Matthew Twomey: Bright beginning could be key for Cork

Cork camogie manager Matthew Twomey is acutely aware that his team will have to avoid the sluggish start they experienced against Waterford last time out if they are to see off Kilkenny in Sunday's Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship decider.

Twomey’s side failed to register a score until the 25th minute of their semi-final against the Déise, by which time their opponents had built up a five-point advantage.

Waterford led by 0-07 to 0-03 at the interval, but Cork whittled down the lead in the second half and finished with a flourish to run out winners on a 0-15 to 0-10 scoreline.

"We had seen Waterford the week before (v Limerick), they had got great confidence from that win," Twomey said as he reflected on the penultimate round of the championship.

"We knew they were going to come at us. They have some quality forwards. They put us under severe pressure. We had two games against them this year and we struggled in both of them, so we knew what they could bring.

"We weren't happy with our first-half performance. I know it's a cliche, but if we do the same in the final we know it will be over before half-time. We have a lot to work on.

"The players know what they have to do and that the semi-final was just not good enough"

"And there was also the fact that Ashling (Thompson) was missing. And all the hoo-haa surrounding that. We have to readjust ourselves and concentrate on getting a good start. We'll have to get scores on the board.

"We were worried about the last day after 20 minutes. There is no point in saying otherwise. We had leaders on the field but we were wondering where the leadership was. We were panicking on the ball. We were making the wrong runs. We were coming too deep. You are saying to yourself,