Ben O'Connor: 'We got exactly what we wanted out of the league, only we didn't get the cup'

Cork manager Ben O'Connor before the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A final. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Everything but the cup was what Cork gleaned from this league campaign, according to manager Ben O’Connor.

Naturally disappointed to have lost the Division 1 title, he was at the same time content with what they took from the competition two weeks out from the start of the Munster championship.

Pointing out “there's a lot of other teams that weren't there (in the final) today,” O’Connor remarked: “We got exactly what we wanted out of the league, only we didn't get the cup today.

“We got game-time into every fella, we've got a good buzz in the group going because every fella's getting game-time. Look, we've a fair idea of where we're going after this – great to get the league final, but I suppose it's all down to Thurles in two weeks' time.” 

O’Connor had no complaints with the result as he felt Cork were “sloppy at times” and “Limerick are still a good bit ahead of us and that we have a lot of work to do”.

Nevertheless, he again took exception to the amount of time being taken by freetakers. O’Connor raised the matter after the round win over Tipperary in February and again here.

“I suppose it was a bit scrappy. There was a lot of frees given there. We didn't get too many of them, but there was a lot of frees given. I suppose it slowed the game down for fellas.

“I'm not on about the Limerick freetaker, but freetakers in general these days. There's two minutes of free now from the time the whistle is blown to the time the ball is hit. Seven or eight frees, that's 14 or 15 minutes wasted hitting frees.

“I suppose when you're playing with the breeze, it is frustrating that you can't get a flow and can't get a rhythm going. That's for another day, another discussion.” 

Séamus Harnedy of Cork in action against Limerick players David Reidy, Adam English, Aidan O'Connor and Peter Casey. Picture: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

O’Connor couldn’t say for certain that Shane Barrett’s hand-pass to Brian Hayes in the second half for what was shaping up to be a goal opening was a throw as referee Shane Hynes determined. 

“We couldn't see it from where we were,” he admitted.

“And there was a few we got blown for a couple of days overhead. Passes, they got away with a few. I'm not criticising that. It's down to a split second by a referee. But if it goes one way, it has to go the other way.” 

Cork will be back training on Monday morning but without Brian and Eoin Roche, Daire O’Leary (hamstring) and Diarmuid Healy (quad). All are set to miss the Tipperary clash on Sunday week, while Seán O’Donoghue was replaced before half-time with suspected concussion and a hamstring strain.

“He got knocked in the head, so he was taken off, but he had a hamstring problem as well,” reported O’Connor.

“I don't know whether it happened just before it or whether it was in the same tackle, but it saw him (off) on two counts. So, with the head injury, there's no point risking him with that and a touch of the hamstring as well. You know yourself, a minor hamstring is two or three weeks as well. He'll be scanned during the week and we'll see how that is.”

CORK SPORT

A collection of the latest sports news, reports and analysis from Cork.