Lenihan levels as Cork let it slip away
HAVING led by nine points with 24 minutes remaining, Cork will be disappointed not to have emerged with full points at home to Meath, but they could very easily have lost, too.
A total of 1-6 on the trot from the visitors put them into a 1-14 to 0-16 lead as the end neared, but after Cork moved ahead again, the Royals needed a 75th-minute equaliser from Donal Lenihan to give them a share of the spoils.
Coming into the game on the back of an eight-point loss to Clare a fortnight ago, the result represented slight progress for Cork, but the manner in which the lead was lost was a concern for Rebels manager Peadar Healy, even if the resilience shown was pleasing
‘We just couldn’t get our hands on the ball,’ said Healy at the final whistle.
‘We sat back and we just didn’t go at them. Then for us to go ahead after they had gone ahead showed great bottle by the guys. The last free, it could have gone either way.
‘We should have kicked on, we just seemed to sit back. They got a run on us and when they got the goal, they got momentum.
‘We just couldn’t seem to get our hands on the ball in the middle of the field.
‘We didn’t seem to be winning kick-outs, we didn’t seem to be winning breaks. We just didn’t seem to be breaking the line. We were making silly mistakes like picking the ball up off the ground. There are no excuses at this level. We created chances and we didn’t take them, frees and so on.’
Such is the case when confidence is low, but there were some bright spots in terms of players stepping up to the plate.
‘Well, look, that is where we are at the moment,’ Healy added.
‘They are still battling and they still ground out a result. The likes of Stephen Cronin did well today in fairness, Ruairí Deane and Mark Collins are showing leadership and we need more of that, players grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck.’
After Bryan McMahon opened the scoring for Meath in the second minute, Cork took control and had seven points in a row, with Colm O’Neill very impressive while Collins and Deane showed up well, too.
However, the hosts did need a good block by James Loughrey to deny Meath’s Cillian O’Sullivan.
O’Neill might have netted for Cork on 22 minutes but he pulled his low shot wide, while Peter Kelleher should also have done better with his close-range chance after Meath’s drought ended.
Even so, Cork were good value for their 0-12 to 0-5 half-time advantage and, after Ken O’Halloran denied Lenihan on the resumption, O’Neill extended the lead to nine points.
The rest of third quarter was even and Cork were 0-16 to 0-8 ahead when Paul Kerrigan pointed on 48 minutes before Meath took over from there.
Substitute Éamonn Wallace, Alan Forde and Lenihan had points before corner-back Donal Keogan slotted home his chance from Wallace’s pass and then Reilly and Lenihan levelled.
When sub Seán Tobin sent a boomer over the bar, Meath held the lead for the first time since the opening score.
However, Cork managed to find something again. O’Neill levelled with his ninth point and they looked to have won it when sub Barry O’Driscoll scored, but Lenihan had the final say after Reilly was fouled deep into injury time.
Visiting manager Andy McEntee felt that his team showed a lot of character in the second period.
‘We started going for the ball and we started working,’ he said.
‘We had nobody showing for the ball in the first half, nobody looking to get a tackle in. Cork were waltzing up the field in twos and threes and fours and there was nobody laying a finger on anybody.
‘In the second half, we had a lot of turnovers in our own half and we started winning a couple of physical battles and 50-50 balls.
‘That was the difference. If this team doesn’t play with a particular appetite and work-rate, then we’re pretty bloody poor.
‘I don’t know if a point is good enough in terms of promotion. All we can do is build for Fermanagh next week and try to get ready for that,’ he concluded.