Road to redemption for Sexton

A YEAR on from their last Munster championship defeat to Kerry and Cork aren’t thinking about revenge so much as redemption.

Even 13 months on, it’s hard to understand why, despite a hugely encouraging start, Cork lost by eight points after a performance that lurched from limp to listless.

It was a display no one expected from a team managed by Billy Morgan but, as new team captain Eoin Sexton alluded to in Dublin yesterday, this was one occasion when the players had to carry the can.

“We really let ourselves down that day in Killarney. We started well. We missed a few points then and when things didn’t go our way our heads dropped mentally, which shouldn’t be the case because we were still very much in the game.

“Kerry just showed their class in the second half. They really did tear us to pieces. It was a hard one to put your finger on. We definitely didn’t put on the scoreboard what we thought we could.”

A hard-earned win over Clare in Ennis brought the campaign back on the straight and narrow, before it was derailed for good by Fermanagh who turned a three-point deficit into an six-point win inside 15 minutes.

Again, it was the manner of the defeat that gave rise to the most bile afterwards. Sexton didn’t share the apocalyptic view many took in the championship’s bitter aftermath.

He may already have two Munster medals (1999 and 2002) but he knows the flip side as well. His championship debut fell on that day back in 1997 when Clare famously beat Cork by a point.

The memories of the implosion against Kerry in Croke Park three years ago remain fresh in the mind as well and with that sort of experience, Sexton was better placed than most to make a measured assessment of 2004.

“Last year Cork didn’t have that dismal a league performance. We were beaten by a Fermanagh team (in the championship) that went much further and took more scalps than Cork.

“At the time, everyone was a bit down and out but, by the end of the year, Fermanagh showed how many teams are in contention. They got to a semi-final replay against Mayo and we took a bit of heart from that.

“Last year was Billy’s first year too. We were getting to know him and he us. It’s bound to take a bit of time, but then Jack O’Connor’s first year last year disproves that theory,” he laughed.

His point holds water. Though Cork harvested less points in this year’s league than last, there were signs that a corner of sorts had been turned.

The vibe around the county is undeniably better, the emergence of youngsters like James Masters, Fintan Goold and John Hayes making competition for places all the keener.

“I suppose we’ve become a little more professional as a group ourselves. We’ve tried to do everything that management have asked of us.

“Last year would have been the same in that they put everything in place for us. Everyone has just bought into the same training regime, but Sunday will tell all.

“We had an okay run in the league but we lost a couple of close games. It was the same as last year.

“We’ve only played one championship game. It might be a bit early to be making assessments. Sunday is a huge test. Kerry will make that assessment for us.”

Kerry may be coming into this game as All-Ireland champions but they find their own true worth being assessed just as stringently.

Last year’s successes finally ended three years of frustration for the Kingdom but the insinuation is still floating around that last year was a ‘soft’ All-Ireland.

This year’s captain, Declan O’Sullivan, doesn’t share the view.

“The debate might have arisen because of the winning margin in the All-Ireland final and people were saying the only two teams in Ireland were Armagh and Tyrone.

“It was an extremely hard All-Ireland to win but the media perception was it was an easy one. There’s a great motivation there to do well again this year, to prove that last year wasn’t just a flash in the pan.

“It’s a big challenge. Some of the older lads, like Liam Hassett and Dara Ó Cinnéide, could have walked away last year with an All-Ireland medal but they feel this is a great challenge.

“This group of players want to prove we are good footballers and Cork in the Munster final is the biggest challenge that you could face, especially in Páirc Uí Chaoimh with the way they’re going. There’s a great buzz about them.”