Ollie Canning: Six talking points ahead of Wexford v Cork

Sky Sports GAA pundit Ollie Canning selects six talking points ahead of Saturday's All-Ireland SHC Qualifier between Wexford and Cork.

Defensive concerns

Cork have had a couple of injuries at the back such as Lorcan McLoughlin and Christopher Joyce, and while Brian Murphy is a fantastic player, from the outside that decision to bring him back looks as though Jimmy Barry-Murphy and his backroom team are under serious pressure.

You have to credit Murphy for coming back and he was one of their better performers against Waterford, but that raises concerns about the quality of players who have been training all year.

You also have to ask questions of Barry-Murphy and his management team. Were the instructions clear to the Cork defenders that they had to protect their goal against Waterford?

To be fair, it took Waterford around 20 minutes to score from play but then they rattled in two goals. Both were preventable and the defending for the second goal was unacceptable at this level. Cormac Murphy was caught ball-watching and didn’t track the runner.

Barry-Murphy and the management team would have to hold their hands up and say, ‘did we give these guys clear instructions as to how we structure the team?’

Can Wexford find their groove?

It’s going to be very difficult for Wexford to bounce back from the Kilkenny game in such a short period of time. Kilkenny just ran through them and they didn’t have any answers.

Last year Wexford got into a groove and a got a couple of wins under their belts. And you have to remember that they beat Clare and Waterford, two teams people think will be involved in the latter stages of this year's championship.

I’d love to see them getting back into that free-flowing style but they have to build from the back. Some of their defending against Kilkenny was naive. They had chances to get the ball out of the danger zone but tried to play it around a bit too much instead of getting it clear. You only have to give the Kilkenny forwards a half-chance and inevitably the ball ends up in the net.

Cork communication

The communication and the general structure of the Cork backs and midfield has to be so much better against Wexford. I really felt they were very poor in their last game against Waterford. The fact they knew what Waterford were going to bring to the table – and didn’t react – is probably more alarming than anything else.

Whether it was a lack of communication on the pitch or the sideline against Waterford, it is hugely concerning to see the full-back line to be drawn out the field and for Waterford to create such huge gaps. If they don’t rectify that area on Saturday against Wexford it could be the end of their year.

Generally the two main communicators would be the guys in the centre, Stephen McDonnell and Mark Ellis. They should really be controlling the two lines. For example, if Ellis is being pulled too far up the field he needs to communicate with his wing-backs and midfield to try and compact it a bit.

The same goes for McDonnell is he’s dragged 50 yards out the field; he really needs to communicate with his half-back line and get them to sit back and offer the full-back line some protection.

Key marksman

Conor McDonald is still very young but he has been hurling at the top level for a number of years, and you would hope he’ll get better service from the guys out the field. McDonald may be young but he’s physically strong.

McDonald’s not fussy about the type of ball that comes into him, but the ball has to get in there fast. Liam Dunne will have been telling his players as much. If you let the full-back line set up around these younger players, the more experienced backs will nullify them.

The good thing about McDonald is that he holds the full-forward position very well. I’ve seen him up close in the games we covered for Sky Sports last summer. He stayed on the edge of the square and was patient, and got plenty of scores.

However, the difference last year was that the players out the field chose to go route one and hit direct ball into the full-forward line. Wexford failed to test Joey Holden the last day. Of the little ball went into McDonald, it was generally slow. 

Cork must answer their critics

The Cork players have come in for an awful lot of criticism from their supporters after the second day against Waterford. The most disappointing for them was they felt their side hadn’t learned any lessons from the league final.

The players have a great opportunity to answer their critics on Saturday night though, and give something back to the management team.

Cork have the advantage over Wexford in that they’ve had the chance to go away and reflect on their performance against Waterford. They probably went back hurling with their clubs.

Jimmy Barry-Murphy is a gentleman, he was a great player in his time, and I just feel the Cork players have an opportunity to give something back to the management on Saturday night. And I have a funny feeling they will.

Injury boost

Seamus Harnedy’s return at full-forward is a big boost for Cork. He’s a very good player and could prove to be the difference between the teams on Saturday.

The St Ita’s clubman is comfortable in possession, can take a score, and Cork missed his ball-winning ability against Waterford. He has a few years under his belt and has that bit of extra experience to direct things.

Harnedy’s return may release Patrick Horgan to move further out the field. He was tied up in the last two games and the Cork management didn’t give him the hand he needed by taking him off Noel Connors for 15 or 20 minutes and try to get him on the ball.

Horgan is a serious finisher and will take his score when given a chance, but Harnedy’s return should help him.

Watch Wexford v Cork live on Sky Sports 1 on Saturday from 6.30pm