Analysis: Kildare capitalise on Cork conservatism as Rebels retreat into defensive mode

Where is the football version of the Cloyne man.

It may be lost in Donal Og's rant from Sunday night, but there is not just a crisis in Cork hurling, things on the football side are not much better. How could a county that produced the likes of Pearse O'Neill or Graham Canty in recent years, men who would scrap for every single ball, go so meekly into the night after a shellacking from a Kildare side that were, lest we forget, demoted from Division Two of the football league in the Spring? So how did Cork go from missing out on a Munster title to a Hail Mary equaliser after a powerful display of running and tactical awareness, fall so flat in Thurles?From the very off Cork did not come to play in Semple Stadium, but to contain. Perhaps Brian Cuthbert was afraid of a second game in just six days, and wanted to try and keep their energy levels steady until the closing stages Or maybe he was hoping that, if he could fix his midfield, his side would have enough ammunition up front to get at a weak Kildare backline, which leaked 0-11 and 1-13 against Longford and Offaly respectively. Paddy Kelly's absence through injury once again left the onus on Paul Kerrigan to take on all the ball-carrying responsibility, but Kildare saw it coming from the middle of last week. The opening seconds showed how Cork were hoping to blast their way through a Kildare defence that was airtight at letting runners through the mass cover. Instead of Donncha O'Connor laying off a pass over the top or using the loop around he's swallowed up and eventually Kildare get a free. Cork got on top of Kerry in the first Munster final by winning primary possession and forcing the All-Ireland champions into running back towards their own goal, something their players are not equipped to do. However, when Alan O'Connor was wiped out by Anthony Maher and David Moran, Cork's challenge collapsed, and Saturday night followed a similar pattern. O'Connor and Eoin Cadogan were ineffective from almost the start and then the ultra defensive mode set in as Cork regularly had half their team behind the ball as the default position.A simple handpass from Kildare time and time again, with a runner off the shoulder, took out a huge area of the Cork rearguard. Players were clearly unsure as to what they were meant to be doing. James Loughrey the man to suffer in this case as he picked up a black card for a lack of purpose and awareness from the Cork team as a whole Cork just showed no desire for work or to try and close down their men. Look for the three players at the bottom of the picture here walking back towards their own goal. Walking. Thurles is nice for as stroll, just not in the middle of a game. This is simply unforgivable at any level, and perhaps a sign of the apathy, and what Tomas O Sé had been signalling in his Sunday Game diatribe a number of weeks ago about a lack of leadership in the Rebel camp Cork's attack is so blunt you could take them on in a knife fight safe in the knowledge that the only injury sustained would be a blister from the repeated friction of a dull blade trying to puncture your skin. Brian Hurley was rightly dropped from the off against Kildare, after two bad days against Kerry, but even with his introduction Cork had no game plan to attack and create space to stretch a Kildare defence that is hardly among the best in Ireland. Cuthbert came with a game plan in the Spring to play counter-attacking football. It's rumoured, but perhaps not entirely true, that he is a big fan of Brendan Rodgers. If he is then he should know from Liverpool's season that a lack of killer forward is disastrous to your chances. Cork do have that killer forward in O'Neill but cannot get enough ball to him. He and Kerrigan did get some nice points but they were individual efforts. Where was the team interplay? The support? The incision? Once Alan O'Connor was stretchered off (and best wishes to him in his recovery), and Cork's hopes were carried off with him. Even when presented with a golden goal chance the men in red fluffed their lines with Conor Dornan guilty of a terrible miss. Just minutes later Kildare goaled and their game was effectively over. Cork's poor showing was not all down to their limited tactical or player performance. Kildare came in off the back of two decent matches in the qualifiers and Jason Ryan has been to this stage of the All-Ireland before guiding Wexford to a semi famously in 2008. He admitted afterwards that he had studied both Munster finals, but even he must have been surprised at the virtuoso displays from three of his key players. https://twitter.com/chrisocfl/status/625030817153220608 https://twitter.com/chrisocfl/status/625031132258635777 https://twitter.com/chrisocfl/status/625031515852947456 On any occasion you need one or two players to be in top form to beat a top six side. However, Kildare, to be able to count on three key players to perform at their zenith, was a massive boost. Contrast Niall Kelly's performance and service to that of O'Neill. 19 times he was involved in key action as he gathered 1-4. Lively and and always an outlet, Kildare were able to pick him off with direct ball from foot passing. Monaghan showed last week that foot passing over 20-30 metres is a superb way to disrupt a blanket, keep the covers shifting and that's exactly how Kildare beat Cork's additional men behind the ball. The lack of pressure put on the Kildare shooters was almost a sign of more mental than physical tiredness from Cork, but players must also have felt their season was slipping away from before their eyes. The one thing you that hoary old GAA cliché used to tell us was that 'Cork are never beaten until you're home with the Cup' Unfortunately that perhaps is no longer true after this weekend. Time and time again Kildare sliced though Cork in a performance that Cuthbert and his selectors would have hoped to see from his side. Kildare also exploited weariness in the Cork legs by running the ball a lot, but that was made much easier by Cork players not tracking runners, or even attempting to follow the play. Kildare looked a very poor side against Dublin but they do have some quality individuals. Very few Cork players would make a Kildare starting 15 for the All-Ireland Q-final against Kerry this weekend. If the Lilywhites are to cause an upset competing with Maher and Moran's axis of aerial dominance will be key. But their running game and passing will also be crucial. Cork have proved that the Kingdom's defenders are not comfortable with direct attacking. Kildare have the players to cause the All-Ireland champions problems and crucially have the momentum. As for Cork who will be their Donal Óg to call out the weaknesses in the county's football system. They are all too visible. After all Frank Murphy is not just a hurling secretary but the county one.

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