THIS is it. There is no room for error. The task is clear for the Cork footballers when they take on Roscommon in an All-Ireland SFC Group 2 showdown this Saturday in O’Moore Park, Portlaoise (4.15pm), live on GAA+.
Win and John Cleary’s side advance to the preliminary quarter-finals.
Lose or draw and Cork are out of the championship.
After the defeats to Meath (1-13 to 0-12) and Kerry (1-28 to 0-20), the Rebels have put themselves in a difficult position. Cork have to win, whereas Roscommon, who drew with Meath, will advance if the game finishes level.
To find themselves in this situation after some decent performances this season is disappointing for the Rebels, especially considering how close they were to Kerry in the Munster semi-final (losing 3-21 to 1-25 after extra time).
However, scoring goals has grown into a problem for Cork in recent times.
Punters will point to the missed chances in the latest loss against Kerry, through Mark Cronin and Matty Taylor in particular, but the issue runs a lot deeper.
In four championship games, Cork have only hit the net once – Chris Óg Jones hammered home a goal in the Munster semi-final against Kerry.
In their last eight games across league and championship, Cork have only scored two goals from play – Jones, as well as Colm O’Callaghan’s strike against Louth – while their only other goal was a Mark Cronin penalty against Monaghan.
Cork have the lowest goal per game ratio out of the 16 teams in the All-Ireland series (0.25). The closest to them is Armagh’s 0.6 (stats as per @TsuDhoNim on X).
It’s not as if Cork aren’t creating goal chances either. In their last eight games, the Rebels have created 28 goal scoring opportunities, but only took three.
The games that Cork have lost have been decided largely by goals. Meath scored one, Cork scored none, four point game. Monaghan scored three, Cork scored one, seven point game. Kerry scored three in the Munster semi-final, Cork scored one, two point game.
Funnily enough, according to the aforementioned X graph, Cork have the joint-second highest average for two-pointers in the championship (4) along with Meath. Only Monaghan’s 4.66 beats it. That doesn’t seem to be a problem, when it is for others.
If Cork are to save themselves this weekend, their ruthlessness in front of goal must improve.
As well as that, the Roscommon forwards including Diarmuid Murtagh (2-13), his brother Ciarain (1-12) and Ben O’Carroll (1-12) need to be well marked.
This is the last-chance saloon for Cork. They need a performance and a result. Goals can pave the way to the knock-out stages.
