Pat Ryan: Cork will lean on those with experience to manage four-week break to semi-final
Last year's All-Ireland pressure cooker final stood to Cork when it came to extra-time and a penalty shoot-out in the TUS Gaelic Grounds on Saturday. Keeping a cool head and being able to make rational decisions was essential, believes manager Pat Ryan.
Introducing fresh legs, including two of the most consistent and inspirational defenders in the country in captain Robert Downey and Niall O'Leary also enhanced their chances.
'We were definitely calmer,' manager Pat Ryan said, following Cork's 55th Munster final triumph.
'Against Clare in the All-Ireland final, there were three or four fellas with cramps and injuries and you were saying, 'Will we bring them off or will we stick with it?' Again, having the ability to bring on Niall and Rob, it was huge. It was a step up for us.
'We were missing a couple of fellas through injury, a couple of bodies came on and sometimes that actually freshens up the team. I thought the lads that came off the bench did a fantastic job too - Robbie O'Flynn, Tommy O'Connell, Shane Kingston - I thought they were really good.'
It was against all the odds that the recent league champions turned the tables on seven-in-a-row seeking Limerick less than three weeks after losing to them by 16 points in the group stage.
'It was an honour for us to come up here and fight. We didn't fight the last time and the lads obviously worked and fought really hard. It just took penalties to separate us and we're just delighted to get the trophy and it was vital we represented the jersey properly and we did.
'We know that we're a really good team. But it's the same with every other team, there's loads of good teams out there and it's all about the attitude you bring and whether you're going to fight. We fought today.
'From the throw-in, we were engaged. That's what you have to do. You have to put really good teams under pressure and you take your chances, whether you win or not. I suppose the key thing was that the guys stayed composed and responded when Limerick had the goal to go ahead, we got the goal five minutes later.'
It was a contest full of big moments that hinged on small margins.
'We're all fighting tooth and nail for the calls,' he said. 'The game is so fast. John Kiely's fighting for calls. That's just the nature of it. In fairness to the referees that are there at the moment, they're all doing their best. They're all trying to do it in an honourable and straight way.
'There were a couple of calls that went against us but I heard John shouting for plenty of scores that didn't go his way. That's just the game. Credit to the officials.'
Winning the Mick Mackey Cup and bridging a gap back to 2018 sends Cork straight to an All-Ireland semi-final but equally as important is the four-week break that comes with it, giving Downey, O'Leary, Declan Dalton and Ger Millerick more time to recover from injury.
Hopes will be high once more that Liam MacCarthy might be on its way back to Leeside.
"That's four weeks off to manage properly and probably get a bit of advice from fellas that have done it before. It's probably going to take a bit of managing now. That's something that we haven't accounted for before. Limerick have plenty of experience of how they deal with that.
'We have no doubt in the character of our fellas. We have no doubt in the ability that they have. I think everybody has said that. You have to go and prove it every time.
'I'm here three years. We thought that performance three or four weeks ago was gone out of this team. As I said, I genuinely take a bit of blame for that. I probably wasn't driving the bus as much as I could have been. Sometimes you're managing and not leading.
'Definitely our management team probably led the last three weeks a bit more. Donal O'Rourke's doing a fantastic job with the coaching. Absolutely fantastic coach. Really, really good coach. It's great for us.
'I'd say everybody will be okay (injury-wise). We'll be in a good position. Ger Millerick is three weeks in a brace, whatever length of time that is from the Waterford game to try and get him back into it but he should be ok.'
Keeping the hype down will be central to the approach. "We won by penalties against a brilliant Limerick team. This is just the start. This is just one thing. We move on to the All-Ireland series, the semi-finals. That's all to play for."
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