Tony Leen: Two steps forward means Cork bound into Croke Park

If manager John Cleary finishes this campaign by leading the natives beyond the scepticism, he will have moved the perennial Cork football debate over to the plus column

ACTION MAN: Cork's Brian O'Driscoll is challenged by Enda Smith and David Murray of Roscommon at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. 

THIS one may be too nuanced for the data analysts. There are victories, not to mention their cause and effect, that don’t fold into a file. 

By the 53rd minute of Saturday’s play-off to reach an All-Ireland quarter-final, Cork had shaken off a constipated first half to take a one-point lead over Roscommon. The decisive goal was on its way but before it, Steven Sherlock was wide (apparently) with a kickable free and Chris Og Jones fumbled a ball over the endline. Not everyone in a Pairc Ui Chaoimh a crowd of 14,294 was convinced the hosts had the nous or poise to to scalp a second Division 1 side in a week. Too many episodes of misplaced trust has taken care of that.

Conor Corbett’s adroitly-taken goal three minutes short of the hour, augmented by a Jones point, ought to have been the signal to power through the doubts, but when real progress is tantalisingly close, ambitions narrow. Cork dropped anchor and sought the refuge of the clock. Roscommon accepted the invite and kicked the next five points to leave us with injury time and a round of chaos.

Cork conversations walking down to Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Saturday were dotted with shrugs and sighs. Nobody knows yet what version of Cork will show and if John Cleary finishes this campaign by leading the natives beyond the scepticism, he will have moved the perennial Cork football debate over to the plus column.

Just as there was a sense again of snakes and ladders, there were also a hint of something less volatile, more predictable. Help is welcome too, whatever the source. The construction of the winning point, Powter to Maguire to Kevin O’Donovan, in the 72nd minute, was achieved without high-wire heroics but in all the noise around sports science and data, no one should underestimate the benefit of a kindly slice of luck.

Once Roscommon had equalised in the final minute via Ciara Murtagh (1-13 to 0-16), all they needed was the final kill shot. They set up injury time possession for one clock-eating play to seal the deal. 

“We were in absolute prime position,” reflected their manager Davy Burke. “Every inter-county team practices that situation over and over again because it’s the way of the modern game. You would back us every day to engineer a score, or at the very least, a shot, from that situation.” 

And then something extraordinary happened. Conor Daly, the Roscommon centre-back not given to acts of erratic behaviour, threw a pop pass to himself without completing the catch, though that was less relevant. There was no one within pressing distance and it was a mild surprise that referee Brendan Cawley noticed it at all. Cork claimed back the ball and navigated their way through the last few acts of chaos, one of which was the sending off of Roscommon’s Enda Smith for handbags and a Cork Oscar nomination.

Bolted onto last week’s comeback win over Mayo, Saturday felt less capricious from Cork. As hard as John Cleary and his management team will steer the players away from the idea of quarter-final bonus territory next week, this is the first time in 14 years Cork have beaten Division 1 teams back-to-back in the championship. Nevertheless, the thought of playing Armagh or Derry will hardly paralyse them with anxiety. Bonus territory doesn’t have to be a pejorative place.

Sixty two minutes had elapsed when Roscommon trapped Brian O’Driscoll close to his own goal, denying the Cork man the space to spin out of the trap. Diarmuid Murtagh tapped over the gimme free but it was, by any reasonable metric, the first mistake the player of the match had made all day. 

In Kevin Walsh’s painstaking work to coach Cork into a place where good decisions are made by default, O’Driscoll was the exampla gratis on Saturday. He has had a yo-yo time with Cork but Cleary has found his fellow west Cork man’s buttons. His GPS statistics must be eye-watering. In the 75th minute, he was the interceptor of Roscommon’s final shot at extra time ten metres from his own endline.

“He was with me at Cork Under 21 level, and played the grade four years in a row,” Cleary reflected afterwards. “He was outstanding at that stage but then in his mid-20s, things didn’t go that well for him. I dunno, I wasn’t there, but last year when I was looking at the county championships in Cork, he was starring every day for (the west Cork division) Carbery, so when we were appointed, he was one of the first calls I made.” 

Cleary was warming to the subject: “He was absolutely champing at the bit. I know he went away and did his own personal programme, and when he came in after Carbery were knocked out, I said we would give him a couple of weeks off, but he wanted no such thing. ‘I want this more than anything’, he told me.

“He has given us everything since he came in and has proved to be a great leader. He is fulfilling the promise he had at Under 21 level. I have nothing but credit and praise for Brian for what he has given this group.” 

BOXED IN: Cork's Sean Powter is challenged by Diarmuid Murtagh

Cleary wasn’t shying away from the bonus of good fortune either. His read of the first half was bulls-eye accurate. Cork weren’t at the races, and Roscommon’s patient (slow, if you’d prefer) and deliberate set-ups made their hosts jumpy and frustrated. Their attempts to force the pace were pock-marked by errors and turnovers. Ruairi Deane went down the same cul-de-sacs too often and Eoghan McSweeney couldn’t get to the pitch of the game. Why, however, there was a need to sub the Knocknagree man off a minute before half-time is questionable. Someone might put an arm around him Tuesday night.

The three points before the break rescued a dire first half for an outplayed Cork. And their increased fervour after the break featured a higher, and productive press on Conor Carroll, the Roscommon keeper. Said Cleary: “The second half was a mishmash of everything. In the end, it was whoever was going to get that bit of luck. I was worried in the first half. They were so patient, we were wondering (on the sideline) whether they had our measure. When we had possession, we didn’t make any use of it. But the key was the three points before half time.” 

His Roscommon counterpart Burke was inclined to agree and reached for the most pertinent stat of the day. 

“We were in control for 34 minutes of the first half, and should have gone in three up. Ultimately the difference was (Cork) converted their goal chance when they got it and we didn’t convert our two. We take those, we win the game.” 

The Cork manager feels his squad are better and fitter than this time last year, and the route to the last eight this time has been more character-building. “We are in a better place. We needed to win a big game against one of the top teams to give us the belief. We didn’t get over the line against Dublin and Derry in the League, or against Kerry here in the championship. Beating Mayo and Roscommon will do something for the lads, mentally. I don’t know what’s in their heads but if you are getting beaten all the time by Division 1 teams, confidence can seep out.” 

That’s not such a problem now.