We must get back to basics, says Corkery

OUTSTANDING captain Colin Corkery accepted last night that Cork got out of jail in Sunday's Bank of Ireland, Munster SFC final clash with Tipperary at Semple Stadium.

"Tipperary were better than we thought and when they went three points up in the second half, I felt that the game was running away from us," said the player who proved to be Cork's rescuer-in-chief.

"It just goes to show that there are no more easy games in this championship. One has only to look at what the Limericks and Tipperarys of this world are capable of. The gulf that once existed between the so-called strong and weaker counties has been drastically scaled down," said Corkery, the only Cork player to score in the second half of Sunday's nail-biting encounter.

Playing out of his skin, the vastly-talented Nemo Rangers supremo confessed he was "hugely relieved" to hear the final whistle sound.

"It was not that we underestimated Tipperary. We knew that they would put up a big challenge but we made life very difficult for ourselves because we played some very sloppy football over the course of the 70 minutes.

"I suppose really we were on a hiding to nothing. Everybody had installed us as on odds-on favourites to win and although, we did not contemplate the thought that we would hammer Tipp, nevertheless in situations like that, a degree of over-confidence and complacency does creep in unknowingly," he said.

Corkery was disappointed with his side's overall performance on the day. "We got very few breaks around the middle of the field and as a result we were starved for long periods in the full forward line," he said.

But what irritated him most was the fact that Cork tried to do the spectacular when the simple option would have had the desired effect.

"The secret of success in any sport, I believe, is doing the simple things well. We failed to deliver on that score on Sunday and we will have to get back to the basics if we are to win next Sunday's replay.

Simplicity, for me, is the name of the game and we were found wanting in this aspect of things in the drawn game and could have lost out as a result," Corkery said.

The Cork team for the replay, scheduled for Pairc Uí Chaoimh, is due to be selected tonight and three areas of immediate concern must be addressed if the Rebels are to come through on the right side.

First and foremost, somebody must be found to put the shackles on Declan Browne. The Moyle Rovers wizard, like Corkery, shone resplendently in the drawn game and emerged as top scorer with eight points to his credit. Cork put three different players on Browne Eoin Sexton, Graham Canty and Anthony Lynch, the Naomh Aban player being the most successful.

Midfield was an absolute disaster for Cork and both Nicholas Murphy, who did score a fine early point early on, and Michael O'Sullivan failed to deliver and were ultimately taken off.

And it is now clear that Martin Cronin, one of the most consistent wing backs in the game, is not likely to make a success of his new role at centre forward.

Only inspirational skipper Corkery, brilliant goalkeeper Kevin Dwyer and two-goal hero Brendan Jer O'Sullivan came out of the drawn game with reputations intact. Expect a victim or two when the replay 15 is announced tonight.