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Cork . . . . . . . . . . 4-18 Laois . . . . . . . . . . 0-7 The Corkman HAVING finished the first-half a point in front, it was always on the cards that Cork, due to resume with the aid of a stiff wind, would collect the brace of points at stake in this Allianz National Hurling League clash with Laois at Portlaoise on Sunday 18th February 2001. But the ease with which Cork dictated matters after the break could hardly have been anticipated, given that the home side had performed with admirable spirit during the opening period and, with better use of their chances, they would have been more favourably positioned at the interval. Laois hit five bad wides in quick succession coming up to half-time, with David Cuddy, ironically the losers' most impressive forward, shooting the last four, two of which came from frees. Such prodigality did nothing to boost Laois confidence as they trotted out for the second-half, and a brace of early Cork goals from Kevin Murray and Joe Deane served to hasten their demise in a contest which provided little in the way of entertainment for the paltry attendance on a bitterly cold afternoon. In truth, Laois offered little more than token resistance after that, and looked a sorry sight as Cork mercilessly piled on the punishment, stretching the gap to eleven points before corner-forward Colm Cleere opened the Leinster men's second-half account in the 43rd minute. It was another seventeen minutes before Laois scored again, through a David Cuddy free, and by then Cork, aided by further goals from Seanie McGrath and Deane, had put a massive 4-15 on the board. Two points from Kevin Murray and another from substitute Gerry O'Connor completed the rout, and, in the end, Cork's victory was every bit as comprehensive as the final scoreline suggests. It was no real test for the Rebels, who, with Neil Ronan coming in as a late replacement for the injured Fergal McCormack at left half-forward, lined out with just ten of the team shocked by Offaly in last year's All-Ireland semi-final. Only two of the Cork players, Mike Morrissey and Mark Prendergast, were making their league debut, however, and both acquitted themselves well, with Morrissey, in particular, working effectively on the 40 throughout. The big Newtownshandrum man made the opening for Cork's first point, scored by Timmy McCarthy, and he bagged the second himself following a typically strong run through the heart of the Laois defence in the 10th minute. Ben O'Connor, fed by Pat Mulcahy, inched Cork ahead for the first time, 0-3 to 0-2, less than a minute later, and even at that early stage, there was a sense of inevitability about the outcome. The Cork defence, with Mulcahy especially influential at centre-back, looked well-equipped to cope with the best that the Laois forwards could come up with, and such as wing-backs Wayne Sherlock and Seán Og O hAilpín and corner-back John Browne were others to regularly catch the eye in front of dependable custodian Donal Og Cusack during the opening exchanges. Meanwhile, Ben O'Connor made a good start too at midfield, but, apart from Mike Morrissey and, to a lesser extent, Timmy McCarthy on the right wing, the Cork forwards found the going tough early on against a Laois defence in which Des Killeen, Seamus Dooley and Jerry O'Sullivan were especially resolute in the full-back line. Neil Ronan had the facility to beat his marker on the left wing, but he tended to overplay the ball when in possession and many promising Cork attacks broke down as a consequence. It would be fair to say that the general quality of the service to the Cork's inside line of attack left a bit to be desired during the opening quarter, although Seanie McGrath underlined his potential when, gaining possession for the very first time, he picked off a good point to push the visitors 0-5 to 0-3 ahead inside 17 minutes. Laois went on to enjoy their best spell after that, however, with centre-back Paul Cuddy faring better against Mike Morrissey, and Joe Phelan also coming more into the picture against Ben O'Connor at midfield. Points from David Cuddy, from a free, and centre-forward Jack O'Shea brought them back on terms after 20 minutes, and, with Cuddy regularly roaming out from the edge of the square to elude the attentions of Diarmuid O'Sullivan, they created the better opportunities as the first-half drew to a close. After Cuddy failed to convert a long-range free for Laois, however, the hard-working Timmy McCarthy was fouled, allowing Joe Deane to restore the advantage to Cork in the 24th minute. Jack O'Shea then missed an easy chance for Laois, and four more wides followed from Cuddy which meant that Cork turned over with a somewhat flattering 0-6 to 0-5 lead at the break. All the indications were that Laois had it all to do against the wind in the second-half, and their prospects plunged after Cork full-forward, Kevin Murray, collected a probing lob by Timmy McCarthy to fire in the game's opening goal within two minutes of the restart. Mike Morrissey quickly added a point before a superbly-struck Derek Barrett side-line ball was deftly touched home by Joe Deane in the 40th minute. That was enough to cause the Laois resistance to crumble completely, and it was merely exhibition stuff from Cork in the remaining time. Picking off their scores with monotonous ease and regularity, Cork had smoothly forged into a 2-15 to 0-6 lead before Seanie McGrath finished a long delivery by substitute Micky O'Connell to the net in the 61th minute. Great work by team skipper Ben O'Connor led to another Cork goal from Joe Deane two minutes later, and it was obvious that the final whistle couldn't come quickly enough for the demoralised Laois men at that stage. It was a highly efficient Cork performance overall, but so feeble was the Laois challenge, that coach Tom Cashman and his co-selectors won't have learned a whole lot from it. Nevertheless, they are bound to be encouraged by the form shown by Pat Mulcahy and Mike Morrissey at centre-back and centre-forward respectively while the commanding play of full-back Diarmuid O'Sullivan, and the impact made by Seanie McGrath, Kevin Murray and Joe Deane in the full-forward line, in the second-half were other especially satisfying aspects of this facile win. Scorers CORK;
D Og Cusack, M Prendergast, D O'Sullivan, J Browne, W Sherlock, P Mulcahy, S Og O hAilpín, D Barrett, B O'Connor, T McCarthy, M Morrissey, N Ronan, S McGrath, K Murray, J Deane.
LAOIS;
J Lyons, D Killeen, S Dooley, J O'Sullivan, R Delaney, P Cuddy, P Mahon, C Cuddy, J Phelan, R Jones, J O'Shea, D Conroy, C Cleere, D Cuddy, F O'Sullivan.
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