Cork save best for last but still can’t be saved
Diarmuid Sheehan reflects on Cork’s National League campaign and looks for positives and signs of hope amid the debris of a season that ended in relegation to Division 3
CORK dropped down to Division 3 of the NFL last Sunday after probably their best performance of the year – ironic really if you think about it. The side with the worst record in the league up to last weekend finally brought something to the party however the booby prize was delivered by Clare when they beat Tipperary, sending both Tipp and Cork down.
Life in Division 3 now awaits the rebels however there is the small matter of a Munster Championship to prepare for and a meeting with either Limerick or the afore mentioned Tipperary for a place in the showpiece game.
Cork will be feeling quite rough about now so there is no doubt that the break for club month will do all involved no harm at all. History will show that the league in 2019 was a disaster because, what else could you call it? However, there were some positives that can be taken and last Sunday’s display when their backs were to the wall was clearly one of those.
Cork fought hard to stay up and if last Sunday’s display was to be taken as a standalone fixture then they more than deserved to be saved. Add that to almost 50 minutes against Donegal the previous week and the win over Tipperary the week before that and you have a side that were more than capable of playing in Division 2.
Cork have showed plenty in their last three fixtures to suggest that this drop to the third tier might be just a blip however performances will need to improve, and improve fast, if they are to make anything from the rest of the year.
A brace of goals from Brian Hurley show that there is a scoring threat Leeside and that really is one of the main placed that Cork have been failing to impress. The middle third also needs some work but all in all if one was to look back over the last few weeks the displays must be seen as something of an improvement on what went before. Cork’s scoring deficit needs to be addressed from both ends of the pitch as the rebels have conceded far more than the likes of Fermanagh who could have been promoted last weekend if results had gone their way thanks to a much tighter defence than the boys in red.
Ronan McCarthy will need some luck on his side if he is to get this particular Cork side back to winning ways so there is no doubting that he will be putting serious emphasis on the positives and if you look really hard then you too can see them.
HIGH POINT Heading into the game with Tipperary in early March Cork were really up against it. Looking already down and out, the rebels needed a big performance for three very specific reasons. The first was that Cork needed to win to keep any chance of staying up alive. Number was that Cork needed a win to get some kind of return for the effort put in and Number three, and most importantly, to put themselves back at the head of the pack of Munster sides chasing Kerry.
LOW POINT
It is easy to point to the loss in Armagh as the low point but in reality, the loss to Clare earlier in the campaign hurt cork fans more. With all due respect to the Banner Cork should be beating the men in yellow off the park but those days seem to be gone.
Cork were always going to be in trouble when they lost to Clare but the manner of the nine-point loss to a fellow Munster championship side saw a raft of former players lining up to state the obvious – “Cork were now outside the top half” something that had been realised by many for a while but few would speak publically on the fall.
Few in the know held out hope as early as that loss to Clare back in Feb 10ththat Cork would avoid the drop and unfortunately for Rebels fans they were right.
STAND OUT PLAYER From a local stand-point it is hard to ignore the contribution of Matthew Taylor. The Mallow man seems to have made a starting berth for himself ahead of championship time after playing almost every minute of the league campaign and while the campaign itself was fruitless Taylor is getting better all the time.
Ian Maguire also did well this campaign as did Luke Connolly and Mark Collins however in the main this was a side tentative and seemingly afraid to take their chances and they ultimately paid a hefty price last Sunday. MANAGER’S PERFORMANCE
To lay the blame solely at the door of Ronan McCarthy for this year’s exploits is doing the man, the team and Cork football an injustice.
McCarthy has had to deal with a host of injuries, retirements, defections and players out of form in the last season and a half and that, for any manager, is a lot to deal with. The manager has stood firm in his belief that football is a simple game and in the end hard work will pay off and few could argue with that. The issue most people have is with the style of play.
Cork need to attack more and when they do they need to do it with meaning. Cork fans can take losing, what they can’t take is the manner of the losses in recent times. There will inevitably be calls for McCarthy to go after this league but I would rather see the head man throwing caution to the wind and let his players go and play. At least go down fighting.
NEW BLOOD
The numbers have been coming through in the last two seasons however in the main the squad seems to have so deflated that even the most talented newcomers in the county aren’t making the impression many would have been hoping for.
Players of the calibre of Mark White, corner-backs Sam Ryan and Michael McSweeney, wingback Kevin Flahive, midfielder Daniel O’Callaghan and corner-forward Stephen Sherlock have done well in patches in the last year-orso however their effort hasn’t been rewarded on the league table.
Other players such as Cian Kiely, Liam O’Donovan (injured) Kevin Crowley,Cillian O’Hanlon, John O’Rourke and Damien Gore will need time to make their names however with championship coming who knows who we might see. Again, Matthew Taylor is one that has done well since breaking in last season with Sean Powter still looking to get anything like an injury free run to show his undoubted talent.
LONG TERM VIEW Easy to be negative when it comes to Cork football these days but little point in that right now. Cork are on the floor and with Division 3 football on the cards next season and what could be a tough Munster Championship just around the corner few will hold out much hope for the men in red – that said, a good Munster championship with an opening round win and a credible display against