Armagh do enough as Cork misfire

Armagh 0-9 Cork1-3

A heavy, energy-sapping pitch and a tricky wind contributed to a scrappy encounter and it wasn’t pretty to watch. Neither was it very appealing to home supporters who were expecting something better after the impressive display in Croke Park the previous week. For a weakened Cork, another gutsy performance was tarnished by weak finishing.

Manager Larry Tomkins blamed the low scoring on the ‘hard conditions’, agreeing that the heavy pitch made it very difficult for both sides. Overall, his reaction was mixed. “Certainly we should have drawn level in the second-half and we had chances to take the lead,” he commented. “But, I was encouraged by our performance. We stood up to it, and we stood up to it physically. In conditions like these, all you can judge is the commitment of guys and how they get stuck into it - and I was proud of our lads.”