NO SECOND CHANCE FOR CORK
DINNY ALLEN has described the prospect of Cork crashing out of the Championship after just one game as “scary”.
It follows yesterday’s Munster Championship draw which pairs Ronan Mccarthy’s side with All-ireland finalists Kerry at the provincial semi-final stage.
Special Congress takes place at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Saturday week and will vote on tier two proposals which seek to prevent Division Three and Division Four counties from taking part in the qualifiers – unless they reach their provincial final.
Cork start 2020 in Division Three having been relegated earlier this year and, for all they’ve improved in the meantime, it’s still a tall order to reach the Munster final with Kerry blocking their path.
If the tier two motion is passed, a decision will then be made on whether to classify counties on their standing before or after the 2020 League but, either way, Cork are in real danger of their All-ireland campaign ending abruptly after just one game.
Allen, who captained Cork to All-ireland glory in 1989, said: “You’re losing a match then and you’re losing your whole status as well.
“Cork are involved in it but I don’t know if that is a good idea long-term either. I hope it doesn’t come in to be honest.
“That’s a scary kind of a thing, if we didn’t beat Kerry Waterford Limerick (1)
Clare Tipperary (2) Winners 1 v Winners 2
Cork v Kerry we wouldn’t play any other match after it.
“I know we’re in the third division now but leave a team to sink or swim at that and claw your way out of it over a period of a year rather than over a period of one match against
Kerry.”
Cork played five games in this year’s Championship having reached the ‘Super 8s’ and earned plaudits for their displays against Kerry, Dublin and Tyrone. They appear to have turned a corner under Mccarthy (inset).
“I was worried about the last two or three years,” said Allen.
“I’m not saying this is true like, but they appeared from the sideline that they weren’t trying their heart out.
“People were talking about tactics and this and that and everything but I thought that we weren’t facing up to reality. It is an old-fashioned word, but basically getting stuck into the opposition but like, finally, against Kerry it definitely came good and they performed well. There’s a bit of an optimism there now. “We didn’t look like we were going anywhere whereas now we’re going somewhere and it’s a long way off at this stage but we should be closing New York Gakway (1)
London R’common (2)
Mayo Leitrim (3) Winners (1) v Sligo
Winners (3) v
Winners (2) the gap on them [Kerry] at least and maybe there might be a surprise on the horizon as well.”
The way the draw has shaped up, it presents an opportunity for one of Munster’s lesser lights to reach the final with the winners of the Tipperary-clare and Limerick-waterford ties facing off in the other semi-final.
Tipperary are also in Division Three next year and so are in a similar predicament to Cork but their route to a Munster final is much more negotiable, as is the case for Waterford and Limerick (both Division Four), while Clare (Division Two) could yet get dragged into the tier two mire.
In Connacht, it appears as though Roscommon will have to go through both Mayo and Galway again in 2020 if they are to retain the title for the first time since 1991.