Canty won’t knock backdoor

GRAHAM CANTY wants to meet the innovator who came up with the Championship backdoor system.

“Whoever thought up the idea deserves a medal,” said the Cork centre-back as he and his teammates prepare to kick-start their campaign with a win over Clare tomorrow.

“Under the old system seven months of slogging on the training field would meant nothing after our defeat by Kerry, but we are getting a second chance and intend to take it.

“We underachieved in Killarney. That defeat hurt, more so because for 25 minutes we had Kerry on the run but couldn’t score. I looked at the scoreboard after 20 minutes and couldn’t believe we were two points to one down after being so dominant. It’s hard to know where it went wrong.

“Kerry had contested a League final, and got a very hard game from Clare in the championship. That gave them an advantage over us in terms of preparation but we needed no motivation for that match. Cork never do when it comes to playing Kerry.

“When the scores weren’t coming heads began to drop and the second- half of that game was a shambles.

“Thankfully the qualifiers allow us the chance to get our season back on track.

“There was some soul-searching done after the Kerry defeat. We left ourselves and the county down, and are determined to make amends.

“That opening 25 minutes was Cork at their best but we have to play like that for 70 minutes tomorrow if we are to have any chance against Clare.”

Cork are boosted by the return of Colin Corkery and Brendan Jer O’Sullivan, but Anthony Lynch is still absent, something not lost on Canty.

“Anthony is irreplaceable and with Noel O’Leary also injured, it means a reshuffle in defence which is never good for a team. You always like to have a settled team, but we have been unfortunate in that regard this year due to injuries and suspensions.

“We are very conscious that Clare gave Kerry a better game than we did in Munster and then scored a great win over a highly-rated Sligo side. With home advantage they are going to be very difficult opponents.

“Clare have always put it up to Cork either at home or away. Three years ago it gave us all we could do to beat them in Pairc Uí Chaoimh and Cork don’t need reminding of what happened in Cusack Park eight years ago.

“The fact that the season will be over for the losers adds more pressure, but we’ve prepared well and if we play to our capabilities, we should win.”