Munster defeat was hard to take, says Masters

Lethal Cork corner forward James Masters has certainly been on top of his game this season and is currently the top scorer overall in the 2007 championship with 3-18.

Despite this positive showing Masters still laments the fact that his side lost their Munster crown to Kerry in Killarney on July 1.

"It was a hard one to take alright," Masters told breakingnews.ie. "I think an awful lot of people were saying that it didn't really matter if we lost to Kerry because we were still in the All-Ireland series but we wouldn't have looked at it that way."

However he believes the Rebels can bounce back strongly in their All-Ireland third round qualifier clash with Louth in Portlaoise this Saturday.

"We were very disappointed but in the last week or two we picked it up and we are just looking forward to Louth on Saturday really.

"I wouldn't be taking anything for granted (against Louth) and I would be fearful to be honest of them and playing in Portlaoise against a team that are playing well at the moment and have a few successes behind them.

"They have lost a few players but I hear they are a fierce together bunch and they will give it 100% anyhow on Saturday regardless."

If Cork can get back on the winning trail this weekend, Masters, a Garda by profession, is not ruling out the prospect of facing Kerry again and taking revenge for their Munster loss.

"Personally I would love to meet Kerry down the line. What happened last year was that we beat them in the Munster final and they beat us at Croke Park. We can't meet them for a while but we would definitely like to play them again.

"You have to beat the likes of Kerry to win an All-Ireland anyway because they are the team to beat at the moment and they have been for the last couple of years."

Cork's last championship outing in Portlaoise proved to be a successful one when Masters and his team-mates overcame Sligo. That game was a close affair however, and he expects another tight encounter this Saturday.

"I remember it being nip and tuck until we got a goal with 10 minutes to go and it killed Sligo off at that time.

"Sligo were playing well at that time also and there is nothing better than playing when you are winning and I know Louth will be fierce up for it on Saturday," he said.

"Hopefully we can match them for intensity as well and hopefully we can play the football that we are capable of playing."

Masters was one of a talented group of players to come through the Cork underage system and he captained the All-Ireland minor winning side in 2000.

Seven years on he is delighted to see another bunch of equally talented players, who won the All-Ireland U-21 title earlier this season, making the breakthrough into the senior ranks.

"When the lads won the U-21 All-Ireland there was a massive boost in Cork and there was a fierce vibe going around the county about football," the Nemo Rangers clubman said.

"I think since then the boys have come on like Fintan Goold and Daniel Goulding, they are a fresh new crop of players who are driving us on really.

"The best thing about them is that they have the success behind them and they know what it means to win.

"There is nothing better than having players there that keep winning, week in week out. Winning is contagious."

Masters recently turned 25 years of age and he is eager to taste All-Ireland glory at senior level, something which he believes Cork are very capable of achieving.

"What would cap it all off for me would be an All-Ireland senior success because we have tasted it all at minor level before.

"A senior All-Ireland is a lot harder to win. I think the Cork team have come on an awful lot in the last few years and this year we are stronger again. Maybe next year we will be even stronger, but I know that we are going well at the moment and are definitely in with a decent chance."