Pat Ryan expects Patrick Horgan to be back with Cork in 2025

In a game that had so much, Patrick Horgan moving back to the top of the all-time scoring charts in hurling was only a mere detail.

The man himself has said that he is not focused on his battle with Kilkenny’s TJ Reid, whom he now leads by nine points after scoring 12 in the final.

The Glen Rovers man, who made his Cork debut in 2008, was 36 in May but manager Pat Ryan does not feel that there is any reason why the attacker will not be part of the Rebels’ set-up in 2025.

“I suppose Patrick doesn’t need any plaudits like that,” Ryan said of the record.

“That’s the way he expects to play himself and that’s what he expects so, look, he doesn’t read into, I know people don’t believe it, but he doesn’t actually read into the top-of-the-scoring-charts at all.

“He just chases the whole fact of being able to play hurling with Cork. That is his main aim all the time and Patrick will be back next year ready to go.”

Another of Cork’s veterans, wing-forward Séamus Harnedy, turned 34 last Wednesday but he put in a huge performance, scoring four points from play and unlucky to be denied a goal by a Conor Cleary block that was incorrectly given as a wide rather than a 65.

The St Ita’s man was forced off with two minutes of normal time remaining and was unable to be called upon again in extra time.

“Séamus was just carrying a bit of a hamstring towards the end,” Ryan said, “but, look, disappointed we had to take him off.

“He was having a fantastic game for us, great warrior for us and showed his worth to our team today but he was just carrying a bit of a hamstring, came out in the second half carrying a bit and even got a couple of scores in that situation but couldn’t leave him on, had to take him off.”

Overall, Cork’s inability to raise green flags was costly, Ryan felt.

“We probably didn’t take enough goal chances that we created,” he said.

We probably had another four or five goal chances except for the one that we did take and we needed to take them.

“That was probably where the game lay.”

BAD EXECUTION

That effort that Ryan referred to was Robbie O’Flynn’s chance when Cork led by 1-30 to 3-23, but Eibhear Quilligan pulled off an important save. That, coupled with some wides, was costly.

“Our shot selection was probably right,” Ryan said, “bad execution more than anything.

We had a couple of opportunities to take scores and didn’t take them and at that stage going into that last bit every score was vital. 

"It just gives you that bit of momentum. It was probably played over 100-odd minutes, we just missed too many goal opportunities. We had a couple of great goal opportunities we didn’t take and didn’t give the last final ball better.

“That was probably our undoing.”