Cooper: Why should Cork turn noses up at Munster?
The morning after last July’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat, Diarmuid O’Sullivan questioned Cork management’s use of substitutes against Limerick.
“Cork’s lack of impact from the bench has caught up to them,” claimed the Rock, referencing Limerick’s 2-6 from subs compared to Cork’s 0-1. “It’s something the management should have addressed and said: ‘Look, how do we make this stronger?’”
A few days out from the start of the Allianz League, uncovering new talent to give the team a vital edge in the big games later in the season is surely high on manager John Meyler’s mind.
“Maybe the management will be, maybe that will be their approach,” said Bill Cooper, a midfielder that day in late July when they lost a classic semi-final to Limerick after extra-time.
“My approach as a player will be just trying to get onto the team, to be consistent, and to try to hold onto the jersey. You can’t get too far ahead of yourself.
“Obviously, the management’s goal or ambition is to find a few players throughout the league as well as all the other things you’re looking at.
From a player’s point of view, you are just trying to take it week-on-week and to just perform well. There is a lot of competition in the Cork squad for places so that’s a big drive for any player.
O’Sullivan also said the day after that Limerick defeat that he’d rounded on two Cork supporters who accused the team of being ‘bottlers’ after letting slip a six-point lead after 62 minutes.
“I looked the two of them in the eye and told them were they were an absolute disgrace,” said O’Sullivan.
Out on the field, in the eye of the storm, Cooper said it felt like the smallest things had the potential to swing the game. Nobody bottled anything.
“I was just thinking, ‘where should I be?’ or ‘where’s my man?’ you know, you’re just trying to stay in the moment,” said Cooper.
“I suppose, looking back and analysing the game from outside, it’s easy saying, ‘you were six points up’ but when you look at it as a whole it is very fine margins. It comes down to the execution of the small things. I over-carried the ball once, you know, a handy score.”
Ultimately, Cooper feels the experience of losing another All-Ireland semi-final, on the back of their 2017 defeat to Waterford having also led in the second-half of that game, can only stand to the team.
“That’s sport, you just have to take the learnings and move on,” said the Youghal club man.
“The Limerick game still pops into the memory from time to time. It was a tough couple of weeks but that’s the beauty of it, there can only be one winner and the lows make the highs even better if you are lucky enough to win things.”
Cooper feels that Cork will be targeting a successful Munster title defence when their league campaign concludes, despite the lack of success in the All-Ireland series for Munster champions in recent years. Limerick, last season’s All-Ireland winners, finished third in the Munster group.
“Ask anyone at the start of the year, they all want to win Munster,” he maintained. “It’s so competitive as you saw the last few years, I don’t think anyone will turn up their nose at Munster. Obviously, the record of Munster champions not going on to win the All-Ireland is there for everyone to see but I don’t think that takes away from the Munster championship.
"The competition is very strong and that’s the big fear really, it’s trying to get into the top three and to get a crack at the All-Ireland series. It’s brilliant for spectators, it’s brilliant for players as well, you are really challenged.
“But the Munster campaign is a long way away now, our whole focus now is on next weekend against Kilkenny. That’s the only way you can approach it.”
Cork will be down a few bodies for the trip to Noreside.
“There is a few (injuries), I am not sure exactly who, Colm Spillane isn’t playing anyway,” said Cooper. “It’s an Achilles, I think. I am not sure really because we were playing Sunday and there were Fitzgibbon games on and there were lads missing. Darragh Fitzgibbon wasn’t playing for UCC so he won’t be playing for us. Other than that, I’m not sure.”
Whatever team they put together, Cooper is confident that they will be going for broke despite the changeover to a new league structure in 2010, eliminating the potential for relegation from Division 1A.
Counties have also experienced the attritional provincial group campaign and could be forgiven for wishing to hold something in reserve throughout spring.
“I think you have to go for it in the league,” countered Cooper.
We learned the hard way a few years ago about not having great form throughout the league and then it’s very hard to turn it around. Last year we struggled through the league and we were very lucky to turn it around so we want to be more consistent than last year.
“Thankfully, we retained our status in 1A and we were able to pick up our form for the summer but obviously, that’s not an ideal way of going about things.”
