Canty in the dark on dismissal

NO surprises for the leading question Graham Canty faced at the final whistle yesterday.

Cork were well in the game when the Cork talisman got his second yellow card and his marching orders from referee Pat McEnaney. Hence the invitation to re-live the painful moment that led to his departure.

“My take on that was that the ball broke, I went for it and went to pick it up,” said Canty.

“I got a touch on it and Colm Cooper arrived at the same time.

“I picked up a yellow for it. I thought I made contact with the ball.”

The second yellow meant the Bantry clubman faced the long walk to the sideline, but the reason he received a first-half yellow remained a mystery to him afterwards.

“I have no idea,” Canty said. “You’d have to ask the linesman or whoever gave it.”

Cork supporters filing up the Monahan Road were grumbling about some other critical decisions that went against their side, such as Pat McEneaney letting Tomás O Sé approach a Daniel Goulding 45. Canty was philosophical.

“I suppose they did but you always think that when you come out on the wrong side of things. One or two things went against us maybe but that’s the way it goes.”

The full-back said he and his colleagues were reasonably satisfied at the break.

“We were happy enough at half-time, you’d have to be turning around a few points up on Kerry. We’d played alright.

“They had a period of dominance and when they were on top they made it tell on the scoreboard. That was a big plus for them, as was the goal, obviously. They managed to get scores easier than us. That made a difference.”

Like his manager, Canty was asked if his side was psychologically damaged by the defeat, and like his manager, he didn’t accept that this was the case.

“No, I don’t think so. Losing to Kerry isn’t the end of the world, you’re just in the All-Ireland series a little earlier than you wanted to be. We’ll put the heads down and get back to doing some hard work and come back stronger.”

That means the back door, and Canty was looking on the bright side when asked about the scenic route yesterday.

“You’d seen it in the past, particularly in the football championship – Kerry and Tyrone have gone through the back door and it’s served them very well, they’ve shown you can get to a final.

“It’s just the way it is at the moment – we’re out of the Munster series but we still have the All-Ireland series. Everything isn’t lost.”