logo
'Can you remember a performance that bad?' - RTE pundits slam Cork's 'collapse'

'Can you remember a performance that bad?' - RTE pundits slam Cork's 'collapse'

The Sunday Game pundits pulled no punches as they assessed Cork's second-half horror show against Tipperary in Sunday's All-Ireland Senior Hurling final.
Going six points ahead at the break, Cork scored just two points in the second, as Tipperary ran out 15-point winners.
And with Donal Og Cusack, Liam Sheedy, and Anthony Daly all on punditry duties, they did not hold back when it came to Cork.
Og Cusack tried to strike an optimistic note to begin with, saying: "It's heartbreaking. Pat has been a real servant to Cork over the years. Pat Ryan is like Cork; Cork will find a way back. It feels like winter has gone on for 20 years, and we were hoping that hurling winter would finish today, but it hasn't. Cork will find a way back."
But Anthony Daly branded it a 'collapse' as they began to turn the screw in their punditry.
"As much as it was incredible. You have to say it was somewhat of a Cork collapse as well," Daly said.
And Cusack lamented the timing of the goals and the red card on the day.
"The goals were a killer, losing your full back as well, and the whole game going against you. They were the killer in the end, all of Cork's play they needed them goals in the end. And all the goals came at a killer time as well.
"Tipp might have gone in with a better mindset, and once the momentum swung, it just felt as if there was nothing Cork could do to get back in the game."
While Liam Sheedy asked about the underperformance.
"Say what you like Donal OG, that was a massive underperformance from the Cork team in the last 35 minutes.
"That level of performance was not something we expected from that Cork team from what we've seen all year. Whether it was the pressure of the All-Ireland final or what, they were a shell of themselves.
"Can you remember a performance that was as bad? Over a 35-minute period over the last two years."
"Cork have been consistent over the last couple of years, they won the league and the Munster Championship. It was being obscured by Dublin being so bad. Limerick were so bad in giving the opportunity to Dublin, but it was like as if everyone's view was obscured. There was a big difference between what Cork faced a couple of weeks ago and what they got here, and it definitely didn't give Cork any value."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Football Families review: Affecting behind-the-scenes tale of what it takes to get to the top
Football Families review: Affecting behind-the-scenes tale of what it takes to get to the top

Irish Times

timean hour ago

  • Irish Times

Football Families review: Affecting behind-the-scenes tale of what it takes to get to the top

Soccer documentaries are all the rage, whether it's Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's Welcome to Wrexham – the charming story of how an underdog club sold its soul to Disney – or Sunderland 'Til I Die on Netflix . RTÉ now laces up its boots with Football Families (RTÉ One, Thursday), a behind-the-scenes series about Dublin's Shelbourne FC and its underage academies. The appeal of Shels was obvious when Football Families was commissioned last year. The club was riding high in the league while its manager, Damien Duff , was largely credited with helping make the League of Ireland cool (it was between him and Bohemian FC and their infinite churn of novelty Fontaines DC shirts ). Twelve months later, alas, the wheels have come off. Shels have been dumped out of the Champions League qualifiers and are struggling to stay mid-table. Worse yet, Duffer has headed off into the sunset after becoming an accidental meme when footage of the former Ireland international watching his side from a grassy knoll went viral (he was serving a touchline ban at the time). That's bad luck for Shels fans and more so for Football Families, given how keen it is to push Duff as the face of the club. But if viewers can look past his departure, there is a lot to like, with the film telling the affecting story of a number of bright prospects at the Shels academy. READ MORE We meet Jayden Marshall from Tallaght, who dreams of making it big and is coming to terms with the trauma of the family home burning down several years ago. Then there is 15-year-old Cillian O'Sullivan from Howth, small for his age but potentially talented enough to compensate for his lack of stature. We are also introduced to under-17s goalkeeper Ali Topcu, whose father, Atakan, is gung-ho about his son's progress, to the extent that he gave up his day job to help Ali progress his career. Ali Topcu in action. Photograph: RTÉ Cillian O'Sullivan from Howth, Co Dublin. Photograph: RTÉ They are a likable bunch, but Football Families falls down in several areas, including basic accuracy. For instance, when Shelbourne play Cork City, the opposition is incorrectly and repeatedly referred to as 'Cork'. It's a sloppy error. After all, Cork City is a much bigger club than Shels, with a more successful academy. Can you imagine RTÉ making a documentary featuring Manchester City and referring to it as 'Manchester'? Then there is the name of the series itself. As with many, if not most, Irish people, when I hear 'football' I think of the Sam Maguire, of David Clifford lofting another two-pointer over and of Mayo doing whatever it takes to not win the All-Ireland. 'Soccer' is, in Ireland, the widely accepted term for the 11-man game – as is, indeed, the case throughout the English-speaking world. That was also historically true of the UK – my old issues of Shoot magazine were full of the 's' word. [ Joanna Lumley: 'I love Ireland as much as you can if you're not an Irish person' Opens in new window ] Such niggles aside, however, the series offers a moving snapshot of the challenges involved in making it to the top. Only a handful of Shelbourne academy players will break through to the League of Ireland, and even fewer will play for a big club on the Continent or in Britain. Whether it's fair to put such pressure on young shoulders is another question entirely, but this is a fascinating portrait of Shels during their (short-lived) imperial phase. It's just a shame that Duff was out the door and off into the sunset before it made it to air.

