Worrying times for the Cork footballers

THE pressure was on in what was a huge Allianz Division 2 football league encounter last Saturday at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh and in the end Cork suffered a third defeat from the first three games.

The Rebels knew what was at stake as they took on a dangerous Cavan side, and so it proved with the Ulster side prevailing by a point, 0-17 to 0-16. The second half performance and result will take some time to digest.

The eerie silence once referee Brendan Griffin called for full-time said it all. The vast majority of the small crowd of 3,533 would have gone home worried with that sick feeling in their stomachs with relegation now a possibility whether we like it or not.

It was a game that had everything, breathless stuff, but ultimately the Leesiders didn’t dig deep enough to pick up the two league points. Similar to the previous game against Louth, the match was there for the Rebels if they really wanted it, but once again it slipped through their fingers. What will really worry manager John Cleary and his selectors, is that they led 0-11 to 0-8 at half-time on Saturday after kicking the last four points of the half, but they were second best after the interval.

Albeit, Luke Fahy did get sent off ten minutes into the second half after picking up a yellow card having got a black card in the opening 35 minutes, the game was starting to get away from the home side before Fahy's dismissal. Cavan came out of the dressing room a different team and their ability to win the dirty ball proved crucial, something Cork had done well on in the first half.

Cavan were reduced to 14 players too with minutes remaining, but they defended very well late on and the celebrations from their camp showed how much the win meant to them. Steven Sherlock did have a close range free right at the death with two points in it, and his powerful shot was tipped over the bar by a number of Cavan players in a crowded box. It would have taken something magical for the ball to have ended up in the back of the net.

No points after three games, it’s the worst possible start to the season for Cleary and his charges. The Páirc was bouncing last summer after the Rebels beat Roscommon in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final in front of a crowd of over 15,000 people. That was supposed to have been the turning point. The performances and most importantly the results so far in the league this year will be a concern for the management. Are they capable of turning it around? There is no doubt about it, but Cleary admitted in his post-match press conference at the weekend that the heads are down.

Fermanagh away this Sunday at 2pm at St Joseph’s Park in Ederney. Can Cork win? Yes, but they also were favourites against Louth and Cavan respectively. Hold on tight. All bets are off.