Ben O'Connor: Cork players drove Munster final response

A year ago, Limerick lost a Munster SHC final to Cork on penalties and were unable to bounce back in the All-Ireland quarter-finals, losing to Dublin.

Having been beaten by a point by the Shannonsiders in this year’s provincial decider, Cork players and management were adamant in the build-up to yesterday’s clash with Offaly that complacency would not be an issue and they backed that up.

Inside five minutes, the Rebels led by 1-2 to 0-0 and the scores flowed throughout a rampant first half, with a half-time lead of 5-14 to 0-6.

By the end, 26 points separated the sides, leaving manager Ben O’Connor satisfied when he spoke to the media afterwards.

“I suppose, coming up, people were saying we were a raging hot favourite,” he said, “so you'd be afraid maybe in the back of fellas’ heads that that was going to be a problem, but it wasn't.

“The boys treat everyone the same, it’s a championship game. It isn't that we're winning All-Irelands every day of the week, so they're not going to get carried away or get caught on a day.

“The attitude since the Munster final was unbelievable, fellas just knuckled down and said ‘We’re starting a new competition, we'll drive on for that.”

Previously, a third-placed side taking on a provincial final loser would have had a preliminary quarter-final win under their belts; the change in system this year meant that Offaly were coming in off the back of a four-week lay-off, whereas the Munster final – even if it was a defeat – stood to Cork.

“Ah, the players drove it on themselves in fairness,” he said.

“We trained on the Tuesday, we did a light session, then we were off until the Saturday and then after that they came back in.

“Even for myself, you’d be disappointed for a few days, but it wasn’t the be-all and the end-all, losing the Munster final, because of the way the championship is.

“Years ago, that was it, knockout and gone for us, whereas now it’s on to the third competition, the All-Ireland series.

“So, look, we've our first game out of the way now and we’re inside in an All-Ireland semi-final and we'll be going gung-ho again for that.”

Two slight concerns from an otherwise positive day were the fact that defenders Robert Downey and Mark Coleman suffered injuries.

“Rob got a knock to his ankle, and Mark got a touch of a groin strain, that's why he came off the end,” O’Connor said.

“We were probably taking Rob as well, only we had our five subs used at that stage, so he went up the field and decided he was going to have a shot at goal while he was up there!

“Hopefully they won’t be too serious but they’ll be assessed and go for scans during the week.”

Tim O’Mahony and Tommy O’Connell will also be monitored ahead of the semi after missing this win, while Darragh Fitzgibbon got soe valuable game-time after his appendectomy while Robbie O’Flynn scored a point off the bench, having been out with a hamstring problem.

“Fellas are training so long, they're just mad for game-time, so it's nice to be able to put on five subs,” O’Connor said.

“It was great for Darragh to be able to come back and suffer no ill-effects of the operation, either.

“The panel is a good bit different this year as well. There’s new fellas in and they're driving it and the older fellas are accepting the challenge and they're driving on as well.

“You see there, there was five fellas came on and they got their game-time, with another six fellas above in the stand, they got no game-time. They’ll be disappointed but we had ten fellas at home, so, look, it's a hard place to be when you're not getting game-time, but in fairness, all them fellas will be on the training again next week and they'll give it their all for a red jersey.”