Were Cork in the right frame of mind to retain their Munster title?

Kevin McStay: Cork looked to have wrong attitude in defeat to Kingdom

Kevin McStay has questioned the attitude of Cork in their Munster final defeat to Cork on Sunday.

The RTÉ pundit and All-Ireland club-winning manager was staggered by the sluggishness the team showed in the first half which they finished seven points in arrears.

They went nine behind after the break before clawing back to deficit to two but McStay maintains the damage had already been done.

“I was disappointed with Cork’s effort in the first half. It had been built up to be a real shoot-out for going through the front door. I’m not privy to their goals but I would’ve though they wanted to go through the front door.

“It was a very blasé display in the first half and they were cruising along at a certain pace, not concerned the game was going away from them.”

He was surprised by how nonchalant they were following James O’Donoghue’s gilt-edged chance to beat Ken O’Halloran in the 25th minute.

“Kerry’s missed goal chance didn’t seem to rouse them into annoyance that the game was going against them and maybe they got some false comfort until Gooch scored the goal.

“At seven points down at half-time, the game was busted.

“I just didn’t think they expended the energy you’d expect them to. There was no urgency and if I was their manager that’s what I would be most unhappy about.

“It didn’t seem to be the end of the world for them where a Munster final for Kerry, in Killarney anyway, always is.”

McStay also couldn’t believe the amount of space Cork’s defenders were affording their Kerry opponents.

Eoin Cadogan, who was replaced at half-time, was one player who stood off his markers and allowed them the opportunity to play or run the ball.

“They were hockeyed defensively in the first half. Side by side with the lack of urgency, I’ve rarely seen such loose marking at this stage of the Championship.

“On TV, I said how clever Kerry were with passes into space and the gaps they created between the two lines in the forwards. It’s not the hardest skill in the world to get a metre ahead of your marker but the expectation is by the time you get the ball, your marker will have made up that space. Cork’s backs were standing two or three metres back from their markers.

“I know Kerry waned in the second half and Cork got their act together but had James O’Donoghue taken his goal chance, it would have been curtains long before the end.”

The former Mayo forward also criticised Cork for making three changes to the team they had named on Thursday evening to start Sunday’s decider.

Aidan Walsh, Donncha O’Connor and Noel O’Leary came in for Pearse O’Neill, Patrick Kelly and Tomás Clancy respectively.

“I don’t think it’s good for teams that they’re being changed prior to throw-in from the ones that are named.

“What have they to hide? It’s wrong and Kerry’s team was known on Wednesday and started as they were announced.”

Ger O’Sullivan: Players will benefit from their experience in Killarney

Former Cork selector Ger O’Sullivan feels the experience of Sunday’s Munster final will bring on the team’s new players “a tonne”.

He admits the combination of five players making their first Munster final starts, injuries to Patrick Kelly and Ciarán Sheehan and fitness problems with Eoin Cadogan had an impact on their performance.

But O’Sullivan dismissed the idea they were not tuned in right for the game. “I wouldn’t say it was as much that Kerry just getting a stranglehold on the middle sector and once you get that, it’s very difficult to curb. Anthony Maher and Johnny Buckley were doing well in midfield and Kerry won a lot of the breaks around midfield.

“The things Cork tried to answer that didn’t work initially and half-time didn’t come quick enough for them to get the changes made and get the message across to the players.

“Those changes were made at half-time and almost from there on until the end of the game worked very well for Cork.”

O’Sullivan acknowledges Cork missed out on avoiding the other expected provincial winners who will be in the frame for the All-Ireland title but believes they can recover from the setback.

“It was disappointing to be beaten by Kerry but Cork will be there or thereabouts. We don’t know how good Kerry are yet but the big advantage for them now is that they’re in an All-Ireland quarter-final rather than hoping to win through to one against Dublin, Mayo or Donegal. That, for me, was the real prize on offer.

“But I’m sure the boys will be up for the challenge. When they get a bit of a knocking — and some may say they have rightly been given them in the past — they always respond well.

“People are entitled to their opinions but I wouldn’t be as downbeat. At half-time, I was downbeat (when Cork were seven points down) but I knew there was a good kick in them.”

O’Sullivan is optimistic about the variety of choices Conor Counihan will have at his disposal for their fourth round qualifier at the end of the month.

“James Loughrey had a fine game on Sunday as did Brian Hurley and those were two big positives. Damien Cahalane got his first taste of what a Munster final is like as did John O’Rourke for part of the game and Ken O’Halloran for the whole 70 minutes. The experience they all got in Killarney will bring them on a tonne.

“Cork had a lot of new players in against Kerry and they will be important in whatever role they fill because there’s not many players who can last the 70 minutes at full capacity, regardless of their age.

“Last year we beat Kerry fair and square in Páirc Uí Chaoimh with more or less the same guys that have been doing it for Cork and now we have more options.

“Please God the injuries are sorted over the next few weeks because Sheehan is vital, Kelly is vital and a fully-fit Cadogan is needed in defence.”