Home clash with Cavan now a must-win game for Cork

FIRST, the bad news: Cork’s promotion bid is on life support right now after a disastrous start to their Division 2 campaign.

Before a ball was kicked, Cork boss John Cleary outlined that promotion to Division 1 was a target for the Rebels this season so this league campaign will be judged by those parameters. 

Right now, Cork’s form points more towards a relegation battle than a promotion push. 

Cleary’s men are rooted to the foot of Division 2 after two defeats in a row and have conceded an average of 0-19 per game; for context, only Limerick (bottom of Division 3) and Waterford (propping up Division 4) have conceded more. Cork’s current scoring difference of -13 is also the third worst across the four divisions after two rounds. On paper, it’s as bad as it gets.

Cleary feels there was a definite improvement in terms of Cork’s performance level from the Donegal opener to last weekend’s loss to Louth, and that’s a positive the group will look to build on, but this is a results business and the record shows two away losses in a row.

Instead of looking up, Cork are looking down, and need a result at home to Cavan in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on February 17th. That starts a run of three games on three successive weekends – and Cork need results or, whisper it quietly now, the Tailteann Cup will enter the conversation.

‘It would be absolutely disastrous if Cork didn't build on last year,’ former Dublin footballer Paul Flynn said on Allianz League Sunday. ‘It’s been a disappointing start for them and they’re going to have to turn it around pretty quickly.’

The Rebels need wins, first to quench relegation chatter and then to move up the table. But after the home tie against a Cavan team that’s off the back of two successive league promotions – they were playing Division 4 in 2022 – Cork hit the road to take on a Fermanagh team with three points from two games, and then it’s a home clash with a Kildare team who will be fighting for Division 2 survival. Nothing easy there. 

‘We go into three games in a row now, and that will define our season probably, with those three games; home to Cavan, away to Fermanagh, and home to Kildare,’ Cleary said. Already four points off the top two, Armagh and Donegal, it’s a stretch to suggest Cork’s promotion hopes have survived the long treks to Ballybofey and Ardree, and now it’s about getting enough points to secure safety and to fight off Tailteann Cup chatter which will grow louder if the Rebels don’t snaffle up at least four points from the next three games.

Think back to last season and Cork had two points after three games, but recovered to briefly put themselves in the promotion picture. Two points after three games this season is the best fans can hope for now. The optimism of the early-season promotion charge seems a long time ago.

And the good news, you ask? Cork have five games to put this right.