Cork minor football manager Ray O'Mahony backs team to bounce back against Dublin

While there was disappointment for Cork in last Friday’s Electric Ireland Munster MFC final, manager Ray O’Mahony has full confidence in the ability of his side to bounce back.

The Rebels face Leinster champions Dublin in tomorrow’s All-Ireland quarter-final in UPMC Nowlan Park (1pm). Goals were the difference against Kerry in Tralee, with Cork losing by 2-10 to 0-11 – three weeks previously, it was a similar scenario they had had a Munster quarter-final victory over the same opposition by 2-12 to 0-14.

Ultimately, O’Mahony feels that the game came down to small moments.

“Having had time to reflect on the game and look at the stats, there’s absolutely nothing between the two teams,” he says.

“On Friday night, the wides were the same and the possession counts were the same, give or take three or four. 

The scoring efficiencies over the 60 minutes, we were actually three or four percent better.

“There were a couple of moments in that game – poor defending for the second goal, an error for the first one and we could have potentially scored 2-4 at the start of the second half but had a return of a point.

“Even if we got half of that, we were in the game but the game turned on moments and maybe we didn’t get as much of a return as we would have liked from our bench.

“Overall, we were delighted with the performance and, as a group, we just put closure on Friday night and move forward now to the game against Dublin on Saturday.”

Looking at things in that regard, O’Mahony believes that there will be a strong response from the squad, with the focus firmly on what lies ahead rather than what has happened.

“It’s a bit strange after losing a Munster final,” he says.

“While there is some pain and disappointment, there was something telling me that there is more to come with this group.

They know they performed and those small little things are the difference – it was very similar to the senior game the following day.

“Those are the fine margins that get you over the line or don’t get you over it. We’ve a week between the two games to prepare for the next challenge and, once you get out of Munster, it’s different style of football.

“Dublin are an attacking outfit with a very strong forward unit and we’re preparing for that challenge that we’ll face on Saturday.

“I think we’re ready to go again, the lads’ mindset is right again.”

FAMILIAR

The game has an added dimension for O’Mahony – while he is now attached to Éire Óg, he is a native of Dublin. The teams have experienced each other already this year, but Saturday will be different.

“I’d keep in contact with a lot of the Dublin people,” he says, “even though I’m down here a good few years.

“I’d have contacts up there and they’d be cagey in what they say to me and I’d be cagey in what I say to them! That’s the way it goes and it’s the nature of the beast.

“We’ve played Dublin twice over the last couple of months and we’ve got to know each other but, in saying that, Saturday is championship. The previous games, we were both trying fellas to see if they were up for it and they were friendlies, essentially.

“This is the heat of battle now, this game is winner-take-all and if we do that, we move on; if we don’t get over the line, the journey is over.

The lads know what’s required now to take on this Dublin team.”

When it comes down to it, these are the games to be involved in.

“It’s a great opportunity,” O’Mahony says.

“With the structure of the minor championship now, once you get into a provincial final you’re guaranteed to get into the All-Ireland series but once you get to this stage, you’ve one life left.

“There’s no more back doors after this game and it’s about the lads putting in a good shift again – matching the work-rate and the intensity of what they did last Friday, maybe being a bit more clinical and maybe we’ll have to change tactics a small bit as well."