Cork footballers lost two finals and a great chance to beat Mayo, it was a good season but they'll have regrets...

The Cork footballers will have huge regrets after their season ended in disappointing fashion as they lost by five points to Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park on Saturday.

It was the first time they travelled to GAA HQ in years with real confidence but they will be frustrated that they did not bring their A game to proceedings, as the game got away from them long before the finish.

Cork only lost four matches all season in the league and the championship, but all four felt damaging. 

The first was the blow-out in the league game up in Derry, where they lost by 1-31 to 0-14, although to their credit, they brushed that off to win the next two against Kildare and Tyrone to secure promotion.

That was the only defeat of the league proper, although the chance at some silverware and a first win at Croke Park since 2014 was passed up when losing the Division 2 final to Meath. Unfortunately, that wait will go into 2027 now.

The Munster final and quarter-final defeats will end up being the main lowlights though. 

Both games felt like real opportunities for John Cleary’s side to make a real statement and drive on, but on both occasions, Cork underperformed, and that will hurt over the winter. 

Cork have proved on many occasions this year, they are better than those two displays, but when the gun was put to the head, they could not produce, and that will annoy them.

There were great days too, obviously, with Cork winning more games than they lost. 

There were great away days up in Louth and Tyrone, while the win over Donegal in Ballybofey was probably the highlight. And at home, the league and championship victories over Meath, both with 14 men, stand out.

COSTLY

The three points coughed up for three-man breaches were particularly frustrating and unforgiveable.  You could have made some allowances in the first year of the new rules but we’re at the end of Year Two now. 

Those scores were ridiculously cheap and hurt the Rebel challenge, especially the two-pointer just before half-time that allowed Mayo to go in level.

In a way, the manner of the victory over Donegal in the last round did them no favours here. 

In Ballybofey, they were rewarded for slowing the game down and then hitting Jim McGuinness’ side with a late scoring burst, but Croke Park combat required quicker, more adventurous play.

The conditions in the stadium were confusing. Standing in the Hill, you could feel the stiff breeze that was sending the flags towards Marino but the pitchside flags up by the Canal End looked very still. 

What felt like a five- or six-point breeze for Cork in the second half turned out not to be the case as the Cork attack struggled to get their shots off in the second half, with them failing to raise any orange flags from play.

Cork’s defeat felt like a death from a thousand cuts, with each of the 14 wides they kicked serving to weaken the Rebel resolve while instilling confidence into a talented young Mayo team. It did not help that the two-pointers dried up at just the wrong time too. 

They flew over the last day against Donegal, with them getting six out of the 10 attempted, whereas on Saturday, they only managed the two from Steven Sherlock and Mark Cronin frees. 

Down the other end, Mayo landed five. Mayo 'outCorked' Cork, you could say.

Watching the second game between Kerry and Tyrone seemed a huge step up in standard. 

The pace and execution and options on kick-outs were just at an extra level and showed areas where Cork need to improve upon going forward.

A good few of the current Cork panel are on the go for quite a while now and it would be no surprise for a few to call it a day now, although you would imagine the lure of Division 1 football will ensure most will stay on for at least another 12 months.

Given the promotion in the league, the positive showing from this year’s U20s and the fact that the impressive minor team coached by Keith Ricken are looking forward to an All-Ireland final against Tyrone in Newbridge next Sunday, there are positive signs that Cork football is going in the right direction.

Cork might want to be patient with any emerging young talent, but then again looking at the likes of Kobe McDonald and Darragh Beirne would make you wonder why youth cannot be trusted either.

It is easy to be negative after Saturday’s showing given it was such a missed opportunity, but there are enough green shoots to imagine that the good days for Cork football are on their way.