THERE are certain things to avoid in this writing business, with too much repetition and use of cliches being high up on the first page of the manual. Sometimes, they can be difficult to avoid.
Phrases such as ‘so near and yet so far’, ‘close, but no cigar’ and ‘déjà vu all over again’ will be used as nauseum in Cork football circles this week when looking back at yet another near miss. Terms such as ‘gallant’ and ‘brave’ will be widely attributed to a Cork team that pushed the hotly-favoured Dublin all the way but ultimately left with nothing but another preliminary quarter-final exit after a 1-19 to 1-16 loss in Croke Park. The team and everyone involved will take little solace in kind words from friend and foe.
Cork exited at the same stage away to Louth last year and I was pretty scathing in my review afterwards, with plenty of justification given the second-half performance that day. Though the result was the same this year, the performance bore little resemblance to the dismal efforts in Inniskeen. I won’t overdo the sympathetic platitudes, but Cork lost no face with this performance. A very slow start and an inability to keep the energy levels high in the closing stages saw the opportunity for a famous win slip away from a Cork team that left everything out on the Croke Park sod.
Dublin started like a steam-train. It was 0-4 to 0-0 after less than five minutes. Paddy Small looked like he was going to give the recalled Neil Lordan a torrid afternoon. To Cork and Lordan’s credit, they steadied the ship and then the tide turned in their favour, as the full forward line of Jones, Cronin and Hurley tallied 1-4 in the next ten minutes to just one in reply from Dublin. All of a sudden, Cork led by two.
The teams swapped scores before another scoring burst for Cork saw Cronin, his Nemo team-mate Micheál Aodh Martin with his first ever championship point, and the outstanding Jones gave Cork a four-point lead with half time coming into view. From the Dublin kick-out came one of those minor moments that can be so crucial when you’re talking about a tight game of fine margins.
Stephen Cluxton went long to his right to Brian Howard and Colm O’Callaghan attacked the aerial ball with intent. O’Callaghan got a powerful first to the ball which broke to Mark Cronin who was unmarked inside the Dublin cover. Unfortunately for Cork, referee Sean Hurson had blown his whistle for contact from O’Callaghan into the back of Howard. Dublin worked the ball down to Sean Bugler who nailed the only two-pointer of the game to reduce the deficit to two points.
It’s very arguable that Hurson’s decision precipitated a three-point swing and could very well be one of the calls that John Cleary took issue with after the game. Dublin started the second half stronger and in the ten minutes after the break outscored Cork 1-3 to 0-1, a run bookended by a fabulous individual goal by Brian Howard, one which the Cork defence will have nightmares about.
The goal came after play was stopped for a clash of heads between Ian Maguire and Peadar O’Cofaigh Byrne. As Dublin were in possession, they were correctly awarded a free 35 metres from the goal from which they could not score directly. Cork had the opportunity to set their defence but all it took was a short kick from Ciarán Kilkenny popped into Howard who beat Sean McDonnell to cut straight through the Cork defence. The finish into the top corner was superb but the space he had had to turn into after beating one defender will haunt Cork. This was another major moment in a tight battle. The goal would ultimately prove the difference at the final whistle.
Cork responded brilliantly once again, with Colm O’Callaghan pointing immediately. Scores from Jones, Cronin and a beauty from Sean Walsh gave Cork the lead once more in an absorbing battle. Dublin turned the tables with three points in a row before Jones and substitute Cathail O’Mahony levelled the game for the fourth time in the second half. It was 1-15 to 1-15 with 58 minutes on the clock.
Once more from the kick-out, Hurson pinned O’Callaghan for use of the body in the aerial contest and Cormac Costelloe edged the Dubs in front from the resultant attack. Cork went to the left wing overload kick-out from the restart and Dublin won the break. Brian Howard toed the loose ball to Paddy Small who was fouled by the inrushing Neil Lordan. Small was happy to ‘cheat’ on the Cork kick-out, backing off Lordan safe in the knowledge the ball was going over his head, giving Dublin an extra man at the breakdown. Small would get on the end of the same move to push Dublin two ahead with just under ten minutes of play remaining.
Cork did switch the next kick-out to the opposite wing where O’Callaghan was one v one with O’Cofaigh Byrne and this time got the benefit of the doubt from Hurson. Substitute Sean Powter won a free that Mark Cronin converted. One point game again after 63 minutes. Cluxton went long and left and there was a scramble on the floor for possession, Cian Murphy picked up the ball but was swarmed by three Cork players who had the discipline not to foul.
For some reason, Hurson decided that it would be a ‘hop ball’ instead of a free for over-carrying before penalising O’Callaghan again on the throw-up. As the free was being taken, Hurson penalised Daniel O’Mahony for dragging his opponent away from the play and Costelloe kicked the easy free. I don’t think Hurson had a particularly bad game, and I’m certainly biased, but some of those calls could easily have gone in Cork’s favour. 1-18 to 1-16 and less than five minutes remaining.
The tireless Ian Maguire fielded a great ball on the resumption and Cork attacked on the left wing where another free was awarded, this time around five metres outside the two-point arc halfway between the centre of the pitch and the sideline on the Cusack stand side. Sean McDonnell, excellent this season but scoreless on the day, stood over the kick but wouldn’t get the required distance.
From the Dublin counter-attack, substitute Luke Breathnach did something similar with a shot that fell into Cork hands in front of Hill 16, presenting Cork with the chance to counter attack against a disorganised Dublin defence. The ball was worked into the hands of Cathail O’Mahony around midfield, who shaped to hit a long pass into the full-forward line, but took too long in the process and Breathnach, eager to atone for his miss, picked his pocket. Breathnach himself would get on the end of the move to split the posts and Dublin led by three with just 90 seconds left for Cork to salvage their season.
Unfortunately for Cork, O’Callaghan could not quite grasp the last, long Martin kick-out and Dublin wound down the final minute retaining possession with a tired Cork unable to exert sufficient pressure until a foul from Sean Brady on the final hooter allowed Dublin to launch the football into the stands and seal their place in the quarter-finals.
Heartbreak once more for Cork, and the reaction of Ian Maguire after the whistle was telling. Maguire has battled harder than anyone in the red jersey for over a decade, recently celebrating his 100th appearance with fellow stalwarts Hurley and the sorely-missed-on-the-day Ruairi Deane. Maguire was the only one of the trio on the pitch at the final whistle and he did not hide his emotions, roaring in frustration as the hollow feeling of another missed opportunity took hold.
While the whole squad will be sick to their stomachs, there are a number of guys who have served Cork for a long time with no real reward by way of tangible success, and they will hurt the most. Sympathy and looking for positives for the future are worthless to men who just want to win something in the red jersey. Some of those guys will be back, while others may not be, but that is for another day. The same can be said for the management team, and John Cleary himself said he would start thinking about his future ‘in a few days’. They all deserve that much, at the least.
