New season but same old failings remain for Cork

When I looked at the Cork team on the programme last Sunday, I thought it looked strong, and that Cork were well set up to bag two points. Yet it was more familiarity with the names than anything else which, ultimately, reflected a false strength. It made me question what was really different about Cork. By the final whistle it was obvious — nothing.

Of the 20 players Cork used, there wasn’t one new name amongst them. Kieran Kingston has clearly gone with the same batch of players that Jimmy Barry-Murphy used. He has an obvious loyalty to those players from his time with JBM between 2012 and 2015, but an alternative reality also clearly doesn’t exist; Cork just don’t have the back-up or strength in depth.

They have good young players coming through, Kingston’s own son Shane included, but they’re not ready yet. In that sense, you’d have to feel that the pain is only going to continue for Cork in the short term at least.