Expert view: Alan Browne interview
September 28, 2013
Alan Browne with the Munster trophy during his Cork playing days ©INPHO/Patrick Bolger
Alan, who is one of three brothers to win All-Ireland medals with Cork, retired from inter-county hurling shortly after that loss, but continued to line out for his beloved Blackrock until 2011 and was involved with the Rockies as a selector this year. He won his solitary All-Ireland medal in 1999 when coming off the bench to score in the Rebels' dramatic 0-13 to 0-12 final victory over Kilkenny.
Ironically, his business partner and St. Finbarr's clubman Kevin Murray (together they run Murray Browne Auctioneers in Cork city) also chipped in with a vital point after replacing team captain Mark Landers in the second half.
"There are huge similarities between the current team and the '99 team," the former star full forward points out.
"History has repeated itself in the sense that Jimmy Barry-Murphy has come in and built a new team. There was a big clear-out after he took over in the mid-1990s in the same way as there was a big clear-out when he returned to the manager's position last year. We were the youngest Cork team ever to win an All-Ireland in '99 and hopefully the present team can replicate that achievement on Saturday.
"People were saying it was a disaster when we relegated in the league earlier this year, but it's easy to forget that we were also relegated in 1996, got promoted out of Division 2 in '97 and won the league title in '98. When you consider that Cork and Clare contested the relegation final earlier this year, it's obvious that league form hasn't counted for much in this year's championship."
In the drawn All-Ireland final three weeks ago, Clare had Cork on the back-foot for much of the game, yet the Rebels came within seconds of snatching victory thanks to three second half goals and a late Patrick Horgan point which briefly gave them the lead for the only time in the game. Despite being denied by Domhnall O'Donovan's last-gasp equaliser, Browne feels Cork were the more relieved to get a second chance.
"Cork can count themselves lucky to be still in it. They will be delighted to have another opportunity," he maintains.
"It would have been daylight robbery if they had won, and I think the Cork fellas quickly realised that afterwards. The goals got them out of jail. Clare were the better team for most of the game so, from a Cork perspective, it's great to get another chance to try to rectify things.
"They will know themselves that they didn't do themselves justice and are lucky they have had to wait only three weeks to make amends. Some teams would have to wait two or three years to get that chance again. Others mightn't get the chance at all.
"Any game that ends in a draw is an anti-climax for the fans, but it's a huge chance again for the Cork players. Clare should really have been out of sight with 10 or 15 minutes to go."
While he's at a loss to explain why Cork found themselves playing second fiddle for much of the drawn game, Browne takes encouragement from the never-say-die attitude displayed by Jimmy Barry-Murphy's charges.
"Whether it was nerves or what, I don't know," he says.
"There were too many balls fumbled, which isn't like Cork at all. Apart from Anthony Nash, Shane O'Neill, Conor O'Sullivan in patches, Seamus Harnedy and Patrick Horgan, Cork didn't have many good performances. The rest will know they can do better.
"Patrick Cronin will be very disappointed with how he played. He was expected to be one of Cork's main aerial threats and ball winners, but it just didn't happen for him. The fact that he had pneumonia earlier in the year wouldn't have helped, but it speaks volumes for his character that he was able to pop up with that brilliant goal at the end.
"Cork were criticised for not being able to score goals going into the final, but they ended up scoring three and that is very encouraging. Maybe they were taking the easy option by popping the ball over the bar in the earlier rounds, but when the pressure was on them, they were able to get three and that's a great sign in a team."
While acknowledging that Cork have the greater scope for improvement, Alan doesn't envisage Clare being any less inferior to what they were three weeks ago. If anything, he expects them to be an even more difficult nut to crack following their successful retention of the All-Ireland U21 crown a fortnight ago.
"There is definitely room for improvement in Cork and I don't expect them to be as poor again," he continues.
"They have had three weeks to work on things and to look at the opposition closely. For them to win, their first touch needs to be bang on. For whatever reason, it wasn't up to scratch in the drawn game.
"Whereas 12 or 13 of the Clare team played well, only four or five of the Cork lads played up to standard. Cork will need everyone to play well this time because I can see 12 or 13 of the Clare lads being on their game again. Clare have proved that they aren't a flash in the pan, that they're consistent and that they're getting better with every game.
"Winning the U21 will have given them a huge boost. If they had lost it, it would have been harder for them to get up for this replay."
Alan expects Jimmy Barry-Murphy to have his homework done on the Banner. He also expects a more tactical affair this weekend.
"Having played under Jimmy, I know he will have studied Clare closely and will have a trick or two up his sleeve for the replay. He has massive experience and knows the game inside out. He doesn't go into the science of the game too much. The key to his success is players buying into his system. If you have speed and skill, you will get on his team.
"Everyone in Cork was surprised by Clare not employing a sweeper system the last day. I was even more surprised by them not reverting to it in the last 15 minutes when Cork were coming back at them. But it made for a very exciting game which saw both teams go man-for-man. However, I'd be very surprised if tactics don't play a bigger part the next day."
The Blackrock man has no issue with James McGrath being appointed referee for the replay. The Westmeath official will take charge of his second successive All-Ireland final replay, despite coming in for severe criticism for sending off Patrick Horgan in Cork's Munster final loss to Limerick. The Glen Rovers forward was dismissed after his hurl made connection with Paudie O'Brien's helmet, but had his red card overturned on appeal.
"That's long forgotten… water under the bridge," Alan insists.
"Patrick shouldn't have been sent off and it was rectified afterwards. Sometimes you get these decisions, other times you don't. Cork benefitted from Henry Shefflin being sent off in the Kilkenny game. Referees shouldn't come into it at this level.
"The one gripe I would have with them is that maybe they are becoming too strict. Even Brian Gavin - who usually lets the play flow - was pulling players a lot in the drawn game. I'd like to see a bit more common sense being used. It doesn't always have to be to the letter of the law."
Browne's inter-county spanned from 1995 until 2003, during which he won All-Ireland, Munster, Allianz League and Railway Cup honours. His older brother Richard claimed an All-Ireland medal in 1986, while younger brother John is the holder of two Celtic Crosses which he garnered in 1999 and 2004. Richard and John are both dentists.
At club level, Alan won Cork SHC medals in 1999, 2001 and 2002. His performance against divisional side Imokilly in the 2001 decider was one of the greatest ever given by any player with the powerfully-built forward accounting for 3-8 of Blackrock's tally of 4-8.
This year, he served as a selector under his brother John as the Rockies reached the fourth round of the Cork SHC a fortnight ago, only to lose to an injury-time Ballymartle goal. The game was able to take place as only Ballymartle goalkeeper Darren McCarthy - who is understudy to Anthony Nash - is involved with the Cork panel at present. Tweet
