Rebels positively charged for 2015, insists focused Horgan

Cork hurler Patrick Horgan believes the pain of their All-Ireland semi-final collapse to Tipperary will act as a driving force for the Rebels in 2015.

The Leesiders lost 2-18 to 1-11 in a one-sided clash at Croke Park and despite winning a first Munster senior hurling title in eight years, Horgan admitted the season had been tainted somewhat by the result at GAA Headquarters.

But despite the disappointment of their championship exit, the Glen Rovers club man insists there is plenty for Cork to be positive about ahead of a season-opener against University of Limerick in the Waterford Crystal Cup this weekend.

“It is a good thing we won something. But the way we went out afterwards probably meant the Munster final didn’t count for much afterwards,” said the 26-year old.

“It would have been nice to play well, any of us, but the whole team was flat. We were probably playing the best hurling in the country up until that day.

“But there are huge positives to take from the year. We were delighted to win the Munster title, but we were awfully disappointed at how we went out of the championship.

“We’ll want to start right. And once we play well, we need to keep playing that way, rather than doing nothing in the end.”

He said that another injection of fresh faces, retaining the services of Jimmy Barry-Murphy and securing dual star Aidan Walsh on a full-time basis, are all reasons for optimism.

“It’s brilliant that Jimmy is there again too. There is no better fella than him for it, he’s is buzzing more than anyone to get back into it and put last year right. That’s all of our aims for the next few months.”

And he expressed delight at Walsh opting to concentrate solely on hurling. “It’s probably too hard to do both the hurling and football, the way it’s gone.

“Both sports are nearly professional in their set-up. If you take a week away from any of them, you fell like you are falling behind. He had to make a decision and we are delighted he made the decision to come with us, because he is a big player for us.

“We are back training a few weeks and it’s going well. It has been mixed up a bit, a lot of young lads are getting their chance. I’m sure these lads will be given a go in the Waterford Crystal Cup.”