Gavin Cummiskeylistens as Cork manager Conor Counihan refuses to accept his side are now favourites to lift the Sam Maguire next month
OUT OF nowhere the big book that holds all the tales of begrudgery between Cork and Dublin people must be hauled down from the top shelf and the cobwebs blown off it. Two cities. One blue, the other red. August 22nd. Don’t miss it.
The rivalry has already been reignited. Last evening the young girls in the Artane Boys’ Band were eye-balling the Rebel footballers as they made their way up to the players lounge. They are the enemy now. This is healthy and good for both tribes.
Dublin and Cork together again.
But first, farewell to Roscommon. Their manager, Fergal O’Donnell, spoke of the sight of big Pearse O’Neill bearing down on his smaller defenders as Cork upped the gears to kill off the Connacht champions. “They just gradually wore us down,” O’Donnell admitted. “They worked us to a standstill. We are heading towards Division Four and they are one of the top teams. They have older, stronger, fitter players. When fellas see the likes of Pearse O’Neill tearing down at them maybe they panic. Murphy and (Colm) O’Neill. Power and strength coming through the middle.”
After a low-key summer, three weeks of proper hype can start. We told Cork manager Conor Counihan his lot are the runaway favourites for the All-Ireland title now. He laughed. Counihan is a personable, insightful football man. He briefly spoke in a plain tongue about the game before the shield went back up.
“Ah, that’s you lads making us (favourites). Whatever about me being in trouble depending on the result today a few of you should be for the sack after what you predicted! I think, lads, you are missing the message here. It is even-steven, 15 against 15 and some of the write ups . . . Look, it is all about whoever gets it right on the day. Seventy minutes . . .”
Fine. We, the GAA media, deserved that. But what about Cork’s first 35 minutes here? Leading by a single point and the momentum swinging Roscommon’s way, Counihan took a big gamble by informing a defender, a midfielder and non-scoring forward they would not be returning to the fray. Donncha O’Connor, John Miskella and Nicholas Murphy were dropped into the battle. They helped turn it into a comfortable win.
“Nobody went out there to play poorly. Maybe some of the people taken off would feel harshly treated and we did feel we needed to change it. We felt it worked.”
No news on Graham Canty’s hamstring, Ciarán Sheehan’s ankle or Eoin Cadogan’s availability just yet. Canty looks to be in trouble. He has three weeks. Who knows?
Noel O’Leary watched the young Dubs visit revenge upon Tyrone on Saturday. “Yes, they were impressive. They have been criticised all year. But in the back of our heads – certainly my head – I thought they were coming along nicely. It was a huge game and their intensity was huge. If we come out with that performance the next day, they’ll blow us away.”
Counihan didn’t watch the demise of Tyrone, nor Kerry, yet but he knows now Cork will never be forgiven if they fail to grab a hold of Sam Maguire in 2010.
“It’s a totally new ball game. Dublin are really revitalised. In fairness to Pat Gilroy he’s done a great job despite a lot of the stick he has been getting, especially from you boys. I have great admiration for him for sticking to his guns. He is in an All-Ireland semi-final now but I’m afraid the compliments will stop there.”
Let the mud slinging begin so.
