Mostly Hurling:Cork have questions to answer but Kilkenny must only guard against under-performance, writes JOHN ALLEN

CORK CERTAINLY drew the short straw in trying to reach this year’s All-Ireland final. But the fact remains whoever is crowned champions this season will have to overcome Kilkenny on the way.

“Have we any chance?” was the question I was asked quite frequently in the wake of Cork’s insipid performance against Antrim. The only realistic answer then was: “No”.

“But we’re Cork and we have often won against the odds”, or “There’s a big game in us yet”, or “We’ve nothing to lose, the pressure is all on the Cats”, or “Cody won’t like playing Cork”, they argued.

I don’t think the arguments would stand up in any court where fact is required, though. There’s more than a hint of clutching at straws, short or otherwise, in these hypotheses.

There were a few more straws evident on Saturday evening after Down had defeated football champions Kerry and then Dublin came along and out-Tyroned and outscored Tyrone.

“Anything can happen”, “Look what happened Kerry and Tyrone”, “It’s a two-horse race”, “It’s a one off occasion”, the opinions then ran.

Okay, of course anything can happen in a two-horse race. The bookmakers aren’t in the habit of releasing the grip on their euros too easily and they have Kilkenny installed as raging-hot favourites in this particular two-horse race. “Put down seven euro”, they say, “and we’ll give you one back”.

Very generous odds indeed.

On the argument of comparing Kilkenny to Kerry, well, they (Kilkenny) too might be a little vulnerable if they have to play, like Kerry, without six of last year’s starting 15.

So, if they start on Sunday without PJ Ryan, man of the match in the 2009 final, Tommy Walsh, who is on the short list for player of the year again this year, All Star midfielder Michael Rice, unfortunately injured, Richie Hogan, who was very impressive when introduced in the second half of the Leinster final, super forward Eoin Larkin and equally impressive full forward Richie Power, then Cork might have a chance.

The facts are, though, they’ll start Sunday with most of those players and a line of subs any team would be more than happy to see sitting on their bench.

Unlike Kerry, they have won their championship games this year pulling up.

Is there a big game in Cork yet?

Well, we didn’t see the performance against Tipperary coming so there’s always the chance. But this is Kilkenny, a seasoned, all-conquering group of brilliant individuals who have been moulded together into an exceptional team by outstanding management. This team has proved itself time and time again over the past five seasons.

On any given Sunday, one or two of their forwards grab the limelight. Henry Shefflin and Tommy Walsh are constants. JJ Delaney isn’t far behind. Jackie Tyrell is fast becoming a great player. Richie Power shows enough at times to be touted as the new Henry.

However, they haven’t reached the heights yet (I stress the word yet) this year. Their accuracy against Galway wasn’t the greatest. They didn’t have their best team (at least not in the best positions) on the field against Dublin. They failed to cope with Galway’s intensity in the last quarter of this year’s league game between the sides.

They’ve had a five week lay-off which might be a disadvantage.

But Cork would need all the variables on their side if they are to have a chance.

First and foremost, they will need the performance of a lifetime from each of their 20 players. I’m not convinced they have that many players who can hurl at Kilkenny’s intensity.

Bypassing the Cats’ half-back line is crucial. From experience, we know they tend to play their positions in spite of any tactical planning from the opposition.

Dropping puck-outs into this area is hurling suicide, but Dónal Óg Cusack is well aware of this.

There’s a kind of a general acceptance on Leeside Cork are well capable from one to nine. There needs to be a realisation, however, that Shane O’Neill has been injured for the past three weeks and Seán Óg Ó hAilpín and Jerry O’Connor (who doesn’t start), have also been on the physio’s table for a number of weeks. At full back, Eoin Cadogan found John Mullane difficult to deal with and Richie Power could be equally as trying.

But the major concern, of course, is the make-up and performance of the forwards. Kieran Murphy played well against Antrim at centre forward, but has struggled in the other games. Michael Cussen hasn’t impressed, and can consider himself extremely fortunate to get a starting jersey on Sunday, in my opinion.

Patrick Horgan was replaced in both Munster final games and looked to be lacking confidence when introduced against Antrim. Aisake Ó hAilpín also hasn’t hit the heights since the Tipperary game. Niall McCarthy has been their only consistent forward.

The cold facts are the forwards just haven’t been creating or scoring enough chances.

The 50-50 refereeing decisions will have to fall on Cork’s side. An early goal for the Leesiders might help to create a sense of doubt in the Noresiders’ minds.

But confidence, at the individual level cant be high in the Cork camp. And confidence is a prerequisite to any chance of optimum performance.

The only possible area of concern for Brian Cody in the build-up is the psychological one.

It’s been a while since Kilkenny faced Cork as such overwhelming favourites.

This perceived position of dominance could precipitate an underperformance, which could be very difficult to emerge from if Cork could manage to seize the initiative from the off.

Cork certainly have nothing to lose and their old dogs will stay on the hard road for as long as possible but Kilkenny have to be favoured to make it to their fifth All-Ireland final in a row.