Cork and Wexford may appeal Dalton and O'Connor red cards

Pat Ryan and Keith Rossiter have indicated they will consider contesting the cards

Wexford’s Rory O’Connor looks on in disbelief as both he and Cork’s Declan Dalton are shown red cards. Pic ©INPHO/Ken Sutton

Cork and Wexford managers Pat Ryan and Keith Rossiter have indicated they will consider contesting Declan Dalton and Rory O’Connor’s straight red cards.

The players were dismissed midway through the second half after they were embroiled in an altercation. Referee Michael Kennedy consulted with his linesman before issuing the dismissals and as things stand both will miss next weekend’s games against Limerick in Dalton’s case and Tipperary in O’Connor’s.

“Look, obviously Deccy and Rory were sent off,” said Ryan. “I’m not sure there was much in it, to be honest with you. We’ll look at the video and see if we can do anything with that.” 

Wexford’s Rory O’Connor and Cork’s Declan Dalton shake hands after being sent off. Pic: ©INPHO/Ken Sutton

Rossiter remarked: “Hopefully, we’ll have the video tonight to look back on it. I think it was harmless stuff now. We’re talking the fourth weekend in January. Two lads and you have a bit of a shemozzle after a free. I don’t think there was any malice in any of it. It’s gone too severe, to be honest with you. I wouldn’t be happy with it.

“Two yellow cards brandished and on we go with it and instead two sending offs for two fellas that aren’t really dirty either. So yeah we probably will be appealing it.” 

Ryan was otherwise satisfied with a handsome win over a weakened Wexford side. “We probably haven’t played much matches so I thought we were a bit rusty at times.

“We know that Wexford are depleted at the moment but from our point of view we probably weren’t as sharp as we should have been in the first 15 or 16 minutes. It was 0-4 to 0-2 at that stage and we hadn’t made the most of the elements but once we opened up, I thought we played some very good hurling and there were some good performances out there but look the first game of the league. That’ll hopefully sharpen us up as we move forward.” 

Brian Hayes, Cormac O’Brien and Niall O’Leary were among the pick of the performers. “Those three fellas have a good bit of training, they have been there all the time and that is what you want at this time of year. The Munster League is a bit of a loss, it gives you a bit of structure in what you’re doing, gives fellas game-time that they mightn’t see it in the league and to wear the jersey in a proper game.

“We hadn’t played a lot of matches, we’ve a lot of fellas, 16, 17, with Sars and the Fitzgibbon and left them away all along so we’ve trained with 23, 24. Look, they’re all positives and we’re moving forward.”

Seán O’Donoghue (groin) and Robert Downey (ankle) went off with small injuries but Ryan wasn’t too worried. He expects Mark Coleman and Eoin Downey to be available for selection in Saturday’s home game against Limerick, which is set to attract possibly 30,000 to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

“We played Limerick there two years ago and there were 20,000 there so in fairness the Cork fans will always come out when they’re home and in fairness to Limerick they have a fantastic following and rightly so with the team that they have. A huge game next week but we’ll regroup, see what injuries we have and get back into the gym on Monday night and see where we go.”