Cork U20 football manager Ray O'Mahony very happy with his side's performance in win over Tipp

IT was expected to be a tricky game when you weighed everything up, but the Cork U20 footballers made light work of Tipperary in their opening game of the Munster championship at Fethard Town Park yesterday evening. 

The Rebels were comfortable winners on a scoreline of 0-14 to 0-7 in round 1 of phase 2 of the competition. The Premier County already had three championship games under their belt after a draw with Limerick before wins over Clare and Waterford in phase 1.

There was no rustiness or lack of an understanding between the players considering it was a new look Cork team with just three players that started the Munster final defeat to Kerry last year in the starting 15 in this one. For manager Ray O’Mahony, in his first competitive game in charge, it was a good evening’s work.

“You’re always going to be a bit apprehensive on the first day out and whether the occasion would get to the lads,” he said.

“Overall, on the 4G here in Fethard, I thought we were well worth our victory. We could have been out of sight at half-time to be honest. A few very good goal chances that we didn’t convert but the lads did really well out there. We engineered a few marks, transitioned the ball very well out of defence and moved the ball fast. We were excellent at times.

“Our point taking was sublime. We have been working on our efficiency over the last number of weeks and the trajectory is going in the right direction in terms of what we are converting. Then in defence, I thought we largely nullified Tipperary’s dangermen. We got our matchups right.

“I thought Mark Óg O’Sullivan from Bantry was outstanding today, really kept the defence intact. David Buckley our centre-back was excellent, he was like a fella that played in that position for years on his first championship start for the U20s.” 

It’s a quick turnaround with Kerry up next for the second outing in the round-robin format next Wednesday at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh at 7pm and despite the Tipp game being a rather straightforward contest, it was still a physical game at times and it was played on a 4G pitch, which is obviously different to a grass pitch.

Also, it just shows the strength in depth that Cork possess when you look at the bench. A good problem for the boss.

“I haven’t spoken to the medical team yet, but it looks like we have no injuries to report for the next match but we will assess everything now over the next couple of days. It’s not ideal playing on a 4G but the lads coped well with it. Today, we had 36 players to pick from so hopefully it will be the same situation for next week. The competition for places is fierce which is a huge positive.” O’Mahony concluded.