage now where you'd be worried if he was playing well for 70 minutes. He'll have to be watched so closely because all he needs is a split second. But you can't over-concentrate on D J either because there are four more goalscorers who can be just as dangerous.

Some might say that Kilkenny haven't really been tested in this year's championship. It was match over in 20 minutes against Laois and something similar against Offaly. If it doesn't happen that way here and Cork are suddenly ahead then it will be interesting to see how Kilkenny respond. We saw Cork get ahead against Clare and then really dig deep to hang on under severe pressure for a lot of the second half. That's a fighting asset which will stand to them.

Kilkenny are so used to playing in Croke Park now that it's almost their home ground. Based on the last five or six All-Ireland meetings between the two sides then you have to give them the slight advantage. But there is always a time to break that. It may well be tomorrow. And besides, who wants to carry a favourite's tag into an All-Ireland final?

In an interview with Ian O'Riordan