Keith Ricken: 'With a lack of games, the first ten minutes was going to catch you'

LACK OF GAMES: Cork manager Keith Ricken was left to bemoan a disastrous opening quarter as his charges just could not overcome the mountain they left for themselves to climb in Saturday’s defeat to Tyrone. Pic: ©INPHO/Leah Scholes

All-Ireland MFC quarter-final: Cork: 1-12 (1-1-10) Tyrone: 1-21 (1-2-17)

Cork manager Keith Ricken was left to bemoan a disastrous opening quarter as his charges just could not overcome the mountain they left for themselves to climb in Saturday’s defeat to Tyrone in the All-Ireland MFC quarter-final at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise.

With wing-forward Cathal Farley finding the net for the Red Hand county in the fourth minute, the Rebels were eight points down (1-6 to 0-1) before they knew what had hit them. Despite brave resistance thereafter, their ultimate fate had been sealed early on.

“For young lads coming into this, with a lack of games, the first ten minutes was going to catch you. Tyrone had had a lot of games, and they really got us at the start. I was kind of dreading that, because I felt it could happen,” said Ricken.

“I knew we would come back into it, because we would always try hard. We spent an awful lot of energy doing that. In the comeback, we needed to get goals, so we could have put something in the bank. We got one good goal, but we had a couple more really good goal chances.” 

The excellent Ben Corkery Delaney’s bullet to the Tyrone net in the 24th minute invigorated Cork, and they managed to reduce the deficit to six points at half-time (1-13 to 1-7). Entering the game’s final quarter, they were only four points behind (1-15 to 1-11).

“Coming down the home straight, when we got it down to four points, we looked gassed. We probably ran out of juice in the last eight or nine minutes, and they kicked six points in that period,” added the Cork boss.

“Small mistakes came in then too, we kicked two out over the sideline when they were inches away from being a brilliant pass to split their defence. We had a few stray hand-passes, one or two silly frees we gave away.

“The other thing we found difficult this week, and I would put their education key, is that we had one guy who came on today who is doing his Leaving Cert, and four guys out there doing their Junior Certs as well. It’s been a hard week for them. That too was a factor, and I’m not looking for excuses.” 

With the likes of Peter Colton, Eoin Long, Thomas Meenan and James Mulgrew hugely prominent from beginning to end, Tyrone will be a tough nut to crack heading into the last four. For Cork, their campaign is over, but Ricken was left with encouraging green shoots of a better future.

Scorers for Tyrone: E Long (0-6, 0-3fs), C Farley (1-2), P Colton (0-5,1tp), J Mulgrew (tp), T Meenan, J Kerr (0-1 ’45, 0-1f) (0-2 each), A Quinn, P McDonald (0-1 each).

Scorers for Cork: B Corkery Delaney (1-4, 1tp), E Maguire (0-4, 0-3fs), J Byerley(f), L O’Mahony, D McCarthy, D Flynn (0-1 each).

TYRONE: R Donnelly; E Kerr, P Goodman, C McCrystal; A Quinn, J Daly, T Meenan; J Mulgrew, P Donaghy; D McAnespie, P Colton, C Farley; J Kerr, E Long, M Kennedy.

Subs: V Gormley for Kennedy (43), M Mullin for E Kerr (47), M Daly for McAnespie (51), P McDonald for J Kerr (55), H Patton for Farley (58).

CORK: R Twohig; B Coffey, A Keane, M Kiernan; J Miskella, C McCarthy, B Cronin; S Kelleher Leavy, R Hayes; L O’Mahony, D Flynn, S Long; J Byerley, B Corkery Delaney, E Maguire.

Subs: J Hanrahan for Kelleher Leavy (22), E Collins for Long (30), D McCarthy for Byerley (35), T Whooley for O’Mahony (41), J O’Leary for Miskella (52).

Referee: C Ryan (Galway).