Tightening the screw: Cleary knows Cork are getting closer to Kerry

The 22 and 12-point hammerings of 2021 and ‘22 have been replaced by two and three-point near misses. But closing the gap to the green and gold is nowhere near enough for John Cleary and his group.

HANGING TOUGH: Cork manager John Cleary. Pic: INPHO/Bryan Keane

The scorelines speak to their closeness. Rewatching the games this week reinforced that closeness.

What if Steven Sherlock’s shot in the 69th minute of the 2023 Sam Maguire group clash had fizzed under the crossbar, rather than over, and brought Cork level with their opponents.