Kerry and Cork to be seeded for Munster SFC
Kerry and Cork to be seeded for Munster SFC

RTÉ News​

timean hour ago

  • RTÉ News​

Kerry and Cork to be seeded for Munster SFC

Seeding in the Munster SFC will come into place for a three-year period with All-Ireland champions Kerry and Cork to be on opposite sides of the semi-final draw for the 2026 provincial championship. The Munster Council have accepted a proposal that the top two teams from the province in the previous year's Allianz Football League will be seeded. Kerry were crowned Division 1 champions back in March with Cork finishing fifth in Division 2. Clare, third in Division 3, were next best placed. Meanwhile, the Irish Examiner has reported that the 2026 Munster SHC will start with a repeat of the recent All-Ireland final with champions Tipperary welcoming Cork to Thurles.

Shamrock Rovers play out stalemate for easy progress in Conference League qualifiers
Shamrock Rovers play out stalemate for easy progress in Conference League qualifiers

Irish Times

time2 hours ago

  • Irish Times

Shamrock Rovers play out stalemate for easy progress in Conference League qualifiers

Uefa Conference League 2nd qualifying round, 2nd leg: Shamrock Rovers 0 St Joseph's (Gibraltar) 0 (Rovers win 4-0 on agg) With the hard yards emphatically done in last week's 4-0 win in Gibraltar, Shamrock Rovers never needed to come close to adding to that record away win in Europe here to rubber-stamp their passage through to the third round of the Conference League qualifiers. Stephen Bradley's side now meet Kosovans FC Ballkani, who beat Floriana of Malta 5-3 on aggregate, with the winners advancing to the play-offs for the League Phase. Irish League side Larne having stunned fellow Kosovans Prishtina in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, it means Rovers travel to Kosovo next Thursday for their first leg (instead of Tuesday) meaning Sunday's league game at home to Derry City goes ahead as rescheduled. With a European debut for 20-year-old defensive midfielder Cian Barrett one of six changes from Gibraltar, Rovers took seven minutes to settle into the game, creating a gilt-edged chance to have gone ahead on the night. READ MORE Skipper Roberto Lopes and Gary O'Neill worked the ball down the right for the run of Rory Gaffney. The veteran striker skilfully turned inside Geovanni Barba to force a parry save at his left-hand post from Bradley Banda. Danny Grant knows he should have done far better than blaze the rebound high over the crossbar. But that was as good as it got by way of further troubling the St Joseph's goal in the first half as the visitors, playing with no little confidence, spurned a big chance of their own to take the lead on 31 minutes. Barba was allowed to surge forward from the back to play a sublime through ball for the clever run of Javi Forjan. Ed McGinty's positioning was spot on as he saved well with his legs. There was another let off for a sluggish Rovers minutes before the break, Angel Martinez volleying wide after Jayce Olivero's deep cross dropped for him on the edge of the area. With more urgency to their game on the resumption, and Lee Grace and John McGovern into the fray at either end of the pitch replacing Lopes and Gaffney, Rovers moved the ball with more intent, a terrific save preventing a goal eight minutes in. Teenager Michael Noonan was the unintentional architect with his shot getting a flick off the head of McGovern to bring a superb reaction stop from Banda. While owning the ball for much of the remainder of the game, further clearcut chances were scarce. There was a late shout for a penalty not entertained by the Swedish referee when Noonan appeared to be tripped by substitute Javi Paul, but, try as they might, Rovers' winner on the night never materialised. Shamrock Rovers: McGinty; O'Neill, Lopes (Grace, h-t), C. O'Sullivan; Grant, Barrett, McEneff (Watts, 63), Honohan (Mandroiu, 63); Byrne (Kavanagh, 63); Noonan, Gaffney (McGovern, h-t). St Joseph's: Banda; Volz, Cardozo (Javi Paul, 79), Barba, Olivero; Pena (Rodriguez, 60), Sanchez, Juanma; Gibson (Armental, h-t), Forjan (Santos, 65), Martinez. Referee: Granit Maqedonci (Sweden). Attendance: 5,128.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store