To up their game

All the good work stopped as Cavan seemed to collectively realise that they may well be in one of the best stadiums in the land, but they weren’t facing one of the best sides in the country.

Cavan cruised away with the next five points and never looked like scoring. To be fair to the victors they could have bagged a few goals, but each time they got in their attacker chose the safe option to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Cork and the other hand started to go for goals, and who could blame them really as the penny seemed to drop that they weren’t going to get the required result by going over the bar.

The three point gap at the finish flattered Cork and, while they may have managed to pull this one from the fire, they most certainly would not have deserved it. Cavan were the better side and they fully deserved the points.

For Cork, well, promotion may not be out of their reach just yet, but it definitely will be if they perform like this again. Cork need to improve and do it fast. Neither the players nor the management will be happy with what transpired last Sunday as all know they are better than that.

To be fair to all concerned there were a few positives on Sunday with some of the substitutes coming in at the break performing well. Mallow’s Matthew Taylor broke forward on a number of occasions and looked to be one of the brighter sparks in the second 35 while John O’Rourke also did well with some tasty scores.

Cork look like they have a reasonable bench, but not for the first time in the last number of years the side that finished the game looked to be much better than the side that started it.

Kiskeam’s Anthony Casey did well on his league debut in goal and looks so far to be a credible backup if required. Ballyclough’s Colm O’Neill also did well enough in spurts however he will feel he has much more to give. To be fair to all concerned there were a few positives on Sunday with some subs performing well

Another local man, Fermoy’s Tomás Clancy was another player that can hold his head up with some good attacking play from wing-back and a last ditch goal saving intervention late on.

All in all, the north Cork contingent showed well last time out but hopefully there will be bigger fish to fry in the coming months for all.

While the daggers aren’t out for heads just yet there was one seemingly unforgivable last Sunday and that for most people was the pitch. After spending ten of millions of Euro on the ground the standard of the pitch, after over a month of inactivity, was a step too far for most.

The pitch needed large amounts of sand to make it playable in areas, while large sways of ground were unable to take anything like a fast turning player. Just unacceptable after spending so much cash.

Hopefully both the pitch and the team will be in better shape when Cork return to Leeside next time round. However, few believe that all niggling issues will be resolved in that short space of time.

That said the Rebels shouldn’t fear a visit to Navan this weekend to take on a Meath side who are struggling even more than they are for form and confidence. Lose on Sunday and Cork can forget pretty much about getting promoted and that should focus the minds.

Verdict: Cork