A fortnight of soul searching for Ronan McCarthy’s Cork

In the Páirc Uí Chaoimh media area after Saturday’s Munster football final the record books were being consulted and scoring sequences examined.

Was it Cork’s worst defeat by Kerry in a decider since 1938? (Yes.) Had Cork gone almost 40 minutes without a score? (Yes.) When was the last time a team in a Munster final had managed six scores? (1999, when Kerry scored 2-4.)

In the circumstances Ronan McCarthy would have been forgiven for being slow to handle his press duties, but the Cork manager was swift to face the microphones, admitting frankly that he hadn’t anticipated his side’s collapse.