Cork hurlers without Eoin Cadogan and Aidan Walsh for the important trip to Antrim

With not exactly ideal timing, Cork footballers have first call on dual players Eoin Cadogan and Aidan Walsh for this weekend’s double-hit of Allianz League fixtures, when they might have had a slightly more important role to play for the Cork hurlers.

With four wins out of four, and the only perfect record in Division One of the Allianz Football League, Cork travel to Mayo this Sunday with one foot already in the semi-finals.

The Cork hurlers, with two wins and one draw, travel to Antrim on the same day needing the victory to keep alive their hopes of promotion from Division One B.

Both players featured with the Cork hurlers in the victory over Offaly, having played with the Cork footballers the weekend before. This weekend, by prior agreement with their respective managers, they revert back to football.

Now, for Cadogan and Walsh, the so-far seamless division between football and hurling loyalties mightn’t feel so seamless. Last weekend, both players featured with the Cork hurlers in the victory over Offaly, having played with the Cork footballers the weekend before. This weekend, by prior agreement with their respective managers, they revert back to football.

Expected lines
Cork football manager Brian Cuthbert last night named his team to face Mayo and, as expected, both Cadogan and Walsh are included, leaving Cork hurling manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy to travel to Antrim without them.

Division One B of the Allianz Hurling League has been unfolding along expecting lines with Cork and Limerick leading the charge for promotion. However, only the team that finishes first will be promoted (unlike in recent years where there was a play-off for promotion), and given Limerick and Cork drew in the opening round, and are currently tied on five points apiece, scoring difference may come into play.

After playing Antrim, Cork finish up at home to Wexford; Limerick are away to Offaly this Sunday and then face Laois in the last round – which makes scoring difference in this Sunday’s round of games all the more pivotal given neither Antrim nor Offaly have much left to play for.

As things stand, Offaly and Antrim have lost all three games, and one more defeat means they can’t make any of the four quarter-final positions. And having lost to both Wexford and Laois already, even if they do draw level (on four points), the head-to-head rule means they’d still likely miss out.

The GAA have already clarified this by outlining the rule required when counties finish on equal points: where two teams only are involved, the placing is decided by the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the previous game in the competition; if more than two teams are involved then it’s decided by scoring difference (subtracting the total scores against from total scores for). If those scoring differences are equal then it’s the highest total score for; if teams are still equal after that then a play-off can be ordered.

Crucially, at least for now, Limerick have a 13-point superior scoring difference over Cork, which means even without Cadogan and Walsh, the Rebels will need to claw some of that back against Antrim.

In contention
Meanwhile, St Vincent's manager Tommy Conroy has declared a clean bill of health ahead of next Monday's All-Ireland club football final against Castlebar Mitchels.

The Dublin champions withdrew both team captain Ger Brennan and forward Ruairí Trainor from the starting team that beat Ballinderry in last month’s semi-final, although both players are in contention to regain their places for the St Patrick’s Day showdown at Croke Park.

“It looks like everybody is available for selection, so we’ve a couple of tough decisions to make,” said Conroy.

Kevin Bonnie took Brennan's place the last day, while Tiernan Diamond started in place of Trainor.
CORK (SF v Mayo): K O'Halloran; M Shields, E Cadogan, K Crowley; C Dorman, T Clancy, A Cronin; A O'Sullivan, A Walsh; C O'Driscoll, P Kerrigan, T Clancy; C O'Neill, B Hurley, D O'Connor