Cork football faithful take solace in great performance but chance for a breakthrough win was missed

A non-Corkonian contacted me during the Cork v Kerry Munster football championship game on Saturday and commented 'while it would be funny if ye win, does it matter?' 

It mattered! Or at least it would have.

The point being made, of course, was that as the game was not a knockout tie, a defeat would not have hurt Kerry too much. Nor would a win suddenly turn Cork into All-Ireland contenders...

Fair enough, but the point completely missed was the fact that this rivalry, at least from a Cork perspective, needed a Rebel victory. 

LONG WAIT

A Cork win would have shown signs of life in Cork football and now after the agonising two-point defeat, they will have to wait another 12 months to bring the Kingdom down, unless they clash again later in the championship.

It is only four years since Cork suffered their heaviest-ever championship defeat at the hands of their neighbours when succumbing to a sickening 4-22 to 1-9 defeat in July 2021.  Eight of the players involved that day in Killarney saw action on Saturday night. 

A victory certainly would have mattered for those eight players, but alas, it was not to be.

Twelve months after that record defeat Cork lost by 12 in the next meeting but they were only out to avoid humiliation that night as the team still had a dose of PTSD from the year before. 

For the past three years, they have been competitive, however, losing by two in 2023, three in 2024 and going to extra time on Saturday. We still await that Cork win though.

Cork did so much right on Saturday and it was sometimes hard to believe that this was a clash between the Division 1 champions and a mid-table Division 2 side.

In saying that, there were times when Cork’s handpassing game was not quite sharp enough and there were occasions when quicker ball into the full-forward line might have really stretched Kerry. Cork seemed content to move the ball in a slower and safer fashion. 

To go to the next level John Cleary’s side may have to become less risk-adverse.

Cork will have serious regrets over the nine missed opportunities in extra time when the game was there to be won. 

Credit to Kerry, as they effectively won the game through a blistering drive from impressive midfielder Joe O’Connor, but Cork still had more than enough chances to save themselves and at least secure a penalty shootout.

The missed goal opportunities by Chris Óg Jones and Conor Cahalane were particularly frustrating as a green flag from either of those efforts would probably have seen Cork get over the line. 

It was a bitter irony that two-pointers had kept Cork in the game, but when they really needed one they just could not find the range. They had kicked six of them in the tie, with each of them giving Cork a lifeline. They needed one more, but Cathail O’Mahony’s late effort sailed just wide. 

The Mitchelstown attacker must be given credit for stepping up to take the shot on though.

There were huge positives from a Cork perspective. Twice Cork stormed back from seven points down when the game looked to be getting away from them and that character has to be commended. 

The large Cork crowd certainly made their appreciation felt in this regard.

The sending-off of Sean Brady was arguably the main deciding factor. Playing with an extra man for the entire extra-time period should have allowed Cork dominate possession and be patient in their attempts to open up Kerry, but the decision to dismiss the Ballygarvan corner-back reeked of trying to level things up. 

It was an incorrect call and one that I’m sure the officials would have cringed at when they watched it back post-match. 

Brady played well, as did the likes of Séan McDonnell and Séan Walsh. These newcomers will certainly have come on from the experience.

A major regret that Cork supporters will have had, as each crucial chance went a-begging, is that some of the best shooters in the county were not out on the SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh pitch.  The Cork players on the day all fronted up, but it would have been incredibly useful to have been able to call on the services of the likes of Steven Sherlock, Jack Cahalane and Blake Murphy.

Getting the best footballers in Cork onto the pitch has to be the goal going forward.