Johnny Crowley gives honest reflection as Sarsfields flatter to deceive on the big day

The highs of sport are incredible. All-Ireland finals are to be savoured. They are days that you do not forget, win or loss. But winning is what you aim for. It’s what you crave.

Yesterday was Na Fianna’s day, and they’ll savour it for some time. But the highs of victory aren’t what they are without the lows of defeat.

It’s now one of those days for Sars, bitter disappointment. Left empty handed.

But amidst that defeat, a graceful Johnny Crowley reflected honestly on their performance.

“Never got going really,” he began. “I think Cathal [McCarthy]’s chance in the very first minute would have set something for us.

“That turnover probably gave them a huge kick and we just seemed second best for large periods of the first half and ultimately in fairness to them they took their opportunities.

“Their accuracy and their striking was very, very good. Yeah, a tough one to take.

“We made an awful lot of fundamental errors, which is unusual for us – handling, picking, striking. I think we had seven or eight wides in the first half.

It is just hugely disappointing, unfortunately in this brilliant game we play, there is a winner and a loser.

We’re the losers today which is hard to take. They’re singing down in the dressing-room there which is great for them.” 

While ultimately Sars didn’t reach the levels expected of themselves, there were elements of the game that were a credit to Na Fianna. They came with a plan and executed it to perfection and deserved the win.

“Our half-back line maybe went too far forward and exposed our full-back line. I think it was further up the field – that middle third – we didn’t get a handle on at all.

ANSWERS

“You try to find answers, you trust your team too,” he explained. “Which we do. They’re an amazing bunch; they’ve brought us on an amazing journey.

“You’re just waiting for the tide to turn, one tackle, one hit or that something to ignite the whole thing. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to come.

"We lost our shape completely towards the last 10 of the first half.

“Going in 11 or 12 down at half time, we had a massive mountain to climb. But credit to the boys, they stuck at it. I think we might have won the second half by three or four points.

“We couldn’t get that goal either. To be fair to them, Na Fianna were watertight at the back, we just couldn’t seem to find any gaps in there.” 

Even with the result far from what Crowley and his team hoped for, there’s still a lot they can be proud of. They’ve been the best team in Cork far and away for the past two seasons.

There’s no question about that. While that doesn’t count for much now – it will in time.

“It’s well documented being beaten in a county final was bitterly disappointing. But in fairness to the lads, we got back on our horse again, we’ve had an amazing three months,” Crowley said. “I think the club and community, everybody got behind us.

“I have to say it’s been an amazing run up to the final for kids and families. It’s kind of shortened what is normally a dull month of January, has been nothing but joy and happiness below in Sars.

But this is going to be hard to take. 

"To be fair to that group of lads, we’ve won a lot.

“We’ve won two leagues, we’ve won a county, we’ve won Munster. We’ve got to an All-Ireland final, we’ve been beaten in a county final.

“We’ve come a long way from two years ago; not getting out of a group in Cork to sitting here in front of ye reporters, being bitterly disappointed.

“But when the days start rolling on [and] you look back, we’ve done a hell of a lot right too.”