Cork have ground for optimism

Despite the evocative nature of tomorrow's Guinness All-Ireland hurling semi-final, there isn't much optimism around that it's going to turn out to be a classic in the great tradition of the 1950s.

Justin McCarthy, manager of the Waterford side that provide a straight form-line for both teams, said during the week that Wexford had been harder opponents than Cork. The Leinster finalists also won by marginally more, five points as against four, yet the consensus is that this won't even be particularly close.

One Cork argument - not without merit - is that it is absurd to compare the heat of a Munster final in Thurles to a Saturday evening qualifier in Nowlan Park. You could argue that the Munster final was more guaranteed to unhinge the notoriously flaky Waterford but Wexford probably benefited from the fact that the Cork defeat appeared to have hollowed out Waterford's morale and lent an unnerving sense of déjà vu to the qualifier.

In Cork you can back the home team at 2 to 5 and 1 to 3. The mood is confident and a reasonable crowd will travel to see the hurlers' debut in the new Croke Park. There was even a fracas for train tickets during the week. Already minds are turning to a renewal of the ancient Cork-Kilkenny rivalry in next month's final.

Wexford responded so spikily to being given the thumbs down before the Waterford match (despite having been hosed down the drain in the Leinster final) that we can only wonder at manager John Conran's attitude in the face of such widespread dismissiveness ahead of tomorrow.

Why are Cork so heavily favoured for this? There are a few reasons. One, the team has been improving steadily having emerged from its winter of discontent with a renewed focus. The two challenges met so far have been rebuffed with a bit of style, whatever the reservations about Clare and Waterford on the days in question.

Two, Wexford have - fairly or not - got the reputation of having one eye-catching display in them each year but no guarantees thereafter. Three, their reliance on the influence of a game bunch of veterans has been heartwarming but is unreliable at the higher reaches of the championship.

It's easy to see why Wexford might be sensitive about all this. It appears Cork are to be judged on their highlights but Wexford on their potential flaws.

But in a way history entitles us to do that at this stage of the All-Ireland championship.

There's no doubt that on paper this is closer than the consensus view. With Darragh Ryan recovered, Wexford's defence will be a more formidable unit. The difference between the manic display in the first half of the Leinster final, when they somehow kept Kilkenny at bay, and the at-times disintegration against Antrim was a vivid reminder of Ryan's importance.

The half backs should ask questions of their opponents. Niall McCarthy at centre forward is one of three Cork players in their rookie season who have performed in excess of expectations. More likely on this season's form to get hard scores than Ben O'Connor and Timmy McCarthy on the wings, his duel with Declan Ruth will be a swing constituency.

Much of Cork's success has sprung from the half backs and in particular the newcomers Tom Kenny and Ronan Curran. Their dominant displays have surprised some - even in Cork - but it's perhaps premature to expect wonders from them every match.

There is some historical irony here in that Wexford in the 1950s - to the distaste of purists - more or less invented the catch. With a keen eye and a good sense of timing, to say nothing of steady nerves, defenders found they could stick their paw up at the last minute and snatch away the sliotar amidst the thickets of waiting hurls.

A lack of such ball winners in the forwards creates difficulty in countering the Cork half backs. Larry Murphy will probably start as listed at centre forward to try and restrain Curran while Adrian Fenlon is named on the wing, presumably with similar intent.

Fenlon has to undergo a fitness test this morning but after a few stints in the decompression tank at Hook Head's scuba diving centre, he's confident of playing.

If Wexford can deliver all these strategies and get their forwards into an early scoring rhythm, there'll be a match worthy of the occasion. The balance still favours Cork. Their full forwards are a more reliable source of scores and for all the talk of the team's first trip to the new Croke Park hardly any of them are strangers to the venue.

If anything, the new surface may benefit them. By Wexford's own admission, the expanded spaces of the new pitch worked against them in the Leinster final and Cork's mobility will pose similar questions.

Two years ago at this stage, Tipp were badly rattled by Wexford in a match they looked to have won but which went to a replay. Neutrals can reasonably hope for something equally close but the Munster champions deserve to be favourites.

The GAA have announced that tickets for the game between Cork and Wexford will be on sale today from 11.0 a.m. to 7.0 p.m. from the ticket office at the rear of the Cusack Stand.

The GAA have also announced that the curtain raisers to Sunday's Donegal v Galway football replay in Castlebar will be the Connacht women's football finals. Tickets for the games in Castlebar, which are ticket-only, are available from the Connacht Council offices in Ballyhaunis and will be on sale tomorrow from mobile units on McHale road, Castlebar.