Pat Ryan: 'It was a game to get us started ... we're delighted with our fellas' attitude'

Cork manager Pat Ryan was happy with his players display. 

Cork hurlers are back on the road again six months after the bitter disappointment of losing the All-Ireland final by the narrowest of margins. 

Conditions were far from ideal in the Friends of Brian Greene fundraiser in conjunction with Waterford Hospice at the Fraher Field, Dungarvan on Saturday afternoon but Cork emerged with a confidence boosting victory (1-15 to 0-10).

“From our point of view, it was a game to get started and we’re delighted that we could play,” said manager Pat Ryan. "If it had stayed at five o’clock, it probably wouldn’t have gone ahead.

“Conditions were heavy but we’re delighted with our fellas’ attitude, it was very tough. We brought on a couple of lads, making their debuts in really tough conditions.

“We got 1-11 in the first half, four or five points in the second half, they got three points in the first half and seven in the second so it was really tough to play after half-time.

“I thought our fellas stuck at it well, which is what we were looking for.” It was an experienced Cork team, with just one newcomer in each line of the field.

“Obviously, we had Darragh O’Sullivan playing his first senior match, so it was vital that he had Ger Millerick and Niall O’Leary alongside him.

“Micheál Mullins was there, he had Joycey and Cormac O'Brien next to him and Luke (Meade) and Ethan (Twomey) midfield. It’s vital that you do that.

“What we’re trying to do is get game-time into fellas,” he said, “we’re playing UCC on Thursday night and we’ll rotate that team around again so that we can try and spread the load out across players.

Jamie Barron of Waterford in action against Brian Roche of Cork. 

“We had another ten or 12 fellas training in Páirc Uí Rinn this morning, we have a lot of fellas going well and maybe two or three slight injuries, so we’ll see how that goes.

“You have to put in the hard yards and hard graft, we’re trying to get fellas up to it and get them conditioned as well because we’re down to play league on the 25th and conditions won’t be much better than they are today.

“We’re just making sure that fellas have the right level of performance and level of effort and level of conditioning done over the next while.

“Dáire O’Leary is the only fella who’s not involved with us at the moment. He started work in Kildare as a Garda, we’ll see how that goes.

“We have three Sars lads (club committed) – Daniel Hogan has come into the panel, Cathal McCarthy and Jack O’Connor. Obviously, the two boys were involved last year with us and Daniel’s a new fella in the panel.” With no pre-season competitions, management are trying to line up challenge matches.

“A lot of the subs today will start against UCC on Thursday night, that’s the way we had it planned.

“To be honest, I think that the Munster league was a good thing.

“We all have to play matches; we’re playing a match today, I think Clare and Tipperary are meant to play a match.

“We were meant to play Tipperary next week but we had to pull out because we have too many fellas involved with colleges and we have to play UCC in the Canon O’Brien Cup and it would have been too much of a drain on our resources. We’re down to play Westmeath on the 18th.

“You’re all playing. I never had an issue with the Munster senior league, because you have to get conditioned. I think that the best thing that we have at the moment is what the GAA have put in place, where you don’t come back until December 7.

“That gives fellas a nice bit of time off and then, obviously, there’s a nice break around Christmas as well. It’s good for players and it makes sure that managers behave themselves!”