Patrick Horgan’s setting scoring records again but everyone must step up in Croke Park

PATRICK Horgan heads to Croke Park next weekend one white flag short of the 700-point tally and level with TJ Reid as the top-scorer of all time.

With Reid in action on Saturday afternoon against Clare, Hoggie won’t be the first forward to break that barrier but that won’t be his priority at all anyway. Limerick are raging favourites to power towards five in a row, especially with the added motivation of the recent loss to Cork which sparked scenes of wild celebration in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Horgan will be willing to do whatever it takes to stun the Treaty again. Despite making his debut off the bench against Tipperary in 2008, the veteran attacker is aiming to win just his third All-Ireland semi-final.

He pounced for the decisive goal in 2013 victory over Dublin and rattled over 0-6 from play in the 2021 extra-time defeat of Kilkenny, but there have been more bad days than good on Jones Road. 

The Rebels were outclassed by Kilkenny in the 2008 and ’10 semis, outmuscled by Galway in 2012 and lost as Munster champions in ’14, to Tipp, ’17 to Waterford, and ’18 in the famous extra-time epic with Limerick. Cork were also beaten by Kilkenny in an All-Ireland quarter-final in Croker in 2019. A grim record but that’s the harsh reality when you haven’t lifted Liam MacCarthy in 19 years.

At 36 years of age, every game Horgan plays in Rebel red could be his last. That doesn’t mean he’ll be heading into retirement this winter whatever the result against the Treaty. But given his longevity, we just don’t know.

The Glen talisman was Cork’s leading marksman in the league and championship yet again in 2024. He’s amassed 5-57 in the last six games, 3-10 from play.

There has been a decent scoring spread across Pat Ryan’s side, with Darragh Fitzgibbon (0-19), Shane Barrett (2-13) and Alan Connolly (4-7) all level with Horgan in terms of scores from play. Connolly also has a couple of frees from the latter stages of the Waterford win and is due a big display after being held by Offaly and Dublin.

Barrett and Fitzgibbon have been Cork’s two best players in championship, with the former making the number 11 geansaí his own having been on the fringes of the team last summer.

Seamus Harnedy has been as consistent as ever across this campaign, to the tune of 1-12 having sat out the trip to Offaly.

Of course to beat Limerick, Cork will need absolutely everything to go right on July 7 and more than just Horgan to shoulder the scoring burden.

CORK CHAMPIONSHIP SCORERS 2024:

Patrick Horgan 5-57 (1-43 f, 1-0 pen, 0-4 65);

Alan Connolly 4-9 (0-2 f);

Shane Barrett 2-13;

Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-19;

Declan Dalton 0-17 (0-9 f);

Seamus Harnedy 1-12;

Brian Hayes 1-7;

Shane Kingston 0-7;

Robbie O’Flynn 1-3;

Robert Downey 1-2;

Conor Lehane 0-3;

Niall O’Leary; Luke Meade 0-2 each;

Ger Millerick; Mark Coleman; Tim O’Mahony; Ciarán Joyce; Ethan Twomey 0-1 each.