Cork boss Shane Ronayne: Our ball skills weren't great in Armagh loss

THERE was major disappointment for Cork as they lost out to Armagh in their Lidl Ladies NFL clash at Páirc Ui Rinn on Sunday.

Cork were never in front in this tie, having fallen behind to a third-minute penalty before losing by 1-8 to 1-6.

They had their chances and will rue missed opportunities, particularly in the second half when they hit seven wides. Afterward, Cork manager Shane Ronayne was disappointed with some of their play but also admitted they hadn’t much pitch work done yet.

“I just thought our ball skills weren’t great, our hand passing wasn't great in the first half. I suppose we tidied up a bit on that in the second half and then our shooting wasn't great,” said Shane.

“But to be fair to Armagh they were very sharp. They moved the ball very well, their handling was excellent. And look, they deserved the win.

“We're working very hard on other things at the moment and that's not making excuses because I still think you know we should be better than what we were today. We expected to win the game today, but we didn't, and look we're disappointed.

“But it's only January 28, I suppose at the end of the day. 

It does put a little bit of pressure on us regarding the league. I think teams are going to take points off each other, so it's gonna be a real dogfight.

“It’s turning a bit like the men’s Division 1. Monaghan celebrated after beating the Dubs and Derry celebrated after beating Kerry in Tralee.

“The Derry players wanted to play because, you know, it's so hard to get points. All these points are important. And look we have three points gone today. We move on to next week, we know we will have to be way, way sharper next week. Are we going to get a lot sharper in a week, we're not. But I hope we can go up maybe up five or 10% and hopefully we can give Kerry a game next Monday.

RUSTY

“I can't question the attitude of the players and their work-rate today, it’s the football skills that we have very little work done on the pitch and look hopefully today’s game will bring on a few of them as well.

“This was a real game of football and last Sunday was a bit of a lottery, so there was a lot of players out there playing their first proper league game, a full 60 minutes. I think they’ll learn a lot from today, they're very disappointed with themselves.

“They know they have to be better. So look, I think that's a good thing. We have a lovely squad there, we know that. Is today a reflection of how good or bad they are? No, it's not. But, you know, we just didn't play and that's the way life goes."