Conor O’Sullivan: Plenty time to put things right after Rebels left reeling by Kilkenny blow

You don’t have to tell Conor O’Sullivan that Cork weren’t at the required standard for last weekend’s NHL clash with Kilkenny. 

Losing to the Cats is no disgrace for any team, but a seriously understrength Kilkenny side, short on match practice and playing away from home, bossed their opponents at Páirc Uí Rinn.

O’Sullivan knows how that went down with the Cork public. How it sat with the players themselves.

“We knew ourselves it wasn’t good enough, we knew that in the dressing-room straight after the game.

“We had a meeting after training during the week and went through a few things that we need to get right for the next day.

“It wasn’t good enough last Saturday night in Páirc Uí Rinn, we know that ourselves.”

There weren’t many pluses in the 70 minutes for Cork, and O’Sullivan doesn’t sugar the pill when you ask if there was any consolation.

“They only got one goal, which would be one of the few positives for us — the other side is that they only hit five wides so everything they hit was generally going over.

“I suppose what we’ve tried to take in terms of positives out of it, the fact that it happened at the start of the season. It’s good that if it had to happen to us, it happened at the start of the season rather than halfway through, when you mightn’t get a chance to put things right.

“And there’s the fact then that we have a game within a week of it, a chance to put it right.

“The fact that you don’t have to wait two weeks to get back on the field is good, because you’re not hanging around for a fortnight, thinking about it too much.”

For all the gloom about Cork’s performance, O’Sullivan points to the calendar.

“The thing to remember is that it’s still just the league. You’re going to make mistakes during the league, that happens to every team, and it’s better that happens in February rather than July.

“I think Cormac (Murphy) was the only debutant we had on the field last Saturday night, every other player has played a few championship games, at least, as well as some league games.

“The majority of the players have been involved in a good few competitions, and we know that it’s not the end of the world to lose a league game in February or March playing badly.

They’ve had bad times in the league before, after all. Two years ago Clare and Cork ended up playing off in a relegation game, and they met again in September.

“There’s that,” says O’Sullivan. “At the start of last year, for instance, Tipp lost a couple of league games and were under huge pressure, they came within a point of being relegated – and they nearly won the All-Ireland the first day, then, against Kilkenny.

“Once they got momentum they started motoring, which shows the craziness of reading too much into the league – nobody says at the start of the year, ‘our big target is to win the league’.

“There’s no point in reading too much into it when it’s all about June and July and August.”

Tonight it’s Clare again. They lost narrowly to Galway last weekend, and in a league this tight a second defeat, for either team, could be a ticket to Division 1B.

“They probably had a bit of a blip last season generally, after such a good year in 2013, but having lost last weekend in the league they’re in the same position as us now, so they’ll be gunning for a win.

“It’s ideal, really, Saturday night is a lovely night for a game, Páirc Uí Rinn gets a good crowd, and we’re looking forward to it.”