Patrick Horgan confident Cork ready to bounce back from League final loss

It won’t be until early next week that the Cork hurlers meet as a full unit for the first time since their seven-point Division 1 final defeat to Waterford.

It’s likely they will congregate just 13 days out from their Munster semi-final with the Déise although Pat Horgan, who lines out with Glen Rovers against Ballymartle on Saturday, isn’t worried about the short run-in.

“We are after having the last six months and no one came near us and I think it is only fair you go back to the club and play a few games. They are waiting a long time for games.”

Horgan feels there’s no need for any significant post-mortem or bloodletting following the heavy defeat. “The fellas who played (with their clubs) last weekend were back last night (Tuesday). I’d say they had a little chat but the break after the final done us good to clear the heads a bit and get away from what happened. It wasn’t good. When we get back we’ll probably discuss it and see what went wrong.”

He doesn’t anticipate any reluctance among fans to back the team in Thurles despite the May 3 defeat.

“The championship will always bring them back. We have great support. Even after Tipp beat us last year really bad, we got great support this year as well in the league. We entertained them a lot in the league and I think they’ll definitely show up in two weeks.” Commenting about Lorcán McLoughlin’s collarbone injury, which rules him out of the Waterford game, Horgan said: “It’s tough on him after putting in so much after the last six months and for something like that to happen and maybe rule him out for the rest of the year. “I don’t know what it is at the moment, we haven’t been back together as a panel but it doesn’t look good for him, certainly for the first round of the championship. It’s hard.”